"Having undertaken ... a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia, do by these presents solemnly and mutually in the presence of God, and one of another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic, for our better ordering and preservation and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute and frame such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions and offices, from time to time as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the Colony: unto which we promise all due submission and obedience."
In November 1620, 41 British subjects put their names to the agreement that included the preceding words (and that in its entirety was not much longer). Conceived and signed as a voluntary commitment to support a self-administered communal government in what became Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts, this was the Mayflower Compact, and it was America's first written constitution.
If you can get past all the legal jargon, not to mention the 400-year-old language, you get the idea that these were some remarkable words. First, though, it should be noted that not all of what I've quoted or stated so far here is necessarily precise. The original document does not exist, so the Mayflower Compact as we know it is as faithful a rendering as we have.
The oldest known copy was handwritten between 1630 and 1654 by William Bradford, an original signer and prominent leader of Plymouth Colony. The earliest list of signers that exists is from 1669, so it can't be said with certainty that it is completely accurate, but there's little doubt that the signers were free adult males as well as some male servants.
We don't know what the original document was titled, or if it was given a title, and the best evidence shows that the words "Mayflower Compact" did not appear until 1793. Prior to that, it had been referred to variously as "an association and agreement," a "solemn contract," and "the covenant." Even the date of the signing (Nov. 11, 1620), which is believed to be correct, is not without ambiguity. I'm sure I'm not the only one who, back in grade school, learned that the Mayflower Compact was signed on Nov. 21, 1620, which agrees with our current Gregorian calendar. The passengers of the Mayflower, however, were 10 days "ahead" with the old Julian calendar.
While the precision of the facts may be subject to debate, the significance of the Mayflower Compact in American history is not. This was no long-planned or tediously deliberated document. You might even say it was an emergency measure. The ship sailing from England to Virginia, where the passengers would settle under the auspices of the British Crown and Virginia law, had veered off course, well outside the security of a governing structure. The English Separatists ("Pilgrims") aboard feared disruption by those passengers not affiliated with them or their cause. So before they dared set foot on uninhabited, ungoverned terrain ("the northern parts of Virginia" -- actually, Cape Cod), they made an immediate resolve to stem the tide of possible anarchy and use words -- and only words -- to forge a new and civil society.
One year later, these same Pilgrims would literally reap the harvest made possible by the language of the law hurriedly set forth on the deck of the Mayflower at the conclusion of their three-month voyage to a strange land. It's an awesome bit of our history -- and not just the history of American events, but also the history of American language. There is really no better way to express that than just to wish you all a warm and wonderful Thanksgiving.
Edmeston resident Christine A. Lindberg, senior U.S. lexicographer for Oxford University Press, is the principal content editor of Oxford's American English dictionaries and thesauruses. Opinions expressed by Lindberg in this column are done so independently, and do not necessarily reflect the policies and practices of Oxford University Press. Have a question or comment relating to the English language? E-mail: languagewithlindberg@gmail.com. Selected submissions will be answered here periodically.
Let's Look At The Language
The Mayflower Compact
- Let's Look At The Language
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'We'll take a cup o' kindness yet, for auld lang syne'
By Christine A. Lindberg A song that "owns" a particular day of the year is rare.
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Here comes Santa Claus ... where'd he get that snazzy red suit?
Years ago, I had a book of letters written to Santa Claus, and I remember that, among all the messages of "bring me this," "bring me that," and "I'll leave you a plate of cookies," one little boy had written, "Dear Santa, Where did you get your snazzy red suit?" I wouldn't be surprised if the author of that question grew up to be either a reporter or a fashion consultant, but in any event, I hope he got an answer to his question.
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Where do I plug in these Electric Prunes?
Those of us who make the family feasts of Thanksgiving and Christmas magically appear on the table know there's nothing magic about it.
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The sometimes-cryptic language of company names
Cream cheese originated in 1872 as the result of William Lawrence's failure to duplicate the French cheese Neufchatel. By 1880, he knew his "accidental cheese" was good enough for distribution, so he packaged it in foil wrappers and called it Philadelphia Cream Cheese.
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Humorist Will Rogers: One of the crown jewels in American language
Defined as "a humorous writer, performer or artist," a humorist could technically be anyone who makes you laugh, but my concept of a humorist is not nearly so broad
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Not quite an 'Ode to Pepé Le Pew' after gross, stinky encounter
My previous column ended with the words "sweet dreams," which are nice if you can get 'em, but sometimes the occasion of slumber time is a few degrees short of sweet.
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What will my dream-doctor say about this orgledream in my head?
I just read a snippet of folklore that tells me "a dream of grasshoppers means that something is confusing you."
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Names of hurricanes don't match reality
When the storm named Irene barreled up into Edmeston four weeks ago, I didn't think I'd still be looking down upon the vestiges of her destruction from my upstairs windows.
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Sometimes an unremarkable day is the one we should cherish the most
Ten years ago today, it was a summery Sept. 10 here in Central New York. The temperature hovered in the 80s and there was an occasional drizzle here and there.
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'Don't miss it, don't even be late' The Great New York State Fair is here
"Our state fair is a great state fair! Don't miss it, don't even be late. It's dollars to doughnuts that our state fair is the best state fair in our state!"
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Some of it's all Greek to me, but mostly it's just herbaceously aromatic
For the past five years, I've been a container gardener (having given up the backyard to my dogs).
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Like gods on the heptagram, so are the days of our week
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'Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?' just not the same
When the Baltimore Orioles' third baseman took the field on May 30, 1982, not even Nostradamus could have foreseen that one of the most celebrated streaks in baseball was beginning at that very moment. The player was Cal Ripken Jr., whose 2,131st consecutive game on Sept. 6, 1995, surpassed Lou Gehrig's "unsurpassable" record.
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A frabjous Fourth of July to everyone!
If there's one date in history that every American can cite, it's the day that the Continental Congress gave its nod to the Declaration of Independence: July 4, 1776.
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I wonder if ancient Romans ever put sanctions on that two-faced Janus
Someone recently asked me if I could explain the meaning of the word "sanction.
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June is bustin' out all over!
When "Carousel," the second stage musical by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, opened on Broadway on April 19, 1945, the audience left the theater in buoyant spirits.
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Go ahead and have a rat on a stick, but please don't call it a lollipop
I recent read that this Tuesday is National Escargot Day. I was unable to find any compelling evidence that this is an official national day for any nation in particular, but it does seem that throughout the U.K. and North America, French restaurants have happily adopted the day as a time to celebrate their garlicky little mollusks.
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Onomatopoeic power of wheatgrass souffle
“The formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named” is the New Oxford American Dictionary’s definition of “onomatopoeia” (Ah-Nuh-mah-tuh-PEE-uh).
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The language of Benjamin Franklin, in whatever name he used
When Benjamin Franklin died 221 years ago this month, the entire Western world mourned, yet his gravestone reads (in full), “Benjamin and Deborah Franklin 1790.”
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There's nothing like a good spoonerism to tickle a bunny phone
The English economist Sir Roy Forbes Harrod (1900"1978) once said that, compared to all the scholars he had known at Oxford and Cambridge, the Reverend William Archibald Spooner (1844"1930) was the most exceptional in "scholarship, devotion to duty, and wisdom." There is no reason to question Harrod's assessment, but that's not exactly the imprint by which Spooner is best remembered.
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'We'll take a cup o' kindness yet, for auld lang syne'
