Part 2

When on the 4th of March 1628/9, Charles, “by the grace of God, Kinge of England, Scotland, Fraunce, and Ireland, Defender of the Fayth, &c. in the fourth yeare of our raigne” did by letters patent grant unto Sir Henry Rosewell and his twenty-five associates, their heirs and assigns forever, all that certain part of the grant of New England which his “deare and royall father, Kinge James of blessed memory ... hath given and graunted vnto the Counsell established at Plymouth in the County of Devon” and which the said Council by deed dated the 19th of March, 1627/8, had “given, graunted, bargained, soulde, enfeoffed, aliened and confirmed” to Sir Henry Rosewell, Sir John Young, Knightes, Thomas Southcott, John Humphrey, John Endecott and Symon Whetcombe, their heirs and associates forever, “To be houlden of vs our heires and successors, as of our manor of Eastgreenewich, in the County of Kent, within our realme of England,” under the name of the “Governor and Company of the Mattachusetts Bay in Newe England, one bodie politique and corporate in deede, fact, and name, ... and that by that name they shall have perpetuall succession,”—may acquire lands, &c. have a common seal; and that there shall be one Governor, one Deputy Governor, and eighteen assistants to be chosen out of the freemen. He went farther, and constituted “our welbeloved Mathewe Cradocke to be the first and present Governor; Thomas Goffe to be Deputy Governor, and eighteen of the other associates to be Assistants, who before they undertake the execution of their offices and places shall respectively take their corporal oaths for the faithful performance of their duties.” The Oath for Matthew Craddock, as Governor, to be administered by a Master of the Chancery, the Governor was then empowered to administer the oaths to the Deputy Governor and Assistants nominated in the Charter. Oaths to subsequent officers being arranged: the new Governor to take the Oath before the old Deputy Governor, or two Assistants; and the new Deputy Governor, Assistants and all other officers hereafter chosen to take the oath before the Governor for the time being. They were empowered to transport any of our loving subjects, or any strangers willing to become our loving subjects, and any seven at least of their number had “full power and authoritie to choose, nominate, and appointe such and soe many others as they shall thinke fitt, and that shall be willing to accept the same, to be free of the said Company and Body, and Them into the same to admitt.” All subjects inhabiting the lands granted, and their children “which shall happen to be borne there, or on the seas in goeing thither, or retorning from thence shall have and enjoy all liberties and immunities of free and natural subjects, ... as yf they and everie of them were borne within the realme of England.” And the Governor and Deputy Governor, and any two or more of the Assistants, at any of their Courts or Assemblys shall and may at all times have full power to give the Oath of Office and Oaths of Supremacy and Allegiance, or either of them, to every person who may go to New England to inhabit in the same. They were also authorized to make “the formes of such Oathes warrantable by the lawes and statutes of this our realme of England as shalbe respectivelie ministered vnto them, for the execuc̄on of the said severall offices and places ... and ministring the said oathes to the newe elected officers.”

At the end of the Charter appeared the Oath of Governor:

PRÆDICT, Matthaeus Cradocke Juratus est de Fide et Obedientiâ Regi et Successoribus suis, et de Debitâ Exequutione Officij Gubernatoris iuxta Tenorem P^r sentium, 18^o Martij, 1628. Coram me, Carola Cæsare, Milite, in Cancellariâ Mr̃o.

Char. Cæsar.

By this Charter, under the privy seal of Cardinal Wolseley, was, unwittingly, planted the seed of the fairest flower that ever bloomed in the garden of colonization since Eden.

Up to August, 1630, the business of the Massachusetts-Bay Company was transacted in London. But the business of the Massachusetts-Bay Colony may be said to have really begun in May, 1631.

At “A Gen^rall Court holden att Boston, the 18th day of May, 1631. John Winthrop, Esq̃ was chosen Goun^r for a whole yeare nexte ensueinge by the gen^rall consent of the Court, according to the meaneing of the pattent, and did accordingly take an oathe to the place of Goun̄^r belonginge.”

