Why do the Pilgrims promise “all due submission and obedience”?
The Pilgrims promised "all due submission and obedience" for several reasons. To understand their motivation, we need to look at the historical context.
The Pilgrims were a group of English Separatists who migrated to the New World in 1620 aboard the Mayflower. They were seeking religious freedom and escaping religious persecution in England. However, they did not have a formal legal agreement with the British Crown to establish a colony in North America.
Realizing the need for a legal framework to govern their new colony, the Pilgrims drafted the Mayflower Compact. This document served as a temporary governing agreement until a formal charter could be obtained. The compact established a basic set of laws and a system of self-government for the new colony.
The reason why the Pilgrims promised "all due submission and obedience" in the Mayflower Compact was to ensure order, unity, and the legitimacy of their newly established government. They wanted to create a sense of shared responsibility and commitment among the colonists, acknowledging the need for cooperation and obedience to maintain a functioning society in an unfamiliar land.
In a practical sense, promising "all due submission and obedience" provided a means of establishing authority and preventing potential conflicts within their small community. By consenting to be ruled by laws agreed upon by the majority, the Pilgrims aimed to create a system that would promote harmony and ensure the survival of the colony.
Therefore, the Pilgrims made this promise in the Mayflower Compact as a way to establish a framework for self-governance and to maintain order and unity within their new colony.