Chapter I: A: B: &c: =beinge= beinge by the Allmightyes most wise

despositiō become a member of this bodye consisting of the
Governor +Deputye+ Assistants & Com̄onalty of the
Mattachusetts in n: e: doe freely & sincerely acknowledge that I
am iustlye & lawfully subiect to the Goverment =there= of
the same +=both Civill & Ecclesiasticall=+ & doe
accordingly submitt my ꝑson & estate to be protected ordered &
governed by the Lawes & Constitutns therof: & doe faithfully
promise to be from tyme to tyme obedient & conformable therevnto,
& to the Authe of the sd Governor & Assistants & their successors,
& to all such Lawes orders sentences & decrees as shalbe
+lawfully+ made & published by them or their successors.
And I will allwayes endeavo^r (as in dutye I am bounde) to advance
the peace & wellfare of this bodye or Com: w: to my vttmost
=power= +skill & ability.+ =&= And I
will to my =vtmost power= best =ability= power &
meanes seeke to deverte & prevent whatsoever may tende to the
ruyne or damage thereof or of any the sd Governor Deputy Governor
=&= +or+ Assistants or any of them or their
successors: & will give spedye notice to them or some of them of
any =evill= seditiō, violence, treacherye or other hurt
or evill, wch I shall knowe, heare, or vehemently suspecte to be
=intended or= plotted or intended ag^t them =sd=
or ag^t the said =Goverment= Com: w: or the sd Goverm̄
established:

And I will not at any tyme suffer or give Consent to any
Counsell or Attempt that shalbe offered =or= given or
Attempted for the impeachment of the sd Goverment or makinge
any change or Alteratiō of the same, contrary to the Lawes &
=Customes= ordinances =of the same= thereof,
but shall doe my vtmost endeavo^r to discover & oppose & hīer
all & everye such Counsells]

* * * * *

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.

FAC-SIMILE OF ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT RECORD

In the Handwriting of Secretary Simon Bradstreet
last Colonial Governor of Massachusetts Bay]

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.

In this connection it may be well to observe, as a further illustration that Governor Winthrop wrote his Journal years later than the events he records, that his date of 1638/9, should be one year later, for the date of the half-sheet almanac by William Peirce, mariner. Following Winthrop, if the almanac was calculated for the year beginning in March, 1639, it would suppose its printing sometime before the 25th of March, or in the Julian year 1638. This would leave nearly a whole year during which no other printing was done. If the almanac was calculated for the year beginning in March, 1640—the year the Bay Psalm Book is dated—then it would suppose the Oath, and the Almanac, printed in the eleventh or twelfth months of the Julian year 1639, which is more probable. Isaiah Thomas, writing in 1810, leaves this question in doubt by not stating whether his January, 1639, refers to the Julian, or the Gregorian Calendar.

To continue our analysis: The format, and size, agrees with the known facts that the Oath was printed “on the face of a half sheet of small paper.” The shelf-mark indicates the permanent place on the shelves of the Library.

The singular appearance of the only known copy of this important and interesting document in the Colonial history of New England, nearly three hundred years after its printing, so far from its place of publication, calls for explanation, which is apparently furnished in a work published in London, in April, 1647, entitled: “New-Englands Jonas cast up at London.” On the title-page it purports to be written by Major John Childe, a brother of Doctor Robert Childe, of Hingham, who was detained by order of the General Court of Massachusetts-Bay; but according to William Hubbard, in his History, and affirmed by John Winthrop, in his Journal, the real author of everything, except the Preface, was William Vassall.

FAC-SIMILE OF ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT
in the Handwriting of Thomas Dudley,
in the Public Library of the City of Boston

Issued with Bulletin, July, 1894]

FAC-SIMILE OF ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT
in the Handwriting of Thomas Dudley,
in the Public Library of the City of Boston

Issued with Bulletin, July, 1894]

FAC-SIMILE OF ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT
in the Handwriting of John Winthrop,
in the Public Library of the City of Boston

Issued with Bulletin, July, 1894]

Its odd title was suggested by a remark made by the Reverend John Cotton, in a Thursday-Lecture, preached November 5, 1646, just previous to the departure of the vessel which was carrying back to England some of the dissatisfied signers of a Petition to the General Court, who rumor gave were taking with them this and other incriminating documents against the Government of the Colony. The learned preacher took for his text, Canticles, II: 15. “Take us the foxes, the little foxes, which destroy the vines,” and made pointed allusions to the current rumors, and the punishment which their acts would receive in a stormy voyage, and how it could be averted. But later we shall let Vassall tell the story in his own words. The effect upon his hearers was so great that some who had engaged passage withdrew rather than risk the dangers of a stormy voyage in the winter season.

After a brief summary of the reasons for publication the Preface states that the Relation is made up of the following particulars:

First, the Petition of the greater part of the Inhabitants of
Hingham, and the proceedings therein.

Secondly, a Petition of Doctor Child and others delivered to the
General Court at Boston with some passages thereon.

Thirdly, the Capital Laws of the Massachusetts Bay, with the
Freemans Oath, _as they are printed there by themselves_.

