Page 33 - Beers With Our Founding Fathers

A Patriot’s view of the history and direction of our Country

The Mayflower Compact
th
November 11 1620

On our 2012 maiden voyage, one of the destinations was
Boston, Massachusetts. There we saw Plymouth Rock (but could

not touch it) – historically impressive, it is not as big as we thought.
We also toured a scale replica of the Mayflower. Plymouth was the

second colony to North America in 1620; Jamestown in Virginia was

in 1607. This was a reminder of the conditions the passengers faced
– we left wondering how anyone could tolerate the conditions. We
learned why when we toured a Pilgrim-era village in Salem. In

addition to leaving England to avoid religious persecution, they

sought to: 1) freely practice their religion; 2) and sought the
opportunity to be self-sufficient, not self-governing (land was usually

granted, not purchased in Europe, and plentiful in the colonies). The
pilgrims originally first went to the Netherlands, from the

persecutions of England. Seeking to retain their cultural identity
while seeking religious freedom, they arranged with English

investors to form a colony in North America.

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