I. ORIGINS OF AMERICAN CONSTITUTIONALISM
The Mayflower Compact of 1620 is considered the first constitution in American history. Throughout American history, the guiding principal of public law has been the concept of “constitutionalism,” a term expressing and embracing three fundamental American ideals:
(1) limited government;
(2) the rule of law; and
(3) the structural devices that create the basis for republican government in America.
The origins of constitutionalism existed long before the Revolution and creation of the American Republic. Constitutionalism derives partly from how American think about the sources of law. It also stems from the way Americans structured the governments of their societies.
II. THE PILGRIMS AND THE PURITANS
The main ideas came from two religious colonies in North America: Plymouth (1620) and Massachusetts Bay (1629). The two colonies had much in common. Both colonies were settled by Calvinist Protestants. The settlers of both colonies believed the English Reformation led by King Henry VIII was insufficient. It did not succeed in separating the newly created Anglican Church from the Pope and Rome sufficiently.
But the Calvinist Protestant settlers differed in one important way. The Pilgrims of Plymouth were Separatists. They believed the English church was beyond redemption, and thus had to separate themselves from it. The Puritans of Massachusetts Bay, on the other hand, believed that the Church of England could be reformed. They thought it could be purified. They were willing to worship in the Anglican Church while in England. The Pilgrims / Separatists were not.
III. AMERICA’S FIRST CONSTITUTION: THE MAYFLOWER COMPACT OF 1620
The Pilgrims / Separatists who settled in Plymouth, Massachusetts, were Calvinist Protestants knows as Separatists. They were known as Separatists because they had broken with the Church of England. They believed the English church was inherently corrupt and beyond redemption. The Separatists created difficulties in English society. The Crown was happy to help them move to North America. It would allow the Separatists to practice their religion undisturbed. The Crown authorized the Pilgrims / Separatists to settle in the northern part of the Virginia colony.
But their ship, the Mayflower, landed hundreds of miles north of where it was supposed to arrive. They had not landed in Virginia, but in Massachusetts. The captain was anxious to return to England before winter set in. Therefore, the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Bay. The Pilgrims lacked legal authority to settle where they had landed. The Crown had specifically allowed them to move to Virginia. Therefore, in 1620, they prepared the Mayflower Compact to give themselves permission to land where they wanted.
This brief document is a contract or an agreement between the settlers. It illustrates how the notion of a compact influenced the earliest settlers of New England. The Pilgrim leadership of the Plymouth Colony attempted to control the non-Pilgrims. These individuals were among the settlers. The Mayflower Compact is commonly considered America’s first constitution. The Pilgrims were aware of their legal heritage. This was expressed in the Magna Charta. It was also in the English Bill of Rights of 1689.
