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Unit 1 Introduction to American Literature Mayflower (vessel), vessel in which the Pilgrims crossed the Atlantic Ocean to the New World in 1620. As originally conceived, the expedition included another vessel, the Speedwell, but the latter proved unseaworthy. The Mayflower, about 180 gross tons and carrying 102 passengers, finally got under way from Plymouth, England, on September 16, 1620. The ship was headed for Virginia, where the colonists had been authorized to settle. As a result of stormy weather and navigational errors, the vessel failed to make good its course, and on November 21 the Mayflower rounded the end of Cape Cod and dropped anchor off the site of present-day Provincetown, Massachusetts. The Mayflower remained anchored for the next few weeks while a party from the ship explored Cape Cod and its environs in search of a satisfactory site for the colony. Peregrine White, the first European child born in New England, was delivered on the Mayflower in the interim. On December 21, an area having been selected, the Pilgrims disembarked from the Mayflower near the head of Cape Cod and founded Plymouth Colony, the first permanent settlement in New England. The Pilgrims were probably more than 800 km (500 mi) northeast of their intended destination in Virginia. The patent for their settlement in the New World, issued by the London Company, was no longer binding, and some among the passengers desired total independence from their shipmates. To prevent this, 41 of the adult male passengers, including John Alden, William Bradford, William Brewster, John Carver, Miles Standish, and Edward Winslow, gathered in the cabin of the Mayflower and formulated and signed the Mayflower Compact; all adult males were required to sign. This compact consolidated the passengers into a "civil body politic," which had the power to frame and enact laws appropriate to the general good of the planned settlement. All colonists were bound to obey the ordinances so enacted. This compact established rule of the majority, which remained a primary principle of government in Plymouth Colony until its absorption by the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1691. Mayflower Compact Mayflower Compact, first colonial agreement that formed a government by the consent of the governed. The Mayflower Compact was signed in 1620 by Pilgrims, English people hoping to establish a settlement in North America. The agreement was completed on the ship Mayflower, which was anchored off the coast of Massachusetts. The compact gave the settlers the power to frame and enact laws for the general good of the planned settlement. Most of the Pilgrims were members of the Separatist congregation that had split from the Church of England. However, some were not, and these people sought independence from the Separatists. To prevent this, Separatist leaders wrote the compact, which was modeled after the covenant that had established their Separatist faith. Each male adult signed the document. The signers agreed to follow all "just and equal" laws that the settlers enacted and to be ruled by the will of the majority. Plymouth Colony did not receive an English royal charter, and so the compact determined governmental authority in the colony until it became part of the Massachusetts colony in 1691. Calvinism, Christian theology of the French church reformer John Calvin. Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion (1536-59; trans. 1561) was the most influential work in the development of the Protestant churches of the Reformed tradition. Calvinist doctrine lies within the Pauline and Augustinian theological tradition. Its central tenets include belief in the absolute sovereignty of God and the doctrine of justification by faith alone. As did the German religious reformer Martin Luther, Calvin denied that human beings were capable of free will after the Fall of Adam, but he went farther than Luther in elaborating a doctrine of predestination—that certain persons are elected by God to salvation, while others are rejected by him and consigned to eternal damnation. Calvin also shared Luther's belief in the Bible as the unique rule for the life of faith, but differed from his fellow reformer in defending the subjugation of the state to the church and in his interpretation of the Eucharist. Many of the tenets of Calvinism have had profound social implications—in particular, that thrift, industry, and hard work are forms of moral virtue and that business success is an evidence of God's grace. Because these views helped to create a climate favorable to commerce, Calvinism played a role in the overthrow of feudalism and the establishment of capitalism. By the early 17th century, Calvinism had been adopted by Protestant groups in many lands. The Synod of Dort (1618-19) in Holland fixed this form of belief as Dutch orthodoxy. French Calvinists founded the Huguenot movement, which was suppressed by the Roman Catholic church. In England, Puritanism developed and briefly achieved ascendancy during the period when the monarchy was suspended under Oliver Cromwell. The Westminster Confession (1646) represents the systematic expression of Puritan theology. It was adopted by the Church of Scotland in 1648 and has become the basic creed of Presbyterian groups in Britain and throughout the world. Many English Puritans, dissatisfied with the policies of the Church of England, immigrated to America during the colonial period. Settling in New England, they contributed greatly to shaping the religious character of the United States, especially through the preaching of Jonathan Edwards and other leaders during the Great Awakening. Calvinism remains an important strain within Protestant thought. In the 20th century, the influential Swiss theologian Karl Barth placed great emphasis on the Calvinist doctrine of God's supremacy, beside which all human activity is seen as worthless. For a summary of Calvin's theology, see Calvin, John. For a more detailed discussion of Calvinist history and doctrine, see Presbyterianism. |