The italics are mine. Here, then, we have direct proof confirming the statement of John Winthrop that the Freeman’s Oath was printed at Cambridge in 1639, and, in the body of the work, is given the full text of The Oath of a Free man as printed. It is probable that only the number of copies necessary for officials authorized to administer the Oath were printed, and the copy taken to England was surreptitiously obtained from some member of the Government. Its importance lay in the fact that it afforded printed evidence that nowhere in it is any reference made to the King’s Majesty, or of allegiance to any power on earth save that of their own Government as constituted.

FAC-SIMILE OF ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT
in the Handwriting of John Winthrop,
in the Public Library of the City of Boston

Issued with Bulletin, July, 1894]

The Capital Laws were printed at Cambridge in 1642, probably under the same restriction, as to number; and, as printed evidence, open to the same construction as the Oath. Whatever the purpose, however, it had been forestalled some four years earlier when the Capital Laws were re-printed in London in a folio broadside. The copy in the British Museum bears the Colophon: “Printed first in New-England, and re-printed in London for Ben. Allen in Popes-Head Allen [_sic_] 1643.”

Fourthly, a relation of that story of Jonas verbatim as it was
delivered to me in writing by a Gentleman that was then a passenger
in the ship.

“When the first ship that came this year 1646 from New-England, was
almost ready to come from thence; Mr. Cotton in his Thursday-Lecture
at Boston, preached out of that Scripture, Cant. 2, 15. Take us the
little Foxes, &c. In his uses took occasion to say, That if any
shall carry any Writings, Complaints against the people of God in
that Country it would be a Jonas in the ship. * * He also advised
the Ship-Master, that if storms did arise, to search if they had not
in any Chest or Trunk any such Jonas aboard, which if you find (said
he) I do not advise you to throw the persons over-board, but the
Writings; or words to that effect. Whereupon, having great storms
(as could not be otherwise expected) some of the Passengers
remembering Mr. Cotton’s Sermon, it seems were much affected with
what he had said; and a woman amongst them came up from between the
decks about Midnight, or after, in a distracted passionate manner to
Mr. William Vassall who lay in the great Cabin, but for the present
was in the Sterage-door-way looking abroad: she earnestly desired
him, if there were any Jonas in the ship, that as Mr. Cotton had
directed it might be thrown over-board, with many broken expressions
to that purpose. He asked her why she came to him? and she said
because it was thought that he had some Writings against the people
of God: but he answered her, He had nothing but a Petition to the
Parliament that they might enjoy the liberty of English subjects,
and that could be no Jonas; and that if the best of New-Englands
friends could shew him any evil in that, he would not prefer it.
After this she went into the great Cabin to Mr. Tho. Fowle in like
distracted manner; who told her he had nothing but the Copy of
Petition which himself and others had presented to the Court at
Boston; and showed, and read it to her, and then told her, That if
she and others thought that to be the cause of the storm, she and
they might do what they would with it; but he professed that he saw
no evil in it, neither was his Conscience troubled with it. So she
took it and carried it between Decks to them from whom she came, and
they agreed to throw it over-board and it was thrown over-board: but
the storm did not leave us upon the throwing of the Paper over-board
as it is reported; for they had many great storms after that; much
lesse was the great and wonderfull deliverance which by Gods mercy
he gave unto them from shipwrack and drowning at the Isles of Silly,
upon the throwing of that Writing over-board; for that was thrown
over long before, at least 14 dayes. Also the error is the more in
this, That the report is that it was the petition to the Parliament
that was thrown over-board; and it was only a Copy of a Petition to
their own Court at Boston, and the Petition to the Parliament was
still in the ship, together with another copy of that which was
thrown over-board, and other writings of that nature, some of which
are printed in this book, and were as well saved as their lives and
other goods, and are here in London to be seen and made use of in
convenient time.”

It is true that at any time in the intervening years of a quarter of a century I could have written to the British Museum authorities and been sure of a courteous reply; but the matter seemed too important to be settled in so prosaic a way. This, and the hope that sometime I might be able to determine the matter personally, and achieve the honor that would attach to its discovery, deterred me.

I suppose that men of all professions, in their callings, feel an unwonted glow in the achievement of some object; but I know of no greater joy than that which fills the lover of books when his long search for a rare book is rewarded. Then it is that you seem to enter into the holy of holies of delight, when the whole body thrills with suppressed emotions, the eyes moisten, and the trembling hand stretched out to take the volume does so with a touch which is almost a caress. The feeling, I think, must be somewhat akin to the “buck fever” of the deer hunter, whose mind and shaking limbs refuse to function, as he looks into the luminous eyes, and notes the startled look, and graceful beauty of his prey, until it has bounded into safety in the forest. Why, I reasoned with myself, should I give to another the pleasure of these emotions which were mine by right of discovery.

The opportunity of voyaging to England, which I had so long looked forward to, did not come to me until the Spring of the present year, and the pleasant anticipations with which I set out were comparable in my own mind with those which must have animated the Knights of Arthur’s Round Table in their quest for the holy grail. The morning after my arrival in London found me an early visitor at the British Museum. The preliminaries of admittance to the Reading-Room are not difficult, and are soon over with, and I found myself within the great rotunda, its walls lined in tiers with what is best in the literatures of the world, and from which has gone out so much that is worth while in English literature. From the Catalogue I filled out slips for some half dozen works, artfully to conceal the one uppermost in my mind, handed them in at the desk, and returned to my chosen seat to await with such calmness as I could command the culmination of years of desire. Heeding the legend that when the grail was approached by any one not perfectly pure it vanished from sight; and that to be qualified to discover it one must be perfectly chaste in thought and act, I endeavored to prepare myself for its appearance. Somewhere I have read of an Oriental visionary who attained a high degree of saintly perfection by fixing his gaze steadfastly for hours upon his navel, which a growing embonpoint made an easy thing to do, and I sought for holiness in the same way.

