I do hereby swear that I do renounce the pretended title of Charles
Stuart, and the whole line of the late King James; and of any other
person, as a single person pretending, or which shall pretend to the
crown or government of these nations of England Scotland and
Ireland, or any of them; and that I will, by the grace and
assistance of Almighty God, be true, faithful and constant to the
Parliament, and Commonwealth; and will oppose the bringing in, or
setting up any single person or House of Lords, and every
of them, in this Commonwealth.
Soon after the Restoration, Charles the Second, by Proclamation
commanded that the Oaths of Supremacy and Allegiance be tendered to all
persons disaffected to the Government and, in case of refusal, that they
were to be prosecuted under the Statute of the 7th of James. During the
reign of his Roman Catholic successor, James the Second, the Oath of
Supremacy was allowed to lapse, and the Oath of Allegiance, only, was in
full force in the Colonies, up to the publication of his declaration of
liberty of conscience for all denominations in England and Scotland, in
1687–1688, which sealed his doom.
These preliminaries are necessary to a full understanding of our subject
which naturally begins, in point of time, with the settlement
_In New Plymouth Colony._
Strictly speaking, Plymouth was not a New England Colony. It was without
a Charter, and the functions of its government were those of a
Corporation. The power of the Oath of Allegiance their leaders had
assented to always seemed to hang over them, and paralyze the initiative
they should have taken. Their attempts to increase their circumscribed
boundaries at New Plymouth were futile; and, in the case of their
attempted settlement in Maine, disastrous both to the business
reputation of their leaders, and to the Corporation. They could spare
neither the men nor the means from the parent settlement to form
permanent settlements elsewhere. They seemed doomed to failure. And yet
hardly that, when we consider the impress upon our Nation made by their
sterling qualities of mind and heart, their patience and fortitude under
severe trials, the hopes and ambition of their teachings, and their
never-failing trust in God’s Providence. These high qualities still
animate and live in the great and growing number who proudly claim their
ancestry from the Pilgrims at New Plymouth.
COMBINATION FOR FOUNDATION OF GOVERNMENT
known as
THE MAYFLOWER COMPACT
In y^e name of God, Amen. We whose names are underwriten, the loyall
subjects of our dread soveraigne Lord, King James, by y^e grace of
God, of Great Britaine, Franc, & Ireland, king, defender of y^e
faith, &c. haveing undertaken, for y^e glorie of God, and
advancement of y^e Christian faith, and honour of our king and
countrie, a voyage to plant y^e first colonie in y^e Northerne parts
of Virginia, doe by these presents solemnly & mutualy in y^e
presence of God, and one of another, covenant & combine our selves
togeather into a civill body politick, for our better ordering &
preservation & furtherance of y^e ends aforesaid; and by vertue
hearof to enacte, constitute, and frame such just & equall lawes,
ordinances, acts, constitutions, & offices, from time to time, as
shall be thought most meete & convenient for y^e generall good of
y^e Colonie, unto which we promise all due submission and obedience.
In witnes wherof we have hereunder subscribed our names at Cap-Codd
y^e 11 of November, in y^e year of y^e raigne of our soveraigne
lord, King James, of England, France, & Ireland y^e eighteenth, and
of Scotland y^e fiftie fourth. An^o: Dom. 1620. [Forty-one names.]
The Mayflower Compact has received full and adequate treatment in the
paper read before this Society in October, 1920, by Arthur Lord, LL.D.
The exact date of the two forms of Oaths first given has not been
determined, but they are certainly later than the formation of the first
Council in 1624.