Initially, all persons seeking to be free needed to take the Oath of a Freeman, 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 Stephen Daye in 1639 in the form of a broadside or single sheet of paper intended for posting in public places.
Read more about this topic: Freeman (Colonial)
Famous quotes containing the words oath of a, oath of, oath and/or freeman:
“The oath of a lover is no stronger than the word of a
tapster; they are both the confirmer of false reckonings.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“Friendship is by its very nature freer of deceit than any other relationship we can know because it is the bond least affected by striving for power, physical pleasure, or material profit, most liberated from any oath of duty or of constancy.”
—Francine Du Plesssix Gray (20th century)
“On principle I dislike an oath which requires a man to swear he has not done wrong. It rejects the Christian principle of forgiveness on terms of repentance. I think it is enough if the man does no wrong hereafter.”
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865)
“I am a freeman and jolly as a beggar.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)