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Plymouth Colony did not have a royal charter authorizing them to form any government.  Still, some means of government was needed, and the first document to establish one was the Mayflower Compact, signed by the 41 able-bodied men aboard the Mayflower upon their arrival in Provincetown Harbor on November 21, 1620.  It stayed in effect as the primary governing document until the first formal codification of laws in 1636.  Before that time, and indeed for the life of the colony, the laws of Plymouth were based on a hybrid form of English [[Common Law]] and religious law as laid out in the [[Bible]].<ref name=plymlegal/>  

Plymouth Colony did not have a royal charter authorizing them to form any government.  Still, some means of government was needed, and the first document to establish one was the Mayflower Compact, signed by the 41 able-bodied men aboard the Mayflower upon their arrival in Provincetown Harbor on November 21, 1620.  It stayed in effect as the primary governing document until the first formal codification of laws in 1636.  Before that time, and indeed for the life of the colony, the laws of Plymouth were based on a hybrid form of English [[Common Law]] and religious law as laid out in the [[Geneva Bible]].<ref name=plymlegal/><ref name=ainsworth>[https://books.google.com/books?id=_sUTAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA329 The Pilgrims]</ref>

The colony recognized all "freemen" as full male citizens of the colony with full rights and privileges in voting and holding office.  The original group of freemen were the original adult male settlers from the Mayflower.  Later adult males were made freemen by sponsorship of an existing freemen and acceptance by the General Court.  Later restriction enabled a one-year waiting period between nomination and acceptance of freemen status, and also placed religious restrictions, specifically preventing [[Quakers]] from becoming freemen.<ref name=plymlegal/>  Freemen status was also restricted by age; while the official minimum age was 21, in practical terms most men were elevated to freemen status between the ages of 25 and 40, averaging somewhere in the early thirties.<ref>Demos (1970), pp 148</ref>

The colony recognized all "freemen" as full male citizens of the colony with full rights and privileges in voting and holding office.  The original group of freemen were the original adult male settlers from the Mayflower.  Later adult males were made freemen by sponsorship of an existing freemen and acceptance by the General Court.  Later restriction enabled a one-year waiting period between nomination and acceptance of freemen status, and also placed religious restrictions, specifically preventing [[Quakers]] from becoming freemen.<ref name=plymlegal/>  Freemen status was also restricted by age; while the official minimum age was 21, in practical terms most men were elevated to freemen status between the ages of 25 and 40, averaging somewhere in the early thirties.<ref>Demos (1970), pp 148</ref>

Each town in the colony was also considered a single church congregation; in later years some of the larger towns split into two or three congregations.  While church attendance was mandatory for all residents of the colony, church membership was restricted to those that received God's grace through a personal conversion event.  In Plymouth Colony, it seems that a simple [[Profession (religious)|profession of faith]] was all that was required for acceptance.  This was a rather more liberal than other Puritan congregations, such as those of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, where it was common to subject those seeking formal membership to strict and detailed cross-examination.  Individual congregations were left to their own affairs.  There was no central governing body for the churches.  Each church was left to determine its own standards of membership, hire its own ministers, and conduct its own business.<ref>Demos (1970), pp 8</ref>

Each town in the colony was also considered a single church congregation; in later years some of the larger towns split into two or three congregations.  While church attendance was mandatory for all residents of the colony, church membership was restricted to those that received God's grace through a personal conversion event.  In Plymouth Colony, it seems that a simple [[Profession (religious)|profession of faith]] was all that was required for acceptance.  This was a rather more liberal than other Puritan congregations, such as those of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, where it was common to subject those seeking formal membership to strict and detailed cross-examination.  Individual congregations were left to their own affairs.  There was no central governing body for the churches.  Each church was left to determine its own standards of membership, hire its own ministers, and conduct its own business.<ref>Demos (1970), pp 8</ref>

The church was undoubtedly the most important social institution in the colony.  Not only was the Bible the primary religious document of the society, serving as a primary legal document<ref name=plymlegal>{{cite web | last = Fennell | first = Christopher | title = Plymouth Colony Legal Structure | publisher = The Plymouth Colony Archive Project | date = 1998 | url = http://etext.virginia.edu/users/deetz/Plymouth/ccflaw.html | accessdate = 2007-04-02}}</ref>, the Pilgrims were deeply influenced by the [[Ainsworth Psalter]] named after Henry Ainsworth.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=_sUTAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA329 The Pilgrims]</ref>  Church attendance was mandatory, and church membership was socially vital.  Education was carried out for almost purely religious purposes.  The laws of the colony specifically asked parents to provide for the education of their children, to "at least to be able duely to read the Scriptures" and to understand "the main Grounds and Principles of Christian Religion".  It was expected that the male head of the household was primarily responsible for the religious well being of all members of his household, children and servants alike.<ref>Demos 1970, pp 104-106, 140</ref>

The church was undoubtedly the most important social institution in the colony.  Not only was the Bible the primary religious document of the society, serving as a primary legal document<ref name=plymlegal>{{cite web | last = Fennell | first = Christopher | title = Plymouth Colony Legal Structure | publisher = The Plymouth Colony Archive Project | date = 1998 | url = http://etext.virginia.edu/users/deetz/Plymouth/ccflaw.html | accessdate = 2007-04-02}}</ref>, the Pilgrims were deeply influenced by the [[Ainsworth Psalter]] named after Henry Ainsworth.<ref name=ainsworth/>  Church attendance was mandatory, and church membership was socially vital.  Education was carried out for almost purely religious purposes.  The laws of the colony specifically asked parents to provide for the education of their children, to "at least to be able duely to read the Scriptures" and to understand "the main Grounds and Principles of Christian Religion".  It was expected that the male head of the household was primarily responsible for the religious well being of all members of his household, children and servants alike.<ref>Demos 1970, pp 104-106, 140</ref>

Most churches utilized two acts to sanction its members: censure and excommunication.  Censure was a formal reprimand for behavior that was not in line with accepted religious and social norms, while excommunication included full removal from church membership.  Many social evils, from fornication to public drunkenness, were dealt with in the confines of church sanction, and many church sanctions had no official recognition outside of the confines of church membership.  While often no civil or criminal proceedings would result from these sanctions, it was still a powerful tool of social control.<ref>Demos (1970), pp 8-9</ref>

Most churches utilized two acts to sanction its members: censure and excommunication.  Censure was a formal reprimand for behavior that was not in line with accepted religious and social norms, while excommunication included full removal from church membership.  Many social evils, from fornication to public drunkenness, were dealt with in the confines of church sanction, and many church sanctions had no official recognition outside of the confines of church membership.  While often no civil or criminal proceedings would result from these sanctions, it was still a powerful tool of social control.<ref>Demos (1970), pp 8-9</ref>