laws of new plymouth

8/12/2019 Laws of New Plymouth

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T H E B O O K O F T H E G E N E R A L

L A W S

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The Inhabitants of New-Plimouth Colony

By 1685, the Plymouth settlement had grown from 100 to nearly 7,000

inhabita nts, and law s w ere enacted to help govern public and private behavior.

In New H aven, C onnecticut law s similar t o these w ere printed on b lue paper

and w ere subsequently know n as blue law s. Examples of blue law s include

closing stores or restricting the sale of some items on Sundays, and in some

American communities these law s continue to be in effect.

T H I N K T H R O U G H H I S T O R Y : Form ing an d Sup po rt ing Opin ions

D o these laws reflect values that were im portant to the P uritans? If so, w hat valuesappear to be important?

C H I L D R E NS ED U C A T I O N

Forasmuch as the good Educati on of Chi ldr en and You th is of singular use

and benefi t t o any Common wealth ; and whereas many Parents and M asters

eit her thr ough an over-respect t o t heir ow n O ccasions and Business, or nor

duely considering the good of their Chi ldr en and Servant s, have too much

neglected t heir D uti es in their Education whil est they are young and capable of

L earning.It is Ord ered; That the Select men of every Tow n, sha ll have a vigilan t Eye

from t ime to time over their Brethren a nd N eighbours, to see that all Pa rents

and M asters do duely endeavour by themselves or ot hers, to teach their

C hildren and Servants as they grow capab le, so much Learning a s through the

blessing of G od t hey may a tta in; at least to be able duely to read the Scriptures,

and other profitable Books Printed in the EnglishTongue; and the know ledge of

the Capital Laws; and in some competent measure, the main Grounds and

Principles of Ch ristian Religion, necessary to Salvation; by causing them to learn

some orthodox C atechisme w ithout book, or o therw ayes instructing them, a s

they may be ab le to give a due answ er to such plain and ordinary questions as

may by th em or others be propound ed to them concerning the same. Andfurther, that a ll Parents and M asters do breed and bring up their C hildren and

Apprentices in some honest lawful Calling and Imployment, that may be

profitable for th emselves and t he Country. And if aft er Warning a nd

Admonition given by any of the Select M en unto such Parents or M asters, they


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FROM THE BOO K OF THE GENERAL LAWS

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shall full remain negligent in their duty, in any of the particulars

aforementioned, whereby Children or Servants may be in danger to grow

Barb aro us, Rude and Stubborn, a nd to prove Pests in stead of B lessings to the

Co untry; That then a Fine of ten shil li ngsshall be Levyed on the G oo ds of such

Negligent Pa rent or M aster to the Tow ns use, except extream po verty ca ll for a

M itigation of the Fine. And if in three M onths af ter that, t here be no due Care

taken, an d continued for th e Educatio n of such C hildren and Apprentices as

afo resaid, t hen a Fine of tw enty shill ingsto be Levyed on such D elinquents to

the Tow ns use; except a s afo resaid. And lastly, if in three M onths a fter that ,

their be no R eformation of t he said N eglect, then the Select M en, w ith the

Advice of tw o M agistrates shall put such C hildren to Apprentice; Bo yes till they

come to twenty-one, a nd G irls eighteen years of Age, w here they may b e

Educated according to the Rules of this Order.

IN D I A N S

It is Ordered by t his C ourt and Authority thereof; tha t no Indianw hich shalldw ell or come into o ur Jurisdiction, shall presume at any time to Pawwawo r

perform o utw ard Worship to the D evil, or other false G od, under the penalty of

five pounds, or severe Co rporal punishment, b oth of said Pawwawand of such

other a s shall procure or abett him therein.

And that no Indianshall resort to a ny Englishhouse on the Lords da y,

especially w hen any of the People thereof a re gone to M eeting, unless upon

extraordinary occasion, under the penalty of ten shil li ngsor Co rporal

punishment by Whipping, as the mat ter may b e circumsta nced; a nd tha t no

Indianunder the like penalty, prophane the Lords d ay, by H unting, Fishing,

Fow ling, Travelling w ith Burthens, or do ing any servile w ork thereon.