In time the white slips of my wants came fluttering back to me by messengers, all marked, very properly for security on account of rarity, that they could only be consulted in the North Library, until all were in but the one most desired. Then followed a much longer wait and then—the slip was handed back to me with a notation that I had given a wrong shelf-mark! Gone in an instant were all the perfectly pure and chaste thoughts with which I had been regaling myself while I was apparently looking at the wrong button on my vest. I think I could have stood the blow better if it had been that hoary old fiction of careless assistants that it was “out”, but this is a boon denied to any assistant in the British Museum, where nothing is allowed to go out. A comparison with the printed Catalogue showed an exact correspondence, and I sought the Superintendent of the Reading-Room, who assured me that the matter would have his personal attention; and for the rest of the day I busied myself with my other wants in the North Library without any word of the missing broadside reaching me. That evening, in communion with myself, I determined to throw off the mask of secrecy and frankly confide the importance of my quest to the Keeper of the Printed Books—the somewhat expressive and imposing title of the Librarian of the British Museum.

Before calling upon him I sought as an introducer Henry N. Stevens—the worthy son of an illustrious father who follows closely in his footsteps as the best authority on early printed American books in Europe—at his shop across the street from the imposing Museum building, and to him I told my story. As I proceeded his interest grew, and before I had finished he excitedly grasped my arm with one hand and his hat with the other, exclaiming: “Come with me. This is not a subject for underlings,” and rushed me across the street without pause until we were in the sanctum sanctorum of the learned and accomplished Keeper, Alfred W. Pollard. And to him I told my simple tale, and asked his assistance. Mr. Pollard is himself a bibliographer of note in his special field, and my story was not without interest to him, but he refused to share my belief that the missing broadside was what I supposed it to be, laying much stress upon the black-letter feature as proof of its English origin. The unsuccessful search for the missing broadside had evidently been called to his notice, and the failure to produce anything in the millions of books catalogued in that vast collection, he considered a challenge to the efficiency of himself and his staff of assistants. A few days later, he acknowledged failure; but gave me the interesting information that in tracing the broadside back to its accession he had found that it was acquired by the Museum in the year 1865, and formed part of a bundle of miscellaneous matter, being considered of so little importance as not even to have been mentioned in the contents of the bundle. Printing of the letter F of the Catalogue was completed in 1888, and since that time an expansion of the classification of books upon the shelves had been made, from which dated its disappearance. He would not, however, discontinue his efforts to find it. After apologizing for giving him a “bad half-hour,” which only the importance of the broadside excused, our second interview ended. On my last day in London, I went again with Mr. Stevens to call on Mr. Pollard about the matter, and told him that I had made my arrangements to fly from London to Paris on the morrow, and asked him if these old eyes of mine were never to behold the holy grail. “In black-letter?” he queried, touching the weak spot in my armor. “In duodecimo!” I countered, pointing to the rent in his own. And the third interview ended with his assurance that the search would go on until the missing broadside was found.

And there the matter rests, very much in the condition of the story of the cook who asked the skipper: “Is any thing lost when you know where it is?” And to the skipper’s gruff response, “Of course not,” he pleasantly replied: “I am glad to know that our only iron soup kettle wasn’t lost when it fell over-board into the Bay.”

Through the courtesy of our fellow-members, Henry Edwards Huntington, Esquire, and the accomplished bibliographer and librarian of his unrivaled collection of books and art, George Watson Cole, the Society is permitted to give a reproduction from the only known copy of “The Book of General Lawes and Libertyes concerning the Inhabitants of the Massachusetts”—the long-lost Code of 1648. No copy or fragment of a copy was known to be extant for over two hundred and fifty years, when, in 1906, this copy was discovered in a small private library in England, and was sold to the late Edmund Dwight Church for the highest price ever paid for an American printed book—a record which is not likely to be surpassed. The almost miraculous recovery of this volume, will, I have given my reasons to hope, sometime have a counterpart in the recovery of the only known copy of the first work printed in the United States of America—The Oath of a Free man. From the year 1641, this bore the abbreviated title of the

FREEMANS OATH

I (A. B.) being by Gods providence an Inhabitant within the
Jurisdiction of this Common-wealth, and now to be made free; doe
heer freely acknowledge my self to be subject to the Government
therof: and therfore do heer swear by the great and dreadfull Name
of the Ever-living God, that I will be true and faithfull to the
same, & will accordingly yeild assistance & support therunto, with
my person and estate, as in equitie I am bound, and will also truly
indeavour to maintein & preserve all the Liberties and Priviledges
therof, submitting my self unto the wholsom Laws made and
established by the same. And farther, that I will not plot or
practice any evil against it, or consent to any that shall so doe;
but will timely discover & reveal the same to lawfull authoritie now
heer established, for the speedy prevention therof.

