[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 193 (Wednesday, December 6, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2299]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   THE FIRST LANDING OF THE PILGRIMS

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                          HON. GERRY E. STUDDS

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 6, 1995

  Mr. STUDDS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the town of 
Provincetown, MA, which last week celebrated the 375th anniversary of 
the first landing of the Pilgrims and the signing of the Mayflower 
Compact, our Nation's first formal governing document.
  Unfortunately, since our current Government is not as efficient as 
the compact, the interim resolution of the Federal budget impasse kept 
me in Washington. We all know, however, there is no more appropriate 
place to celebrate the Thanksgiving season than in Provincetown, the 
community in which the Pilgrims laid the foundation for democracy in 
this Nation.
  The historic significance of the first landing and the Mayflower 
Compact cannot be overstated. Provincetown is where the Pilgrims first 
landed on November 21, 1620, after their long and arduous journey 
across the Atlantic. While anchored in Province Town Harbor, 41 of the 
Pilgrims signed the Mayflower Compact, creating a self-governing 
colony.
  The Mayflower Compact renounced European aristocracy and created many 
of the tenets of freedom that we enjoy today. It was the foundation for 
both the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.
  The compact was modeled after a Separatist church covenant by which 
the signatories agreed to establish a civil government and to be bound 
by its laws. President John Quincy Adams called the document the first 
example in modern times of a social compact or system of government 
instituted by voluntary agreement conformable to the laws of nature, by 
men of equal rights and about to establish their community in a new 
country.
  The Pilgrims were hardy people whose perseverance characterized New 
Englanders for generations to come. After their 66-day, cross-Atlantic 
passage, with little space or sanitary facilities, they faced harsh 
winters without proper shelter or clothing. In their first year in the 
New World, they lost half of their community to illness. Yet they 
endured. Their labors spawned a thriving colony that became modern 
America.
  Many local families brought that spirit alive when they participated 
in a reenactment of the first landing on the beach--dressed in Pilgrim 
garb--to help dedicate a new town park. After a free concert by a 19-
piece U.S. Navy jazz band, more than 5,000 holiday lights were turned 
on to illuminate the Pilgrim monument.
  It could be said that the Pilgrims, who fled persecution in Europe, 
were the first ``washashores''--coming here in search of opportunity to 
pursue their livelihoods and dreams. Once ashore, one of their first 
tasks was to scour the province lands for reliable sources of clean, 
drinkable water. Some things never change. Just ask the Bradfords or 
the Brewsters, whose streets we will walk today, or pause to watch our 
children play on the sand on which the Pilgrims washed ashore.
  Mr. Speaker, it is with special pleasure as a resident of this 
vibrant community that I join in commending all those who have helped 
organize the ambitious celebration.
  Provincetown has always been a harbor of refuge, for fishermen 
seeking shelter from rough seas, and for those of us over the last 375 
years who have sought to live our lives as we see fit in a most 
remarkable community. It is only in honoring our history that we can 
fully appreciate how extraordinary this place is, how it continue to 
harbor our homes and vesels, our individualism and diversity--and the 
fundamental value each of us places on mutual respect.

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