The Eastchester Covenant
The Town of Eastchester, New York was settled in 1664 and in the following year the English inhabitants thereof drew up a covenant binding all the townsfolk. Among the various articles within this foundational tract are sensible pronouncements guaranteeing the rights of private property, forbidding trespassing, and a promise to “indeavor to keepe & maintayn Christian love and sivell honesty”.
My favorite part, however, is article 15, stating that “no man shall entertain obnoxious foreigners”.