Moreover, I do solemnly binde my self in the sight of God, that when
I shall be called to give my voice touching any such matter of this
State, wherin Free-men are to deal; I will give my vote and
_suffrage_ as I shall in mine own conscience judge best to conduce
and tend to the publick weal of the Body, without respect of
persons, or favour of any man. So help me God in our Lord Jesus
Christ. [1641.] From Code of 1648.

FREEMANS OATH

I [A. B.] being by Gods providence an inhabitant within the
Jurisdiction of this Common-wealth, and now to be made free; doe
here freely acknowledg my self to be subject to the Government
thereof: And therefore do here Swear by the great and dreadfull Name
of the Ever-living God, that I will be true and faithfull to the
same, and will accordingly yeild assistance and support thereunto,
with my person and estate, as in equity I am bound, and will also
truely indeavour to maintain and preserve all the Liberties and
Priviledges thereof, submitting my self unto the wholsom Laws made
and established by the same. And farther, that I will not plot or
practice an evill against it, or consent to any that shall so doe;
but will timely discover and reveal the same to lawfull Authority
now here established, for the speedy prevention thereof.

Moreover, I do solemnly bind my self in the sight of God, that when
I shall be called to give my voice touching any such matter of this
State, wherein Free-men are to deal; I will give my vote and
suffrage as I shall in mine own conscience judg best to conduce and
tend to the publick weal of the Body, without respect of persons, or
favour of any man. So help me God &c. [1641.] From Code of 1660.

It is Ordered and by this Court declared, that no man shall be urged
to take any Oath or subscribe to any _Articles_, _Covenants_ or
_Remonstrances_, of publick and Civil nature, but such as the
Generall Court hath Considered, allowed and required, and no Oath of
any Magistrate or of any Officer, shall bind him any further or
longer, then he is Resident or Reputed an Inhabitant of this
Jurisdiction. [1641.]

Every Court in this Jurisdiction, where two Magistrates are present,
may admitt any church members that are fitt, to be Freemen, giving
them the Oath, and the Clerke of each Court, shall certify their
names to the Secretary at the next General Court. [1641 [2]].

FREEMAN’S OATH

Reproduced from “The Book of General Lawes and Libertyes concerning
the Inhabitants of the Massachusetts”-–1648

By the courtesy of Henry Edwards Huntington]

In 1643, the Colonies of Massachusetts-Bay, New Plymouth, Connecticut, and New Haven, concluded a Confederacy by which they entered into a solemn compact to afford each other mutual advice and assistance on all necessary occasions, whether offensive, defensive, or prudential. Among the reasons assigned for this Union were the dependent condition of the colonists; the vicinity of the French and Dutch, who were inclined to make encroachments; the warlike attitude of the neighboring Indians; the commencement of civil war in England, and impracticability of aid from thence in any emergency; and the sacred ties of religion which already bound them. The Province of Maine was not included because it was subject to rulers of Episcopal tenets, and was infrequently an asylum for excommunicants. This Union lasted for forty years without any general Oath of Allegiance being required from the inhabitants of the several Colonies.

OATH OF FIDELITIE

I (A B) being by Gods providence an Inhabitant within the
Jurisdiction of this Common-wealth, doe freely and sincerely
acknowledge my selfe to be subject to the Government thereof. And
doe heer swear by the great and dreadful name of the Everliving God,
that I will be true and faithfull to the same, and will accordingly
yeild assistance therunto, with my person and estate, as in equitie
I am bound: and will also truly indeavour to maintein and preseve
all the Liberties & Priviledges thereof, submitting my self unto the
wholsom Laws made, & established by the same. And farther, that I
will not plot or practice any evil against it, or consent to any
that shall so doe: but will timely discover and reveal the same to
lawfull Authoritie now heer established, for the speedy preventing
thereof. So help me God in our Lord Jesus Christ. [1646.] From Code
of 1648.

OATH OF FIDELITIE

I [A. B.] being by Gods providence an inhabitant within the
Jurisdiction of the Commonwealth, do freely and sincerely
acknowledge my selfe to be subject to the Government thereof. And do
here Swear by the great and dreadful name of the everliving God,
that I will be true & faithfull to the same, and will accordingly
yeild assistance thereunto, with my person and estate, as in equity
I am bound: And will also truely endeavour to Maintain and preserve
all the Liberties & Priviledges thereof submitting my self unto the
wholesom Laws made, and established by the same.

And farther 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. So help me God in our Lord Jesus Christ.
[1646.] From Code of 1660.

_To the end the body of the freemen may be preserved of honest and
good men_, It is Ordered, That henceforth no man shall be admitted
to the freedome of this Common-wealth, but such as are members of
some of the Churches, within the limits of this Iurisdiction; _And
whereas many members of Churches to exempt themselves from Publick
Service, will not come in to be made freemen_, It is Ordered, That
no members of Churches within this Iurisidiction, shall be exempt
from any publick service, they shall be chosen to, by the
Inhabitants of the severall Townes, as Constables, Iurors, Select
men, surveiors of the High-wayes. And if any such person shall
refuse to serve in, or to take upon him any such Office, being
legally chosen therunto, he shall pay for every such refusall, such
fine, as the Town shall impose not exceeding _Twenty shillings_ for
one Offence. [1647.]

