Plymouth,+Massachusetts

Plymouth, Massachusetts

Section 4 – Democracy Takes Root at Plymouth
At Plymouth, you can visit the Mayflower II, a copy of the Pilgrims’ ship.

This is Plymouth, Massachusetts. The Pilgrims landed here almost 400 years ago. You can visit a reproduction, or copy, of their ship, the //Mayflower//, in Plymouth Harbor. In 1620, the //Mayflower// left England with 102 passengers aboard. All of the passengers were headed for Virginia. Less than half of them were Pilgrims in search of religious freedom. The rest simply wanted to make their home in America. The Pilgrims called these settlers “strangers.”

Storms blew the //Mayflower// off course. Instead of Virginia, the ship reached New England. Sick of stormy seas, the Pilgrims decided to stop there. But they had a problem. There was no government in New England. And some of the “strangers” looked like troublemakers. What would you have done in their situation? Think about this as you leave the train to visit Plymouth.

Welcome back. I’ll tell you now how the Pilgrims solved their problem. Before going ashore, they drew up an agreement called the Mayflower Compact. It said that they would set up a government and make laws for the good of everyone. Each man signed the compact. Then the passengers elected a governor to lead the government.

Today, Americans believe that people should make their own laws and elect their own leaders. We call this form of government a democracy. During the Pilgrims’ time, when kings and queens were the rulers of countries, this was a bold idea.

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 * The Mayflower Compact **


 * The Mayflower Compact is a written agreement composed by a consensus of the new Settlers arriving at New Plymouth in November of 1620.**


 * The men who signed the Mayflower Compact: **

John Carver --- William Bradford Edward Winslow --- William Brewster Isaac Allerton --- Myles Standish John Alden --- Samuel Fuller Christpher Martin --- William Mullins William White --- Richard Warren John Howland --- Stephen Hopkins Edward Tilley --- John Tilley Francis Cooke --- Thomas Rogers Thomas Tinker --- John Rigdale Edward Fuller --- John Turner Francis Eaton --- James Chilton John Cracston --- John Billington Moses Fletcher --- John Goodman Degory Priest --- Thomas Williams Gilbert Winslow --- Emond Margesson Peter Brown --- Richard Britterige George Soule --- Richard Clark Richard Gardiner --- John Allerton Thomas English --- Edward Doty Edward Leifter

**Plymouth Plantation**

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