It was the first framework of government written and enacted in the territory that is now the united states of america, and it remained in force until 1691. When pilgrims and other settlers set out on. The mayflower compact, originally titled agreement between the settlers of new plymouth, was the first governing document of plymouth colony It was written by the men aboard the mayflower, consisting of separatist puritans, adventurers, and tradesmen. The mayflower compact established the democratic government of the plymouth colony while acknowledging the authority of king james i It was signed by 41 men who sailed to the new world on the mayflower in 1620 to establish a new colony in “the northern parts of virginia.”
Localized governments were not unheard of in england at the time, but the “civic body politic” created by the mayflower compact was called upon to do much more than a similar body would back in england. If order was not restored quickly, the new colony likely faced disaster, and so seeing that the situation had to be resolved quickly, the free adult men who made the voyage quickly negotiated and signed a pact, later called the mayflower compact. These principles, articulated by the early settlers, laid a foundation that would influence american democracy for centuries to come. In the annals of american history, few documents hold as much significance as the mayflower compact
OPEN