Any non freemen, who have taken or shall take the Oath of fidelity
to this government could be jury men and vote in certain matters,
after he had attained the age of 24 years. [1647.]

_For as much as divers Inhabitants of this Jurisdiction who have
long continued amongst us, receiving Protection, from this
Government, have as we are informed uttered Offencive speeches,
whereby their fidelity to this Government may justly be suspected,
and also that divers strangers of forreign parts do repaire to us of
whose fidelity we have not that Assurance which is Commonly required
of all Governments._

It is therefore Ordered by this Court and the Authority thereof.
That the County Courts or any one Magistrate out of Court, shall
have power and is hereby Authorized to Require the Oath of fidelity
of all settled Inhabitants amongst us who have not already taken the
same, as also to Require the Oath under written, of all strangers,
who after two months have their abode here; And if any Person shall
refuse to take the Respective Oath, he or they shall be bound over
to the next County Court or Court of Assistants, where if he shall
refuse, he shall forfeit _five pound a week_ for every week he shall
Continue in this Jurisdiction after his sayd Refusall, unles he can
give sufficient security to the satisfaction of the Court or
Magistrate for his fidelity, during his or their residence amongst
us.

STRANGERS OATH

_You A. B. Do acknowledge your self subject to the Lawes of this
Jurisdiction during your Residence under this Government, and do
here Swear, by the Great Name of the Everliving GOD, and engage your
self to be true and faithfull to the same, and not to plot,
contrive, or conceal any thing that is to the hurt or detriment
thereof._ [1652.].

This was, apparently, aimed at the Quakers, whose offensive attitude towards the Government was made the subject of further drastic laws and orders by the General Court, in October, 1656, and May, 1658.

_This Court having considered of the proposals presented to this
Court by several of the inhabitants of the County of Middlesex_; Do
Declare and Order, That no man whosoever, shall be admitted to the
Freedome of this Body Politick, but such as are members of some
Church of Christ and in full Communion, which they declare to be the
true intent of the ancient Law, _page the eighth of the second
Book_, Anno. 1631. [1660.]

This was construed as being directed against the members of the Church of England, and was largely responsible for the strained relations with his Majesty’s Commission in 1665. It was repealed before the 1672 Revision of the Laws.

For causes already mentioned the publication of the first Code of Laws, in 1648, was unnoticed in England; but it was very different with the publication of the second Code, in 1660. When it appeared its provisions were subjected to critical scrutiny by enemies of the Puritan Commonwealth, and the worst possible constructions placed upon them. In particular, the loyalty of the framers, who took an Oath of Fidelity to their Government, and none to the King, was questioned; and the provisions for the admission of freemen which, practically, prohibited members of the Church of England. By letter, his Majesty ordered a redress of these grievances, and appointed a Commission who proceeded, in a partisan manner, to execute their powers. In 1665, the Commissioners presented to the General Court a list of twenty-six changes which they desired to have made in the Code of 1660. The principal ones were the substitution of an acknowledgment of the royal authority for all expressions of the supremacy of the Commonwealth; a recognition of the Church of England; and a repeal of the long-standing limitation of citizenship to church members. To one or two of their points the General Court gave consent. A comparison with the Code of 1672, shows that while the recognition of his majesty’s supremacy was allowed, in a score of instances the powers of the government under their Charter were asserted. The right of strangers to become citizens was nominally conceded, but on conditions which afforded only a minimum of relief to members of the Church of England.

On the 3 August, 1664 it was Ordered by the General Court:

_In Answer to that part of his Majestyes Letter_, of June 28, 1662,
_concerning admission of freemen_. This Court doth Declare, That the
Law prohibiting all persons, except Members of Churches, and, that
also for allowance of them in any County Court, are hereby Repealed,
And do hereby also Order and Enact That, from henceforth all English
men presenting a Certificate under the hand of the Ministers, or
Minister of the Place where they dwell, that they are Orthodox in
Religion, and not vicious in their Lives, and also a certificate
under the hands of the Select men of the place, or of the major Part
of them, that they are Free-holders: and are for their own propper
Estate (without heads of Persons) Rateable to the Country in a
single Country Rate, after the usuall manner of valuation in the
place where they live, to the full vallue of _Ten Shillings_, or
that they are in full Communion with some Church amongst us; It
shall be in the Liberty of all and every such Person or Persons,
being _twenty-four_ yeares of age, Householders and settled
Inhabitants in this Jurisdiction, from time to time to themselves
and their desires to this Court, for their addmittance to the
freedome of this commonwealth, and shall be allowed the priviledge,
to have such their desire Propounded and put to Vote in the General
Court, for acceptance to the freedome of the body pollitick, by the
sufferage of the major parte according to the Rules of our Patent.
[1664.].

* * * * *

It was also Ordered by the General Court on the 19 October, 1664.

_Forasmuch as several Persons who from time to time are to be made
freemen, live remote and are not able without great trouble and
charge to appear before this Court to take their respective Oaths_:
It is therefore Ordered, that henceforth it shall be in the power of
any County Court, to administer the Oath of Freedome to any persons
approved of by the General Court who shall desire the same, any Law
or Custome to the contrary notwithstanding. [1664.]