“Tho: Dudley, Esq̃, is also chosen Deputy Gouñ^r for this yeare nexte ensuing, & did in p^rsence of the Court take an oath to his place belonginge.” And “to the end the body of the com̄ons may be p^rserued of honest & good men, it was likewise ordered and agreed that for time to come noe man shalbe admitted to the freedome of this body polliticke, but such as are members of some of the churches within the lymitts of the same.”

The Law that all freemen must be church members, while assented to in Salem in 1631, was modified in 1632, probably for local reasons, that no civil magistrate could be an elder in the church.

To give force to this law an Oath of Freemen was required, and this service the newly appointed Governor and the Deputy Governor elected to perform. The result of their labors, the original draft of the Oath of a Freeman, in the handwriting of the first and greatest of the Governors of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and the Oath of a Servant, in the handwriting of the second Governor—a document perhaps only surpassed in historical interest and importance by, and worthy to rank with, the Declaration of Independence—is now, appropriately, in the possession of the Public Library of the City of Boston, and its preservation assured.

Through the courtesy of the Trustees, this Society is permitted again to give publicity to the excellent facsimiles of these interesting documents, together with transcriptions of the somewhat obscure handwriting, with interlineations and cancelled words showing, line for line, the changes made by the authors, which first appeared in the _Bulletin_ of the Library for July, 1894.

THE OATH OF A FREEMAN, OR OF A MAN TO BE MADE FFREE.

I, A. B. &c. being, by the Almighties most wise disposic̄on, become a memb^r of this body, consisting of the Goūn^r, Deputy Goūn^r, Assistants, & a com^nlty of the Mattachusets in Newe England, doe, freely & sincerely acknowledge that I am iustly & lawfully subject to the goūm^t of the same, & doe accordingly submitt my pson & estate to be ptected, ordered, & goūned by the lawes & constituc̄ons thereof, & doe faithfully pmise to be from time to time obedient & conformeable therevnto, & to the authie of the said Goūn^r & Assistants & their success^rs, & to all such lawes, orders, sentences, & decrees as shalbe lawfully made & published by them or their successors; and I will alwaies indeav^r (as in dutie I am bound) to advance the peace & wellfaire of this bodie or com̄onwealth to my vtmost skill & abilitie; & I will, to my best power & meanes, seeke to devert & prevent whatsoeuer may tend to the ruyne or damage thereof, or of any the said Goūn^r, Deputy Goūn^r, or Assistants, or any of them, or their success^rs, and will giue speedy notice to them, or some of them, of any sedic̄on, violence, treachery, or other hurt or euill which I shall knowe, heare, or vehem^tly suspecte to be plotted or intended against the said com̄onwealth, or the said goum^t established; and I will not att any time suffer or giue consent to any counsell or attempt that shalbe offered giuen, or attempted for the impeachm^t of the said goūm^t, or makeing any change or alterac̄on of the same, contrary to the lawes & ordinances thereof, but shall doe my vtmost endeav^r to discover, oppose, & hinder, all & eūy such counsell & attempts. Soe helpe me God. [1631.]

* * * * *

Att a Gen^rall Court, holden att Newe Towne [Cambridge]. March 4th, 1634.

It is further ordered that eūy man of or above the age of sixteene yeares, whoe hath bene, or shall hereafter be, resident within this iurisdicc̄on by the space of sixe monethes, (as well servants as others,) & not infranchized, shall take the oath of residents before the Goūn^r, Deputy Goūn^r, or two of the nexte Assistants, whoe shall haue power to convent him for that purpose, & vpon his refuseall, to binde him ouer to the nexte Court of Assistants, & vpon his refuseall the second tyme, to be punished att the discrec̄on of the Court.

It is ordered that the ffreemens oath shalbe gyven to eūy man of or above the age of 16 yeares, the clause for the elecc̄on of magistrates onely excepted.

* * * * *

At A Court holden att Boston, Aprill 1th, 1634.