And fo rasmuch at sundr y Burglari es, Theft s and other M ischiefs and Inju ri eshave been by sundr yIndians in the night; for prevention whereof;

It is Ordered by this Court, &c. That no Indiano r Indiansshall walk about in

the N ight w ithout necessary occasion, especially at unseasona ble Times thereof,

under the pain of being Convicted thereby, at least as one Evidence of his or

their being guilty o f a ny such mischief or injuries as ma y ha ppen to be done or

committed in such Night, unless such Indiano r Indianscan rationally clear

themselves th ereof .

It is O rdered b y this C ourt, That w hosoever shall sell or give, directly or

indirectly any Arms, as Guns, Sword, Pistols, &c. unto any Indiansw ithout

License first obt ained from the G eneral C ourt sha ll forfeit five times the value

thereof; a nd w hosoever shall lend a ny G un to a rt Indian, or sell any Pow der,Shot or Lead to them, shall forfeit tw ice the value thereof, if such person ha ve

not f irst ob tained Licence of some one of the M agistrates who are hereby

impow ered to give Licence to a ny Englishto lend a G un for a Mo nth or two in a

Year, and to sell some small quantity of Powder and Shot, not exceeding half a


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shall fo r every Tra nsgression pa y fi ve shil li ngsfine to the Town, or sit in the

Stocks, not exceeding two hours.

It is Ordered by this Court and the Authority thereof, That in no case shall

any P erson Trava il further on a Sabbat h D ay t han f rom the place w here he lay

the Night b efore to the next Tow n on his wa y, no r shall he have liberty, unless

it be w here there is no allow ed Meeting in said Tow n, Bona fide, to go to the

M eeting that is at the next Town, and so order it as to b e there before the

beginning of the Morning Exercise: and if any person shall presume to Travail

on the Sabba th, fro m the place he took up his Lodging on the SaturdayN ight,

unless, a s aforesaid, or shall pass through the next Tow n before the Sabb at h be

ended, he shall be proceeded w ith for Breach o f Sabba th, a s is by La w

provided, unless it appear it ha th been in case of Life and D eath, or that he hath

a Licence from some M agistrate or o ne of the Selectmen of the Tow n; a nd it

shall be law ful for the Co nstable or any o ther person to stop a nd bring before

Authority a ny person suspected for the Breach of this Law : a nd if a ny person

hath obtained a Licence to Travail by a false pretence, he shall any time in a

tw elve Mon th be liable to be apprehended a nd punisht for his Breach of

Sabbath, a nd ten shil li ngsbesides, as a fine to t he Tow n.

Ord ered, That in Tow ns, Villages or ot her Places, if a ny Person or Persons

shall be found Walking or Riding about the Town, or Visiting of the

Neighbours, or upon an y other occasion from t heir ow n Families, or place of

abo de on the Sabba th D ay, unless it appear it w as upon account of some Act of

Piety, M ercy or N ecessity, such persons so off ending shall be proceeded w ith a s

Sabbath-Breakers.

Source: The Book of t he General L aws of t he I nhabitants of t he Jur isdicti on ofN ew-Plimouthby The Inhabitant s of N ew-Plimouth C olony, 1672 & 1685.Reprinted in The Laws of t he Pilgrims(Wilmington, D elaw are: M ichaelG lazier, Inc., 1977), pp. 1213, 3739, 5658.


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T H I N K T H R O U G H H I S TO R Y : A N S WE R

Students wi ll probably answer that these laws reflect the values of the P uritans.

(H istorians differ about whether laws reflect existing social behavior or are created in

order to impose new forms of behavior. In either case, they do reflect values, if not

always widely held values.) If they argue that these laws reflect the values of the

Puritans, they may define those values as: social order, gainful employment, the

spread and strengthening of Christianity, and restricting Native A mericans. Specif ic

examples could include the following. For social order: the laws requiring sufficient

education for children and servants to understand the law, and the penalty levied

against those who allow children and servants to grow B arbarous, R ude and

Stubborn ; the law restricting movement and activities on the Sabbath. For gainful

employment: the law requiring all children be educated in a trade that will prove

profitable for themselves and the Country. For the spread and strengthening of

C hristianity: the laws restricting movements and activ ities on the Sabbath; the laws

requiring all children and servants to be sufficiently educated to read and understand

the Bible. For restricting Native A mericans: the many laws restricting their

movements, their access to transportation (horses, boats), and their interactions

wi th Puritans.

laws of new plymouth

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