Lesson 2: The Mayflower Compact
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| The signing of the Mayflower Compact |
The Mayflower Compact
Examine the Document with these Questions
2. The signers promise to “covenant and combine ourselves into a civil body politic.” What does it mean to “covenant and combine”?
3. What do the signers mean by a “civil body politic”?
4. What will the “civil body politic” do from time to time?
5. Why do the signers say they need to do this?
6. What do the signers promise?
7. How can the Mayflower Compact be seen as a stepping stone to the creation of the US Constitution?
8. What characteristics can be taken from the Mayflower Compact that connects it to our present day government?
9. What differences can be seen in the Mayflower Compact that are not seen in our government?
The Motive for Colonization
Not all motives were equal. The Dutch East Indies Company was motivated by trade and profit. They did not colonize extensively the areas where they sailed. Instead, they built forts on the coasts of Africa to facilitate their goals and left the interior alone.
The Spanish colonized the New World differently than the English. The main motive was to find gold or some other profit for the Spanish crown. What did Spain do in it's colonies?
Freedom from religious persecution was the primary motive for colonizing North America as there was no gold in indigenous civilizations there. Read more about this motive here. How did the colonies of North America immediately determine the need for self-government?
Image Credit: Jean Leon Gerome Ferris / Library of Congress / Public Domain