“Having undertaken, for the Glory of God, and advancements of the Christian faith and honor of our King and Country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the Northern parts of Virginia”
These are some of the words of the Mayflower Compact, signed by the 41 Pilgrim men aboard the Mayflower before they landed in Massachusetts and formed what is known as the Plymouth Colony in 1620. They tried to get to Virginia by ship but were unable to due to heavy winter storms. This was the first colonial settlement in New England.
These Pilgrims had fled England originally and went to Holland due to religious persecution. They were accepted by the Dutch but rather than have their children assimilate into Dutch culture they decided to move to the New World. One hundred and three of them left England and sailed for two months on the Mayflower. Fifty of them died within the first year of the colony. Their religious faith founded upon the Bible is what kept them going with the belief that God had ordained for them to come to America and that it was by his Divine Hand that they would survive. Our Thanksgiving is based primarily on the Pilgrims celebrating a gathering of thanks to God for a three day feast with the Native Americans in 1621.
The Bible and the religious practices of the Pilgrims became the basis for their laws and government. The seeds of US democracy were born in their church governing structure. One vote for one member in decision making.
America’s founding, greatness and democracy owe a great deal to these determined godly people. And God and the Bible stand at the center of their visionary leadership.
In Plymouth, Massachusetts today there are two statues depicting Pilgrim women who came over on the Mayflower both of them have the women holding Bibles in their hands.