* * * * *

And, at the May, 1665, session, to conform to the criticism of his
Majesty’s Commission concerning the Oath of Allegiance:

It is ordered by this Court, & the authority thereof, that the
following oath be annexed vnto the oathes of euery freeman & oath of
fidellity, & to the Gouerno^r, Dep^{t-}Gouerno^r, & Assistants, & to
all other publicke officers, as followeth:—

The oath of a freeman & fidelity to runne thus:—

OATH OF FIDELITIE

Whereas I [A. B.] am an inhabitant within this Jurisdiction,
Considering how I stand Obliged to the Kings Majesty, his heires and
Successors by our Charter and the Government established thereby; Do
Swear accordingly by the great and dreadfull Name of the Ever-Living
God, that I will bear Faith and true Allegiance to our Soveraingn
Lord the King, his Heires and Successors; and that I will be True
and Faithfull to this Government, and accordingly yeild Assistance
thereunto, with my person and estate, as in equity I am bound;

And will also truely endeavour to Maintain and Preserve all the
Liberties and Priviledges thereof, Submiting my self unto the
wholesom Laws made and established by the same.

And farther 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. So help me God in our Lord Jesus Christ.
[1665.]

FREEMANS OATH

Whereas I [A. B.] being an inhabitant of the Jurisdiction of the
_Massachusets_, and now to be made free. Do hereby acknowledge my
selfe to be subject to the Government thereof (Considering how I
stand obliged to the Kings Majesty, his Heires and Successors, by
our Charter and the Government established thereby Do Swear
accordingly, by the Great and Dreadfull Name of the Ever-Living GOD,
that I will bear Faith and true Alegiance to our Soveraigne Lord the
King, his heires and Successors,) and that I will be true and
Faithfull to the same, and will accordingly yeild Assistance and
Support thereunto with my person and estate, as in equity I am
bound; And will also truely endeavour to maintain and preserve all
the Liberties and priviledges thereof, submitting my selfe to the
wolesome Laws made and established by the same.

And farther that I will not Plot nor 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 prevention thereof.

Moreover I do Solemnly bind my selfe in the sight of God, that when
I shall be called to give my Voyce touching any such matter of this
State wherein Freemen are to deal, I will give my Vote and Suffrage
as I shall in mine own Conscience judge best to conduce and tend to
the Publick Weale of the body, without respect of persons or favour
of any man. So help me God in our Lord Jesus Christ. [1665.]

* * * * *

The oath of the Goūno^r, Dept Goūno^r, & other publicke officers,
to runne thus:—

Whereas I, A. B., am chosen Gouerno^r, &c., considering how I stand
obliged to the kings majesty, his heires & successors, by our
charter and the gouerment here established thereby, doe sweare, &c,
as aboue. [1665.]

In their demand for changes in the 1660 Book of the General Laws and Liberties, the Commissioners in their 14th section proposed: “That, page 33, ‘none be admitted freemen but such as are members of some of the churches w^{th} in the limitts of this jurisdiction’ may be explained, & comp̄hend such as are members of y^e church of England.”

At the General Court of 23 May, 1666.

It is ordered that the Secretary, at the request of all such as are
admitted to the freedome of this Colony or any in their behalf, give
a true copy out of this Courts Records, of their names, by them to
be delivered to the clerks or recorders of those Courts in the
severall Counties to which they do belong, with a copy of the Oath
of Freemen as it is now stated, that they may there take their
Oathes &c. [1666.]

* * * * *

At the General Court of 15 October, 1673:

As an addition to the Law, title Freemen, section the third, it is
ordered by this Court and the authority thereof that henceforth the
names of such as desire to be admitted to the freedome of this
Com̄on-wealth, not being members of churches in full comunion, shall
be entred w^{th} the secretary, from tjme to tjme, at the Court of
election, and read ouer before the whole Court sometime that
sessions and shall not be put to vote in the Court till the Court of
election next followg. [1673.]

This order of Court was repealed 9 February 1682/3.

* * * * *

Att a Generall Court, held at Boston, 10^{th} of October, 1677.

Whereas many secret attempts haue binn lately made by euil minded
persons to set fire in the toune of Boston and other places, tending
to the destruction of the whole, this Court doeth account it their
duty to vse all lawfull meanes to discouer such persons and prevent
the like for time to come.

Bee it therefore ordered & enacted by this Court and the Authority
thereof, That the Law, _title_ Oathes and Subscriptions, page 120
sect. 2., requiring all persons, as well inhabitants as strangers,
(that have not taken it) to take the Oath of Fidelity to the
Country, be revived and put in practice through this Jurisdiction.
And for the more effectual execution thereof, It is ordered by this
Court; That the select men, Constables, and Tithing-men, in every
town do, once every quarter of a year so proportion and divide the
precincts of each town, and go from house to house, and take an
exact list of the Names, quality and callings of every person,
whether Inhabitant or Stranger, that have not taken the said Oath,
and cannot make due proof thereof; and the Officers aforesaid are
hereby required forthwith to return the names of such persons unto
the next magistrate, or County Court, or chief military officer in
the town where no Magistrate is, who are required to give such
persons the said Oath prescribed in the Law, wherein not only
Fidelity to the Country, but Allegiance to our King, is required;
And all such as take the said oath shall be Recorded and Enrolled in
the County Records by the clerk of each County Court. And all such
as refuse to take the said Oath, they shall be proceeded against as
the said Law directs. And further, this Court doth Declare; That all
such refusers to take the said Oath shall not have the benefit of
our Laws to Implead, Sue, or recover any Debt in any Court or Courts
within this Jurisdiction, nor have protection from this Government
whilest they continue in such obstinate refusal.

