Documents of Colonial American History (n): Foundation Documents

Documents of Colonial American History 6:

Foundation Documents (Covenants)

Last updated: March 23, 1999.

»ANG2RG-1« Tuesday, 12-14, American Seminar — Novák György back

All relations which are neither natural nor violent, but voluntary, are by vertue of some covenant. — Increase Mather, 1677.

IN early American history, especially in New England, political communities, such as townships, confederations of towns, or even of provinces were consciously created and regulated. One very frequent form of these foundation documents was the covenant. The course will trace the origins of the genre to its biblical beginnings, look at its religious applications among Separatists in Old and New England, and then will discuss in detail its secular manifestations in 17th century New England. The documents to be discussed will include 16^th-century covenants from England, well-known documents such as the Mayflower Compact, brief church foundations as that of Salem, and long constitutions such as the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut. *** The course will use the texts collected and published by Champlin Burrage in The Church Covenant Idea. Its Origin and Its Development. Philadelphia: American Baptist Publication Society, 1904, and by Donald S. Lutz in his Documents of Political Foundation by Colonial Americans (Philadelphia: ISHI Press, 1986), and Colonial Origins of the American Constitution: A Documentary History (Indianapolis: Liberty Press, 1998). *** Evaluation policy: class activity 50%, end-term test 50%. Course will close with a final test written on the last week (May 4). (Fourth-year students will hand in a short paper of 15.000 characters as well on some aspect of the subject.) *** Additional literature will include: Lutz: "Introductory Essay" In: Colonial Origins, pp. XX-XL.

Schedule

[Feb 2], Feb 9, Feb 16, Feb 23, Mar 2, Mar 9, Mar 16, Mar 23, Mar 30, Apr 6, Apr 13, Apr 20, Apr 27, May 4.

covenants (Bible, reformation)

(1) Feb 9:

Noah: Gen 9:8-17 | Abraham: Gen 15:7-18 | Gen 22:16-18 |Ex 19:1-20:23, 24:1-18 | Jos 24 | 1Sam 16:1-14, 2Sam 2:1-11, 5:1-3 | David: 2Sam 7:1-17 | 2Sam 5;3, 1Reg 8, 2Reg 22:3-13, 23:21-25 | Neh 8-10 | Ps 89
D. Elazar: "The Political Theory of Covenant: Biblical Origins and Modern Developments." Publius 10 (Fall 1980), 3-30.
Covenant in Hungarian history? See chapters 5-6 in Gesta Hungarorum click]
The Hungarian Constitution (in English)

(2) Feb 16:

Chapters I-V in: Burrage, pp. 13-78.

foundation documents

(3) Feb 23:

Lutz: "Constitutions, Covenants, and Compacts"; "From Covenant to Constitution"; "Charters and the First Constitutions" (Chapters 2-4). In: Origins, pp. 13-49.
The First Charter of Virginia (1607) | The Charter of Massachusetts Bay (1629)

earliest covenants (England, Netherland)

(4) Mar 2:

Chapter VII in: Burrage, pp. 79-95.
First Covenant 1557 | Middleborough 1591 | Crowle Covenant 1599 | Gainsborough 1602 | Hugh Peter's 15 articles | Rotterdam 1633

American covenants (church)

(5) Mar 9: [5, 18], 7,

5 MA The Salem Covenant of 1629 (Another citizenship oath, but one that functioned for several years as the only basis for town government). In: Colonial Origins, p. 35.
The Charles-Boston Church Covenant. In: A Covenanted People, p.12.
18 MA The Enlarged Salem Covenant of 1636 (Much longer than the document it replaces [5], this covenant dwells on the values and commitments held in common). In: Colonial Origins, pp. 57-59.
7 MA The Watertown Covenant of July 30, 1630 (Strictly speaking a church covenant, it is also a political covenant because the settlers were establishing a theocracy). In: Colonial Origins, pp. 38-39.
Boston Half-Way Covenant 1660s | Salem Half-Way Covenant 1665 | Hartford Half-Way Covenant 1696

