On November 11, 1620, forty-one men aboard the ship the Mayflower signed a document of great importance. With their signatures they vowed to create fair and just laws and to work together for the good of the Plymouth colony. This document, the Mayflower Compact, was the first to outline self-governance in the so called “New World” and it would go on to serve as a foundation for both the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution. Our government was practically built upon the Mayflower Compact signed by those men. But not all of them would uphold the vows they made that day. One in particular, John Billington, would go so far against them as to become the first convicted murderer in American history. In the words of Governor William Bradford “He is a knave, and so will live and die.” But it wasn’t just John Sr., his whole family wreaked havoc on the colony, prompting Bradford to call them “one of the profanest families amongst them.” Join me this week to learn more about John Billington, the murderer on the Mayflower.

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Sources:

• "History of Plimoth Plantation" by William Bradford (1630)
• "Mourt's Relation: A Journal of the Pilgrims at Plymouth" by Edward Winslow (1622)
• Mayflower 400 "The Mayflower Story"
• New England Historical Society "John Billington Gets Lost"
• History.com "Who Was the First Convicted Murderer in America"
• The Mayflower Society "The Billington Family"
• Mayflower 400 "America's first murderer was executed for killing fellow Plymouth settler"
• Wikipedia "John Billington"

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