And furthermore, It is Ordered; That if any Officer intrusted with
the Execution of this Order, do, neglect, or omit his or their duty
therein, they shall be fined according to their demerits, not
exceeding five pounds for one offence, being complained of, or
presented to the County Courts or Court of Assistants, And this Law
to be forthwith Printed and Published, and effectually executed from
and after the last of _November_ next. And that all persons that
administer the Oath abovesaid, shall in like manner make return of
the Names of such persons so sworn to the respective Clerks of the
County Courts. Made October 10, 1677.

* * * * *

Att the second sessions of the Gen̄ll Court held at Boston, 2
October, 1678.

_Whereas it hath pleased his most excellent Majesty, our gracious
king by his letter bearing date the twenty-seventh of Aprill, 1678,
to signifie his Royall pleasure, That the Authority of this his
Colony of Massachusetts in New-England, do give forth Orders that
the Oath of Allegiance, as it is by Law established within his
Kingdome of England, be administred and taken by all his subjects
within this Colony who are of years to take an oath_:

In Obedience whereunto, and as a demonstration of our Loyalty; It is
ordered and enacted by this Court and the Authority thereof, that,
as the members of this Court now sitting have readily taken the Oath
of Allegiance, so, by their Example and Authority, they do require
and command that the same Oath be given and taken by all his
Majesties subjects within this Jurisdiction that are of sixteen
years of age and upwards. And to the end this Order be duely
executed, it is hereby Ordered, that a convenient number of printed
Copies of the said Oath of Allegiance, exactly agreeing with the
written copy inclosed in his majesties Letter, and signed by the
Secretary of State, to be sent forth unto every Magistrate and
Justice of peace, and to the Constable of every town within this
Jurisdiction.

And it is further Ordered that the Magistrates and Justices, or such
as are Commissioned with Magistratical Authority in every County of
this Colony do with all convenient speed repair to the several Towns
and Villages within this Jurisdiction, at such time, and in such
order as they best may, and accomplish the same; giving forth their
warrant to the Constables of each Town to convene all the
inhabitants of the Age abovesaid, and taking their names in writing,
administer the said Oath of Allegiance to each of them, and return
their Names to the Recorder of each County Court to be enrolled. And
if any shall refuse to take the said Oath, or absent themselves
unless in case of sickness, the Names of such shall be returned to
the Recorder of the County, who are to be proceeded against by the
County Courts respectively, for the first offence whereof he is
legally convicted, to pay such a fine as the County Court shall
impose, not exceeding five pounds, or three Moneths Imprisonment in
the common prison or house of Correction: And for the second offence
whereof he shall be lawfully convicted, what summe the County Court
shall inflict, provided it exceed not ten pounds, or six Moneths
Imprisonment without Baile, or Mainprise. [1678.]

The officials of the Government, ignoring the copy of the Oath of Allegiance given them by the royal commissioners, took the Oath in Court as it is given in Michael Dalton’s “The Countrey Justice,”—a work of much esteem in its time, which passed through some ten or eleven editions, three of which are in the valuable Library of this Society, and one of them, there is reason to believe, may have been the volume used in this historical incident,—all of them declaring that the same is to be understood as not infringing the liberties and privileges granted in his Majesty’s royal Charter to this Colony of the Massachusetts.

Regarding the manner of taking the Oath; the New England custom was by holding up the right hand, as opposed to the custom in England of holding, or laying the hand on the Bible, or kissing it. This was one of the irritating questions in dispute between the Colonists and the Andros faction. Samuel Sewall, in his Diary, under date of June 11, 1686, says: “I read the Oath myself holding the book in my left hand, and holding up my right hand to Heaven.” And, in 1687, Increase Mather discoursed on the “laying the hand on and kissing the booke in swearing.” This question continued to irritate, and was one of the predisposing causes of the Revolutionary War in the Province of New York. In 1772, a Bill was lost in Council, “For Removing Doubts in the administration of Oaths.” This Bill was designed to favor a number of people, chiefly from Scotland and the north of Ireland, who held conscientious scruples against the present legal form of kissing the Bible; and allow them to use the form in use in Scotland and the New England Colonies of lifting up the right hand. The weight of Episcopal authority denied them this right.