American covenants (civil)

(6) Mar 16: 3, [44], 6, 21,

3 MA Agreement Between the Settlers at New Plymouth (The Mayflower Compact), November 11, 1620 (The oldest and most famous colonial political covenant). In: Colonial Origins, pp. 31-32. | [in Hungarian]
44 CT Guilford Covenant, June 1, 1639 (Written aboard ship, this covenant forms a people who agree to later create a government (see the Government of Guilford [49])). In: Colonial Origins, p. 216.
6 MA Agreement of the Massachusetts Bay Company at Cambridge, England, August 26, 1629 (An equivalent of the Mayflower Compact but written by the colonists in England before they set sail). In: Colonial Origins, pp. 36-37.
21 MA Dedham Covenant, 1636 (The agreement that established Dedham's town government). In: Colonial Origins, pp. 68-69.

(7) Mar 23: [19, 20] + 32, 33, 42, 34, 1,

19 MA Plymouth Agreement, November 15, 1636 (A brief, powerful statement of popular sovereignty--inserted later into the Pilgrim Code of Law [20]). In: Colonial Origins, p. 60.
20 MA Pilgrim Code of Law, November 15, 1636 (Not really a code of law but a political covenant/compact that looks like and serves as a true constitution). In: Colonial Origins, pp. 61-67.
32 RI Providence Agreement, August 20, 1637 (A brief political compact resting on popular sovereignty, and the earliest colonial attempt to separate church and state). In: Colonial Origins, pp. 161-162.

33 RI˙Government of Pocasset, March 7, 1638 (The political covenant that established the Pocasset town government). In: Colonial Origins, pp. 163-164.

42 CT˙Plantation Covenant at Quinnipack, April 1638 (An interim agreement which, after fourteen months, was replaced by the New Haven Fundamentals [50]). In: Colonial Origins, p. 209.
34 RI Newport Agreement, April 28, 1639 (A brief, general compact establishing town government on the basis of popular sovereignty). In: Colonial Origins, p. 165.
1 NH Agreement of the Settlers at Exeter in New Hampshire, July 5, 1939 (The covenant that created Exeter's first town government). In: Colonial Origins, pp. 3-4.

(8) Apr 6: 43,

43 CT Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, January 14, 1639 (A constitution that defined Connecticut's political institutions as both a colony and a state until 1816). In: Colonial Origins, pp. 210-215.

(9) Apr 13: [44, 49],

44 CT Guilford Covenant, June 1, 1639 (Written aboard ship, this covenant forms a people who agree to later create a government (see the Government of Guilford [49])). In: Colonial Origins, p. 216.
49 CT The Government of Guilford, June 19, 1643 (The detailed political covenant these colonists had agreed to establish in the Guilford Covenant [44]). In: Colonial Origins, pp. 232-234.

(10) Apr 20: [35, 23],

35 RI The Government of Portsmouth, April 30, 1639 (An unusual foundation document in that town government is grounded on an implicit civil covenant). In: Colonial Origins, pp. 166-167.
23 MA The Combination of the Inhabitants upon the Piscataqua River for Government, October 22, 1641 (A political compact resting town government on popular sovereignty). In: Colonial Origins, pp. 88-89.

(11) Apr 27:

Recapitulation

(12) May 4:

Final Test

The Salem Village Church Covenant, 1689

Literature:

Champlin Burrage: The Church Covenant Idea. Its Origin and Its Development. Philadelphia: American Baptist Publication Society, 1904.
Delbert R. Hillers: Covenant. The History of a Biblical Idea. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press, 1969.
E. Brooks Holifield: The Covenant Sealed: The Development of Puritan Sacramental Theology in Old and New England, 1570-1720. New Haven and London: Yale UP, 1974.
P. De Jong: The Covenant Idea in New England Theology 1620-1847. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1945.
D. Elazar: "The Political Theory of Covenant: Biblical Origins and Modern Developments." Publius 10 (Fall 1980), 3-30.
Donald S. Lutz: "From Covenant to Constitution in American Political Thought." Publius 10 (Fall 1980), 101-133.
Donald S. Lutz: Documents of Political Foundation by Colonial Americans. Philadelphia: ISHI Press, 1986.
Donald S. Lutz: A Covenanted People. The Religious Tradition and the Origins of American Constitutionalism. The John Carter Brown Library: Providence, RI, 1987.
Donald S. Lutz: : The Origins of American Constitutionalism. Baton Rouge and London: Louisiana State UP, 1988.
Donald S. Lutz (edited, introductory essay): Colonial Origins of the American Constitution. A Documentary History. Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 1998.
Gordon M. Freeman: "The Process of Covenant." Publius 10 (Fall 1980), 71-81.
John F. A. Taylor: "Questions of Path and Questions of Covenant." Publius 10 (Fall 1980), 59-69.

End-term Test
»ANG2RG-1« American Colonial Documents (6): Covenants
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Write on a separate sheet. — Don't use your name - use a codeword.
Always give the number of the question. — Write legibly, please.
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1) What is Daniel Elazar's definition of covenant? (+10/-10pts)

2) What are Donald S. Lutz's foundation elements? (+5/-10pts)

3) What are the values laid down in the Mayflower Compact? (5pts)

4) What is the authority of the Pilgrim Code of Law based upon? (5pts)

5) Please comment on the following definitions of covenant in the OED: (5pts)

A "Applied to the engagement with God which is entered into by believers at their baptism, or admission into the visible church."

B "Applied especially to an engagement entered into by the Divine Being with some other being or persons."

C "The name given to certain bonds of agreement signed by the Scottish Presbyterians for the defence and furtherance of their religion and ecclesiastical polity."

D "The formal agreement made and subscribed by the members of a Congregational Church in order to constitute themselves a distinct religious society."

E "A mutual agreement between two or more persons to do or refrain from doing certain acts."

6) Please elaborate on Winthrop's sentence: (5pts)

"We are entered into a Covenant with Him for this work."

7) Please comment in detail on the following document. Can you identify it? (7:3pts)

We, the associates of New-Plymouth Coming hither as freeborn subjects of the State of England endowed with all and singular the privileges belonging to such being assembled; doe ordaine Constitute and enact that noe act imposition law or ordinance be made or imposed upon us at Present, or to come but such as shall be imposed by Consent of the body of associates or their representatives legally assembled; which is according to the free liberties of England.

8) Please define and analyse the following text: (10pts)

We solemnly covenant with each other, in the presence of Almighty God: To walk together in all Gods wayes and ordinances, according to as he had already revealed, or shall further make them known to us.

9) Assuming that the Hungarian Covenant of Blood is a covenant, where in it — which part of it — is the definition of the community/people? (5pts)

10) Does the following text create a civil or a church community? Can you identify the document? (5:5pts)

We whose names are hereunder written, intending by God's gracious permission to plant ourselves in New England, and, if it may be, in the southerly part about Quinnipiack, we do faithfully promise each to each, for ourselves and our families, and those that belong to us, that we will, the Lord assisting us, sit down and join ourselves together in one entire plantation, and to be helpful each to the other in any common work, according to every man's ability and as need shall require;... As for our gathering together in a church way, and the choice of officers and members to be joined together in that way, we do refer ourselves until such time as it shall please God to settle us in our plantation.

11) Please comment on the following development of foundation documents. Why is it a line of development? Give examples. (6:4pts)

charters ==> church covenants ==> civil covenants ==> compacts

12) Elaborate on the implications of compacts referring for authority a) to the King b) to the rights of Englishmen c) to neither? Give examples. (5:5pts)

13) What is the usual structure of the government defined in the institutional sections of some of the documents we have discussed? Which are these documents? (4:6pts)

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(0-40=1; 41-50=2; 51-70=3; 71-85=4; 86-100=5)