It was further ordered, that eūy man of or above the age of twenty yeares, whoe hath bene or shall hereafter be resident within this jurisdicc̄on by the space of sixe monethes, as an householder or soiorner, and not infranchised, shall take the oath herevnder written, before the Goūn^r, or Deputy Goūn^r, or some two of the nexte Assistants, whoe shall haue power to convent him for that purpose, and vpon his refuseall, to binde him ouer to the nexte Court of Assistants; and vpon his refuseall the second tyme, hee shalbe banished, except the Court shall see cause to giue him further respite.

THE OATH OF RESIDENTS

I doe heare sweare, and call God to witnes, that, being nowe an inhabitant within the lymitts of this juridicc̄on of the Massachusetts, I doe acknowledge myselfe lawfully subject to the aucthoritie and gouerm^t there established, and doe accordingly submitt my pson, family, and estate, to be ptected, ordered, & gouerned by the lawes & constituc̄ons thereof, and doe faithfully pmise to be from time to time obedient and conformeable therevnto, and to the aucthoritie of the Goūn^r, and all other the Magistrates there, and their success^rs, and to all such lawes, orders, sentences, & decrees, as nowe are or hereafter shalbe lawfully made, decreed, & published by them or their success^rs. And I will alwayes indeav^r (as in duty I am bound) to advance the peace & wellfaire of this body pollitique, and I will (to my best power & meanes) seeke to devert & prevent whatsoeuer may tende to the ruine or damage thereof, or of y^e Goūn^r, Deputy Goūn^r, or Assistants, or any of them or their success^{rs}, and will giue speedy notice to them, or some of them, of any sedic̄on, violence, treacherie, or oth^r hurte or euill w^{ch} I shall knowe, heare, or vehemently suspect to be plotted or intended against them or any of them, or against the said Com̄on-wealth or goum^t established. Soe helpe mee God. [1634.]

* * * * *

Att a Gen^rall Courte, holden att Boston, May 14th, 1634.

It was agreed & ordered, that the former oath of ffreemen shalbe revoked, soe farr as it is dissonant from the oath of ffreemen herevnder written, & that those that receaved the former oath shall stand bound noe further thereby, to any intent or purpose, then this newe oath tyes those that nowe takes y^e same.

THE OATH OF A FREEMAN

I, A. B., being, by Gods providence, an inhabitant & ffreeman within the jurisdicc̄on of this com̄onweale, doe freely acknowledge my selfe to be subiect to the goverm^t thereof, & therefore doe heere sweare, by the greate & dreadfull name of the euerlyveing God, that I wilbe true & faithfull to the same, & will accordingly yeilde assistance & support therevnto, with my pson & estate, as in equity I am bound, & will also truely indeav^r to mainetaine & preserue all the libertyes & previlidges thereof, submitting my selfe to the wholesome lawes & orders made & established by the same; and furth^r, that I will not plott nor practise any evill against it, nor consent to any that shall soe doe, but will timely discover & reveale the same to lawfull aucthority nowe here established, for the speedy preventing thereof. Moreouer, I doe solemnely binde myselfe, in the sight of God, that when I shalbe called to giue my voice touching any such matter of this state, wherein ffreemen are to deale I will giue my vote & suffrage, as I shall iudge in myne owne conscience may best conduce & tend to the publique weale of the body, without respect of psons, or fav^r of any man. Soe helpe mee God in the Lord Jesus Christ. [1634.]

Further, it is agreed that none but the Gen̄ all Court hath power to chuse and admitt freemen.

The text of the Oath given above is that given in the body of the Colony Records, in the handwriting of Simon Bradstreet, the Secretary, and differs only in the spelling of words from that of the transcriber (who may have been Secretary Bradstreet himself) of the copy in the Miscellaneous Records, which were transferred by the Compiler from their regular order to the end of the first volume of the Records at page 354.

