85:, and was not originally intended as a stigma or embarrassment for the person involved; many of the sons and daughters of the wealthy and famous of the time found themselves forced into such temporary servitude, Gary Nash reporting that "many of the servants were actually nephews, nieces, cousins and children of friends of emigrating Englishmen, who paid their passage in return for their labor once in America."
128:, who chose the governor from among their ranks and passed judgments in civil and criminal matters. To hold one of these offices it was required, of course, for one to be a freeman. Thus, the enfranchised voters and office holders were landholding male church members. Non-Puritans were not made freeman.
100:, he could become a member of the church (and would usually do so) and he could own land. The amount of land that he was able to own was sometimes determined by how many members there were in his family. As a freeman, he became a member of the governing body, which met in annual or semiannual meetings (
140:
when first entering into a colony, or just recently having become a member of one of the local churches; he was considered common. Such persons were never forced to work for another individual, per se, but their movements were carefully observed, and if they veered from the
Puritan ideal, they were
92:
would sign a contract agreeing to serve for a specific number of years, typically five or seven. Many immigrants to the colonies came as indentured servants, with someone else paying their passage to the
Colonies in return for a promise of service. At the end of his service, according to the
169:, didn't pass his probationary period, or again lost his freedom through some irresponsibility of his own, he would have his land and property confiscated and redistributed among the remaining freemen, even if the inheritor was a well-respected citizen.
149:, usually one to two years, that the prospective "freeman" needed to go through, and he was allowed his freedom if he did pass this probationary period of time. A Freeman was said to be free of all debt, owing nothing to anyone except God Himself.
93:
contract, the indentured servant usually would be granted a sum of money, a new suit of clothes, land, or perhaps passage back to
England. An indentured servant was not the same as an apprentice or a child who was "placed out."
42:
a man did not need to be a member of the Church, but he had to be elected to this privilege by the
General Court. Being a freeman carried with it the right to vote, and in Plymouth only freemen could vote by 1632.
183:, in which they vowed to defend the Commonwealth and not to conspire to overthrow the government. The first handwritten version of the "Freeman's Oath" was made in 1634; it was printed by
397:
346:
161:
who possessed land outright that was usually given to him by the colony after he had finished his probationary period, except in those cases where the land owner had
104:) to make and enforce laws and pass judgment in civil and criminal matters. As the colonies grew, these meetings became impractical and a representative
392:
317:
230:
The Code of 1650 to which is added some
Extracts from the Laws and Judicial Proceedings of New-Haven Colony. Commonly called Blue Laws
283:
64:
3. Hist. A member of a municipal corporation (a city or a borough) who possesses full civic rights, esp. the right to vote.
117:
81:"Freedom" was earned after an allotted time, or after the person demanding "payment" was satisfied. This was known as
55:
304:
47:
35:
24:
17:
216:
The True-Blue Laws of
Connecticut and New Haven and the False Blue-Laws Invented by the Reverend Samuel Peters
121:
237:
The
Beginnings of New England or the Puritan Theocracy in its Relations to Civil and Religious Liberty
109:
223:
New-Haven's
Settling in New-England and Some Laws for Government Published for the Use of That Colony
188:
82:
166:
142:
327:
89:
313:
279:
179:
137:
339:
309:
299:
39:
75:
68:
386:
101:
97:
361:
The Urban
Crucible: The Northern Seaports and the Origins of the American Revolution
184:
162:
125:
113:
158:
31:
was a person who was not a slave. The term originated in 12th-century Europe.
146:
105:
202:
Records of the
Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New England
38:, a man had to be a member of the Church to be a freeman; in neighboring
256:
Robert A Menard Bursting bubbles of Government deception (2005)
191:
or single sheet of paper intended for posting in public places.
278:. Salt Lake City, UT: Ancestry Publishing. pp. 146–147.
177:
Initially, all persons seeking to be free needed to take the
96:
Once a man was made a freeman and was no longer considered a
374:
Winthrop's Journal 'The History of New England' 1630-1649
157:
A "free planter" (as opposed to a "freeman") was any
276:
Plymouth Colony: Its History and People 1620 - 1691
58:belonging to the people under a free government.
