[…] In the name of God, Amen. We, whose names are underwritten¹, the loyal subjects of our dread² Sovereign Lord King James, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King, defender of the Faith, etc.

Having undertaken³, for the Glory of God, and advancements⁴ of the Christian faith and honor of our King and Country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the Northern parts of Virginia, do by these presents, solemnly and mutually⁵, in the presence of God, and one another, coven­ant⁶ and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic⁷; for our better ordering, and preser­vation⁸ and furtherance of the ends aforesaid⁹; and by virtue hereof to enact¹⁰, constitute¹¹, and frame¹², such just and equal laws, ordinances¹³, acts¹⁴, constitutions, and offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and con­venient¹⁵ for the general good of the colony; unto which we promise all due submission¹⁶ and obedience¹⁷.

In witness whereof we have hereunto sub­scribed our names at Cape Cod the 11th of November, in the year of the reign of our Sov­ereign Lord King James, of England, France, and Ireland, the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth, 1620.

¹ to underwrite: unterschreiben | ² dread: Ehrfurcht | ³ to undertake: unternehmen | ⁴ advancement: Förderung, Verbesserung | ⁵ solemnly and mutually: feierlich und gegenseitig | ⁶ to covenant: sich verpflichten | ⁷ civil body politic: bürgerliches Gemeinwesen | ⁸ preservation: Erhaltung, Bewahrung | ⁹ furtherance of the ends aforesaid: zur Förderung der zuvor genannten Ziele | ¹⁰ to enact: erlassen | ¹¹ to constitute: begründen | ¹² to frame: formulieren | ¹³ ordinances: Verordnungen | ¹⁴ acts: Erlasse | ¹⁵ most meet and convenient: am angemessensten und günstigsten | ¹⁶ submission: Unterwerfung | ¹⁷ obedience: Gehorsam

M1 | Darstellungstext | Reasons for emigration

The early 17th century marks the beginning of a great migration movement from Europe to North America that lasted more than three centuries. This movement grew from a few hundred colonists in the early colonization peri­od up to a million immigrants per year at its peak. While America was already inhabited by native people, the colonists built a new civilization in North America.

Most settlers left Europe for greater economic opportunity, to escape political op­pression or to seek religious freedom. Due to economic difficulties many people in England could not find work. Even skilled craftsmen had problems earning the money they needed to make a living. Living standards dropped drastically because of increasing living costs and declin­ing wages. Moreover, bad harvests and food shortages brought widespread misery. In the 1640s, the arbitrary rule by Charles I. caused the English Civil War. After the triumph of Charles’ opponents under Oliver Cromwell and the execution of the King, many people left England to try their luck in the New World, where they hoped to find gold and adventure.

In addition to poverty and the hope for better living conditions, religious persecution played a particularly important role for emigra­tion. During the religious upheavals of the 16th and 17th centuries, a group called the Puritans wanted to reform the Church of England from within. The Puritans, who were English Prot­estants, sought to “purify” the Church of Eng­land and to separate it from the Roman Catholic Church. They demanded simpler forms of faith and worship. This implied, for example, that church services as well as the church buildings themselves had to be simple and plain. Some Puritans thought that they could express their religious belief best by living a simple life. However, the Puritans were hindered from changing the Church of England, and laws re­stricted them from practicing their religion in their own way. Opposing those laws, some men and women were even sent to prison. Many Puritans left England in 1630 to settle in Massachusetts Bay Colony.  

In contrast to the Puritans, the Pilgrims separated from the Church of England believ­ing that it would never be reformed to their lik­ing. Since the Pilgrims as well were not al­lowed to practice their religion freely, a group of 125 people left England for Holland at the beginning of the 17th century to escape perse­cution and to find more tolerance. They settled in the city of Leiden, but concerned with losing their cultural identity the Pilgrims eventually looked for a new place to live. They decided to imigrate to the New World in 1620 where they hoped to finally find religious freedom and a better life. 

M2 | Darstellungstext | Setting up colonies

After the Spanish had started to explore the New World, the English followed soon after. Some tried to make a fortune as pirates or traders, whereas others left England altogether to establish new colonies overseas. Unlike other countries with heavily invested colonization policies, the English government did not sponsor the establishment of colonies in North America to a great extent. Thus, especially rich men, whose chief motive was profit, invested in setting up the English colonies. They hoped to make profits by shipping supplies (clothes, tools, building material, seed, guns etc.) the settlers needed overseas. The investors made additional profit by shipping goods manufactured by the settlers back to England.

Not all colonists had enough money to pay the expenses of transportation and main­tenance necessary for making a start in the New World. In this case, agencies like the Virgi­nia Company and the Massachusetts Bay Company paid the settlers’ costs. Besides tho­se kinds of colonizing companies, proprietors and individual families also made contracts with potential settlers. In exchange, the settlers had to work for the agencies or a contract holder as contract workers for a fixed period of time which usually lasted four to seven years. During this period, the masters provided food and shelter for their servants. After the servants had completed their contractual obligations, they received a payment known as ‚freedom dues‘. The freedom dues usually included small pieces of land, supplies or money and helped the settlers to set up their own homestead.

The colonies of Virginia and Massachu­setts were established by chartered companies which were provided with a royal charter. This was a royal document confirming that the com­panies were allowed to colonize pieces of land in North America. The funds of the compa­nies, provided by diverse investors, were used for the colonists’ equipment, transportation and maintenance. Other colonies such as New Hampshire, New Jersey or Pennsylvania initi­ally belonged to proprietors who were mem­bers of the English gentry or nobility. One exception to this is the New Haven colony which was settled by colonists who were rich enough to pay the costs of their families’ and servants’ transportation and equipment them­selves.

Historians estimate that half the settlers, especially from the Southern Colon­ies, came to Colonial America under the sys­tem of indentured servitude. Many of the in­dentured servants became subject to violence at the hand of their contract holders. Moreover, given the high death rate, many servants did not live to the end of their terms. Indentured servitude was a major element of colonial la­bour economics. After the American Revolution, the numbers of indentured servants dropped to a minimum.

Info

Abraham Lincoln’s position on slavery is one of the central issues in American history. Lincoln often expressed moral opposition to slavery in public and in private. In the 1850s, Lincoln was politically attacked as an abolitionist (someone who demands the abolition of slavery), but he did not consider himself one. Until his early presidency, Lincoln’s goal was to stop slavery from expanding,  to ultimately bring it to an end. He did not call for the immediate end of slavery everywhere in the U.S. until the 1864 election.

The following phrases might help you

Stating an opinion: I would say … / In my opinion … / I strongly believe … / As far as I can see … / It is important to …  

agree: Yes, that is a good point. /I absolutely agree. / Exactly.  /You are right about that. / That is just what I think, too.

disagree:  I would not say so. / Well, I do not think so. / I am afraid I don’t agree with you there. / I strongly disagree.

partly agree: That might be true but …. / I’m not sure about this. / I see your point, but I think … / I can understand why … but …

clarify: What I mean is … / Let me put it this way: … / Do you mean that…? / I’m not sure what you mean / What I am trying to say is …

To start your conversation, the following arguments may help you

Farmer Illinois

• The constitution states that all men are created equal
• The United States must improve their industry; slaves are not necessary for that

Former Slave

• Human beings are no goods to be sold
• Slaves are treated badly on many plantations and have no opportunities to improve their position

Farmer Mississippi

• Without the slaves, the farms will produce fewer goods; everyone profits from a strong economy
• Former slaves often continue working in agriculture; what changes?