Lost Ship, Found Democracy

The legacy of the other Mayflower.

What’s up with the Pilgrim statue on Kelly Drive at Lemon Hill? Philly is Quaker country, after all. But in 1905, the New England Society of Pennsylvania presented it to the People of Philadelphia. More than 200 descendants of the Mayflower Pilgrims attended its unveiling at City Hall, where it remained until 1920 when it was moved its current location.

Truth is, many Philadelphian families have roots stretching way back to our country’s original European settlers, going all the way back to the Mayflower. The famous Compact these shipmates signed when they landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620 established a form of self-government and became one of the country’s first democratic documents.

But what if I told you the Pilgrims we credit with this forbearance might not have been so generous with personal liberty if these “Saints” hadn’t just spent the last 2+ months closely quartered with a group of “Strangers”? These were merchants, bankers, tradesmen, and other non-Puritans with their servants and families — people the Pilgrims had been fearing and loathing for decades.

This hadn’t been the plan. Originally, the Pilgrims had arranged to come on their own private ship, The Speedwell, and establish a Christian Separatist colony apart from the sinful ways of the world.

The Pilgrims were staunch followers of a Christian Separatist movement, after becoming disgusted with the Church of England’s blatant corruption at the time. Persecuted for their beliefs, they fled to Holland in 1608 where they enjoyed religious freedom but found few recruits or funding sources. In 1620, word reached them that English merchant investors were sending a ship to start a colony in the New World. Sensing an opportunity, the community procured a ship, the Speedwell, and arranged to sail along with the merchants’ Mayflower.

But when the ships met up at Southampton, England that July, the Speedwell was found to be taking on water. They had to sell off half of their provisions to pay for needed repairs, only to spring a leak again. More repairs, more delays. Third time was definitely not a charm, as they once more encountered trouble while docked at Plymouth, England where the Speedwell was officially declared unseaworthy.

At this point, there was only room on the Mayflower to take 20 passengers from the Speedwell.

😇 SAINTS AND STRANGERS 😈

These 20 transferred passengers  joined a diverse population of 82 other travelers who did not share their values or beliefs. In fact, the Pilgrims were specifically moving halfway across the planet to get away from these sinful “Strangers” (as they called them). The Pilgrims were specifically seeking a place to live where they could do whatever they wanted without having to answer to anyone’s questions, or consider anyone else’s views.

The folks from the Speedwell, however, were not a part of their religious community, and yet suddenly they were all forced to share close quarters and minimal provisions for over 2 months. Their very survival depended on their ability to work out differences and respect each other’s rights.

Who would’ve known that this journey across the ocean would become a kind of melting pot aboard the Mayflower? Without the loss of the Speedwell, there might never have been a Mayflower Compact, which introduced self-government to the first successful colony of New England, and paved the way for the United States Constitution. Today in Philadelphia, our Pilgrim statue calls to mind this early American history worth remembering as forces seek to divide us.

Familiarity Breeds… Democracy? True Story: the Pilgrims who boarded the Mayflower in 1620 were extreme Christian separatists who had chartered a whole second boat for all the “unfaithful” investors, tradesmen, and other stakeholders needed to found their new colony. But when the Speedwell proved too leaky to sail, 20 passengers were squeezed into the Mayflower’s already-crowded quarters. Suddenly they were all forced to share minimal space and provisions for over 2 months! Their very survival depended on their ability to work out differences and respect each other’s rights.

Who would’ve known that this journey across the ocean would become a kind of melting pot aboard the Mayflower? Without the loss of the Speedwell, there might never have been a Mayflower Compact, which introduced self-government to the first successful colony of New England, and paved the way for the United States Constitution. Today in Philadelphia, a Pilgrim statue on Kelly Drive (at Lemon Hill) calls to mind this early American history worth remembering. Especially now, as forces seek to divide us.

A sinking ship would inadvertently help seed the American colonies for democracy.

NEW SPACE, OLD TRUTHS

The Pilgrim on Lemon Hill is one version of how America began. But a few miles away, another story is surfacing — one that predates his voyage by millennia.

On November 22, after two years of planning with eight Indigenous scholars and artists, the Penn Museum opens its Native North America Gallery with a full day’s celebration: talks, demos, performances, and family-friendly fun.

The new, interactive gallery is 2,000+ sq ft alive with cultural objects, language, and art tracing 13,000 years of legacy in the Delaware Valley, long before the Mayflower or Speedwell ever set sail. Visitors will find evidence of political organization, diplomacy, and self-determination that flourished here long before the word “democracy” crossed the Atlantic — and helped shape the ideals the colonists would later claim as their own.

What does this have to do with the Pilgrim’s legacy? Everything. The Mayflower Compact story suggests a pure beginning, a genteel act of self-rule, yet it overlooks the deeper history of Indigenous governance and the truth that American democracy grew from contested ground, not a blank slate. The new gallery reminds us that history isn’t fixed, it’s still being rewritten.

In that light, the Pilgrim statue feels less like a monument to triumph and more like an open question: who tells the story and who’s finally being heard?

Democracy didn’t begin with one compact. It began in many voices and many peoples — and now, locally, the story is being retold.

Native North America Gallery (Opens Sat. Nov. 22)

University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology
3260 South St.
www.penn.museum

What do you think? Click the links (and watch the videos) for more information. Drop your thoughts in the comments below, or email us at editor@nwlocalpaper.com.