251:List of Freemen of Massachusetts 1631–1691
398:History of labor relations in the United States
136:Initially, a male was not formally considered
200:Nathaniel Bradstreet Shurtleff, M.D., editor
54:1. A person who possesses and enjoys all the
8:
108:system was developed. Freemen would choose
51:(9th edition) defines Freeman as follows:
345:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
266:
78:. Cf. VASSAL. - also written free man.
335:
325:
7:
165:his property. But if he was deemed
308:(9th ed.). St. Paul, MN USA:
14:
300:Garner, Bryan A., Editor in Chief
274:Stratton, Eugene Aubrey (1986).
61:2. A person who is not a slave.
1:
393:Slavery in the United States
209:The Founding of New England
414:
221:Theophilus Eaton, et al.,
207:James Truslow Adams, LLD,
56:civil and political rights
15:
187:in 1639 in the form of a
214:James Hammond Trumbull,
145:. There was an unstated
36:Massachusetts Bay Colony
25:American colonial period
18:Freeman (disambiguation)
376:(1825–26 edition)
305:Black's Law Dictionary
244:The Puritan Experiment
132:Progression to freeman
48:Black's Law Dictionary
204:(1853–54, 5 volumes)
312:. pp. 736–737.
253:(1849, 1988 edition)
239:(1889, 1898 edition)
83:indentured servitude
16:For other uses, see
242:Francis J. Bremer,
167:legally incompetent
147:probationary period
122:assistant governors
338:has generic name (
90:indentured servant
76:allodial landowner
319:978-0-314-19949-2
249:Lucias R. Paige,
180:Oath of a Freeman
173:Oath of a freeman
405:
377:
370:
364:
357:
351:
350:
343:
337:
333:
331:
323:
296:
290:
289:
271:
143:leave the colony
124:who made up the
112:who made up the
110:deputy governors
413:
412:
408:
407:
406:
404:
403:
402:
383:
382:
381:
380:
371:
367:
358:
354:
344:
334:
324:
320:
310:West Publishing
298:
297:
293:
286:
273:
272:
268:
263:
197:
195:Further reading
175:
155:
134:
71:. Cf. VILLEIN.
40:Plymouth Colony
21:
12:
11:
5:
411:
409:
401:
400:
395:
385:
384:
379:
378:
372:James Savage,
365:
352:
318:
291:
284:
265:
264:
262:
259:
258:
257:
254:
247:
240:
233:
228:Silas Andrus,
226:
219:
212:
205:
196:
193:
174:
171:
154:
151:
133:
130:
13:
10:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
410:
399:
396:
394:
391:
390:
388:
375:
369:
366:
362:
356:
353:
348:
341:
336:|first1=
329:
321:
315:
311:
307:
306:
301:
295:
292:
287:
285:0-916489-18-3
281:
277:
270:
267:
260:
255:
252:
248:
245:
241:
238:
234:
231:
227:
224:
220:
217:
213:
210:
206:
203:
199:
198:
194:
192:
190:
186:
182:
181:
172:
170:
168:
164:
160:
152:
150:
148:
144:
139:
131:
129:
127:
123:
119:
118:General Court
115:
111:
107:
103:
102:town meetings
99:
94:
91:
86:
84:
79:
77:
72:
70:
65:
62:
59:
57:
52:
50:
49:
44:
41:
37:
32:
30:
26:
19:
373:
368:
360:
355:
303:
294:
275:
269:
250:
243:
236:
235:John Fiske,
229:
222:
215:
208:
201:
185:Stephen Daye
178:
176:
156:
153:Free planter
135:
95:
87:
80:
74:5. Hist. An
73:
66:
63:
60:
53:
46:
45:
33:
28:
22:
363:(1979) p 15
359:Gary Nash,
159:land holder
126:lower house
114:upper house
67:4. Hist. A
23:During the
387:Categories
261:References
69:freeholder
328:cite book
189:broadside
163:inherited
141:asked to
106:bicameral
302:(2009).
225:(1656)
116:of the
34:In the
29:freeman
316:
282:
246:(1976)
232:(1822)
218:(1876)
211:(1927)
120:, and
98:common
347:link
340:help
314:ISBN
280:ISBN
138:free
88:An
389::
332::
330:}}
326:{{
27:a
349:)
342:)
322:.
288:.
20:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.