THE OATH OF A FREE-MAN

I (A. B.) being by Gods providence an Inhabitant, and Freeman, within the Jurisdiction of this Commonwealth; do freely acknowledge my self to be subject to the Government thereof: And therefore do here swear by the great and dreadful Name of the Ever-living God, that _I_ will be true and faithfull to the same, and will accordingly yield assistance & support thereunto, with my person and estate, as in equity _I_ am bound; and will also truly endeavour to maintain and preserve all the liberties and priviledges thereof, submitting my self to the wholesome Lawes & Orders made and established by the same. And further that _I_ will not plot or practice any evill against it, or consent to any that shall so do; but will timely discover and reveal the same to lawfull Authority now here established, for the speedy preventing thereof. Moreover, _I_ doe solemnly bind my self in the sight of God, that when _I_ shal be called to give my voyce touching any such matter of this State, in which Freemen are to deal, _I_ will give my vote and suffrage as _I_ shall judge in mine own conscience may best conduce and tend to the publike weal of the body, without respect of persons, or favour of any man. So help me God in the Lord Jesus Christ. [1634.] From the copy given in John Childe’s “New-Englands Jonas cast up at London.” (London, 1647), which the preface states was printed in Massachusetts-Bay, by itself.

To this form of The Oath of a Free man attaches the great additional interest of being the first work printed in the United States of America.

Under date of Mo. 1. (March, 1638/9) John Winthrop’s Journal states: “A printing house was begun at Cambridge by one Daye, at the charge of Mr. Glover, who died on sea hitherward. The first thing which was printed was the freemen’s oath; the next was an almanac made for New England by Mr. William Peirce, mariner; the next was the Psalms newly turned into metre.”

For nearly three hundred years no copy of this printed paper has been known to be extant. The ceaseless search for a copy in this country by antiquarians, bibliographers and historians would long ago have been successful, if even a single copy had been preserved in either the institutions of the State, or Nation, or in individual or family possession.

It would be difficult to exaggerate the patriotic feeling of our people, if it were known that a copy of this interesting and valuable state paper, the first fruit of the printing-press in this country, whose ringing sentences of freedom preceded by nearly a century and a half the Declaration of Independence, had been discovered at this late day.

Fully a quarter of a century ago, while engaged in making a search for early printed American publications in the Catalogue of printed books in the British Museum—a great and monumental work, worthy in its scholarly completeness of the Government which fostered its publication, and of inestimable importance and benefit to scholars in every land—the following entry under the heading “Freeman” seemed to me to warrant more than passing observation and curiosity which the intervening years have failed to satisfy:

—The Oath of a Freeman. B. L. [_London_, 1645?] _s. sh._ 12º. 11,626. aa. (1, 2.)

An analysis of this entry seems to show points of resemblance following closely the known facts regarding the first work printed in this country.

The title is the one given by John Childe presumably from the earliest printed copy in his possession. The abbreviated title, freemen’s oath, as given by John Winthrop, first appearing in the Code of 1648, which seems to justify the belief that Winthrop wrote his Journal some years after the press was established.

The letters B. L. indicate that the printed text is in black-letter. While there is no evidence of the number and kinds of fonts of type purchased for the first press by Joseph Glover, there is an itemized statement of the number and names of the fonts of type for the second press sent over later by the Society for Propagating the Gospel among the Indians in New England, for printing the Bible in the Indian language, and among them is a small font of “blacks,” i.e. black-letter, which would indicate that a small font of that letter was generally considered a part of the equipment of a printing-office of the period. Even if this was not so, on the good authority of Isaiah Thomas, the type used in printing the Bay Psalm Book, of 1640, was “small bodied English,” a type commonly used for works in quarto and folio, which approximates in size to black-letter, but without the ceriphs, or fine projecting points of that letter. It is not unreasonable to suppose that a cataloguer might, hastily, consider the thickly inked, heavy press-work we find in the Bay Psalm Book, under the same conditions in a somewhat crudely printed sheet, to be black-letter printing.

The brackets enclosing the imprint indicate that the place and date given do not appear on the printed sheet, but are the personal judgment of the cataloguer regarding them. Having already determined the printing to be in black-letter English, it naturally follows in his judgment that the place of printing is London. His guess of the year, 1645, which he queries, is a close one; but is open to the criticism that an Oath of a Freeman could never have been printed or exacted in England during the reign of Charles the First. Ten years later, under Cromwellian rule, it might have been done. But the only place on earth it could have been printed and exacted without imprisonment, in 1645, was in the freemen’s Colony of Massachusetts-Bay.