Freeman (Colonial)

Freeman (Colonial)

Freeman is a term which originated in 12th century Europe and is common as an English or American Colonial expression in Puritan times. In the Bay Colony, a man had to be a member of the Church to be a freeman. In Colonial Plymouth, 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 by 1632 only freemen could vote in Plymouth.

Black's Law Dictionary (9th edition) defines Freeman as 1. A person who possesses and enjoys all the civil and political rights belonging to the people under a free government. 2. A person who is not a slave. 3. Hist. A member of a municipal corporation (a city or a borough) who possesses full civic rights, esp. the right to vote. 4. Hist. A freeholder. Cf. VILLEIN. 5. Hist. An allodial landowner. Cf. VASSAL. - also written free man.

"Freedom" was earned after an allotted time, or until the person demanding "payment" was satisfied – this was known as indentured servitude, and was not originally intended as a stigma or embarrassment for the person involved since many of the sons and daughters of the wealthy and famous of the time found themselves forced into such temporary servitude.

An indentured servant 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 contract, the indentured servant (male or female) 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."

The entire system of "freemen" was officially eliminated by 1691, though parts of the system did still remain through the 18th century.

Once a man was made a freeman, and was no longer considered a common, he could, and usually would, become a member of the church, and he could own land. The amount of land 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 (town meetings) to make and enforce laws and pass judgment in civil and criminal matters. As the colonies grew these meetings became impractical and a representative bicameral system was developed. Freeman would choose deputy governors who made up the upper house of the General Court and assistant governors, the lower house, who chose the governor from among their ranks, and who 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. Women, Native Americans and other non-Puritans were not made freeman.