In the colonization of New England the figure of John Winthrop looms colossal. Given time, he would have built an Empire whose only ruler would have been the Lord of Hosts. He can hardly be called a Puritan—his conversion came too late—but he was a Congregationalist. His method was so simple as to be open to the understanding of anyone, but it was a firm principle of government. As an illustration: when he was appealed to by a small group of settlers near the border line of New Hampshire for information as to how they could become freemen of the Colony of Massachusetts-Bay, his reply was: “Get a Minister.” When they answered that they had no Minister, and did not know where to get one, again came back his uncompromising reply: “Get a Minister.” In this reply rested his whole system of colonization. It was simplicity itself. The English Government recognized its power when, by Proclamation, they endeavored to prevent the emigration of Puritan Ministers from England. “Get a Minister!” Gather about him! Build him a church, and homes for yourselves and families. This done, you have a Plantation. When you have thus qualified to become freemen, and have taken the Oath of a Freeman, you will be entitled to hold office; assist in framing laws, and enforcing those already made; and, as members of the Commonwealth, be assured that all your rights will be protected. This principle of government was firm, but not repellent. If you could not conform to it there was no reason for remaining among them. The world was wide enough for every one. And you could go to Maine, or Rhode Island. Under it was formed a government that has never been equalled in prosperity, morality and all that makes for happiness. No less a personage than Hugh Peters has declared that in the six years of his residence in the Colony of Massachusetts-Bay, he had never seen a drunken man or heard a profane oath.

The limits of their territory they continually enlarged by firmly insisting upon the border lines of their Patent, and even stretching them when near some natural boundary; by purchasing the rights of New Plymouth in the Colony of Maine, for 400 pounds, they added a tract of seven hundred square miles; by the purchase of the Gorges Patent, for 1,250 pounds sterling, they acquired a jurisdiction over the rest of the Province of Maine which made it a District of Massachusetts down to the year 1820. There has been a good deal of sympathy, and many unnecessary tears have been shed over the so-called banishment of Roger Williams to Rhode Island; but it was his friend, John Winthrop, who whispered in his ear the desirability of the location of the Providence Plantations. And there was no reason why Roger Williams could not have gone out from Salem with head erect, and with his gaze fixed on the stars, as every good missionary should go, knowing that the powers of the government of Massachusetts-Bay was as much behind his settlement, without an Oath, as it was behind the colonists of Connecticut, and New Haven, who had gone out from Cambridge, Watertown and Roxbury, carrying with them the Oath of a Freeman as a principle of their governments. In the Union of the Colonies of Massachusetts-Bay, New Plymouth, Connecticut, and New Haven, of which John Winthrop was the first President, a new idea was advanced in his system of government, which eventually attained greater results.

It cannot be said that John Winthrop accomplished these things unaided. There were others who ably assisted him, whose names, also, should be held in honored remembrance. But through it all, can be seen the firm, directing mind and purpose of a man whose vision looked beyond his present to a future, and a Republic that was to be.

And this is why our people should look upon The Oath of a Freeman, which was his work, not alone as the glorious first fruit of the Printing-Press in this Country; but also as a great state paper which accomplished without bloodshed, on a smaller scale it is true, all that was achieved, one hundred and thirty-seven years later, after seven years of warfare, through the Declaration of Independence.

_In Connecticut and New Haven Colonies._

The colonists of Connecticut, in the main, followed closely the general system of laws of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, from which they had emigrated. Their form of government was theocratic, the Oath of a Freeman being the test of citizenship. The settlers of Windsor, who came from Dorchester with John Warham, in 1635, did not, however, make church membership a necessary qualification for holding civil office.

The settlers of Guilford, who were joined to New Haven Colony, exercised their powers of government by a system which conformed to the grant from Lord Say and Brook to Theophilus Eaton and his company. Like that at New Haven it was an aristocracy, but modelled in a singular way. As a part of New Haven Colony they were entitled to one Magistrate, who was their head and invested with the whole executive and judicial power. The settlers were divided into two classes, freemen and planters. The freemen could consist only of those who were church members, and partook of the sacrament. They were all under oath agreeably to their form of government. Out of their number were chosen three or four deputies to sit with the Magistrate in General Courts, and all public officers. The planters consisted of all inhabitants above the age of twenty-one years, with a certain estate, which qualified them to vote in town meetings.

5 ^{to} Ap^r 1638. A gen^rall Cort at Hartford.

Forasmuch as it has pleased the Allmighty God by the wise
disposition of his diuyne p^ruidence so to Order and dispose of
things that we the Inhabitants and Residents of Windsor, Hartford
and Wethersfield are now cohabiting and dwelling in and vppon the
River of Conectecotte and the Lands thereunto adioyneing; And well
knowing where a people are gathered togather the word of God
requires that to mayntayne the peace and vnion of such a people
there should be an orderly and decent Gouerment established
according to God, to order and dispose of the affayres of the people
at all seasons as occation shall require: doe therefore assotiate
and conioyne our selues to be as one publike State or Com̄onwelth;
and doe, for our selues and our Successors and such as shall be
adioyned to vs att any tyme hereafter, enter into Combination and
Confederation togather, to mayntayne and p^rsearue the liberty and
purity of the gospell of our Lord Jesus w^{ch} we now p^rfesse, as
also the disciplyne of the Churches w^{ch} according to the truth of
the said gospell is now practiced amongst vs; As also in o^r Ciuill
Affaires to be guided and gouerned according to such Lawes, Rules,
Orders and decrees as shall be made, ordered & decreed, as
followeth: [The eleven Fundamentalls.] [1638.]

In Connecticut, it would appear that the Oath of Fidelity required of all that were admitted freemen up to July 1640, was as follows:

AN OATH FOR PAQUA’ AND THE PLANTATIONS THERE: