Beth Nolan
10/23/2000
Early New England History
Mr. Smith

The family unit is the core element of life in early New England, according to Demos’s studies of the Pilgrims and early settlers in his work, “A Little Commonwealth”. The basic family units were what made up the colony, and their beliefs, social structure, and way of life all reflected this. The relationship between husbands and wives in Plymouth Colony during the 17th Century is a prime example of the differences in the treatment of women compared to men, even to this day. The children of early New England were raised to be like their parents, and their lives omitted the ideas of modern day adolescence. Families in Plymouth colony made up the community, and their participations and roles all directly contributed to way of life during the earliest years.

The institution of marriage was one of the most important and sacred aspects of life in early Plymouth. John Robinson explained the framework for the relationship of a married couple, explaining that the husband’s love for his wife must be “like Christ’s to his church: holy for quality, and great for quantity” (p.91). The church and courts were the authorities on matters in the community, and if the relationship became serious in cases such as abuse and adultery, they would intervene. These cases and the negative evidence are largely what was recorded so there is more knowledge of certain cases compared to the majority: the more common ideal and harmonious marriages in Plymouth. Women were not allowed to become members of society during this time, and did not have the right to vote or let their opinions be heard. Demos describes their position and the overall view of their sex. “The world of public affairs was nowhere open to women—in Plymouth only males were eligible to become “freemen.”” (p. 82). Only males signed the Mayflower Compact and had a say in how the colony was run. Women were considered morally weak in character and thus not included in politics and the decision making process of the society. They instead were expected to help their husbands, raise their children, and help to run the household. The relationship between husbands and wives was perhaps the most important type of relationship during this time, and it dramatically influenced the community and every day life of the people of Plymouth.

The children of Plymouth were strictly raised in the Pilgrim society to become miniatures of their parents. Their relationships with their parents and siblings can be described as close; physical living space was very limited and caused large families to crowd in to small cottages and there was a complete lack of privacy. It was common for a married couple to have a childbearing pattern of “roughly two years” (p.133), and so children always had siblings of various ages from infants wailing in the cradle to an older sibling already married in an average family. This automatically prepares children for society from the time when they are very young, and there is no noticeable transition period of “growing up”. Often the parents would “put out” their child into a foster family for the child’s benefit and their own so that the child could learn a trade and not become too emotionally attached to their own parents. Demos discusses that “…material bearing on the same aspect of development comes from the contracts of apprenticeship” (p.140). Their parents and the community raised them to be a moral citizen in Plymouth and this was carried on by these future generations in New England for many years.

The interaction of the families within the community made it possible for the colony to be formed in the first place. Their involvement with the church and belief in their religion brought them to Plymouth to live as one. Religion was the center of their community, and literally “the meetinghouse [was] strategically placed so as to dominate the entire village” (p.13). The courts and early politics were intertwined with the church, and the meeting place was usually used for both worshipping and meeting. The community and the family worked together to accomplish the same goals. “Family and community, private and public life, formed part of the same moral equation. The one supported the other, and they became in a sense indistinguishable” (p.186). The family unit was a part of the greater whole and together they were able to help each other grow.

The element of the family is vitally important to Plymouth Colony and all of early New England because, truly, the community is a family; all people that make it up have responsibilities and work together, laugh together, and cry together. The “experiment” of the early Pilgrim and Puritan colonies set out to live in an ideal community of Christianity. The early New England settlers did just that, and the families and communities all lived together—- as one man.

Works Cited:
Demos' "A Little Commonwealth".