Mayflower Compact
AP US History 1-04 essay
The Mayflower Compact
The Mayflower Compact was the very first American self-governing document written and adopted by approximately 40 pilgrims who had just arrived in what is now known as Provincetown near Cape Cod. The Compact was created by the pilgrims that were aboard the Mayflower, a ship carrying pilgrims searching for religious freedom, from various European countries across the Atlantic Ocean. The pilgrims landed in territory that had not been charted by the London Company, established by King James I with the purpose of establishing colonial settlements in America. The pilgrims knew that a very similar practice had been tried some years earlier in Virginia but had basically fallen apart due to the lack of a strong government and leadership. They agreed not to make the same mistake.
During the creation of the compact the Pilgrims included some traditions, including the notion of social contract and the belief in covenants (also known as agreements), amongst others. They believed that covenants not only exist between man and God but also between man and man. The Pilgrims covenants were communicated and adopted by other colonies in the old world. The covenants in the Mayflower Compact were popular and fair to everyone that the settlers agreed to form a government based on the Compact and to be bound by its rules.
The Mayflower Compact is often described as America’s first constitution as it was the initial documents that led to what is now known as democratic rule. The importance of the Compact lies in the belief that government is a form of an agreement between parties and for government to be lawful and legitimate it must derive from the consent of those who agree to be governed by it.
The original Mayflower Compact has not been found and it is thought that it had been destroyed or lost. However, one of the pilgrims, William Bradford, made a copy of the Compact for himself, but it didn’t have any founding signatures
The Mayflower Compact
The Mayflower Compact was the very first American self-governing document written and adopted by approximately 40 pilgrims who had just arrived in what is now known as Provincetown near Cape Cod. The Compact was created by the pilgrims that were aboard the Mayflower, a ship carrying pilgrims searching for religious freedom, from various European countries across the Atlantic Ocean. The pilgrims landed in territory that had not been charted by the London Company, established by King James I with the purpose of establishing colonial settlements in America. The pilgrims knew that a very similar practice had been tried some years earlier in Virginia but had basically fallen apart due to the lack of a strong government and leadership. They agreed not to make the same mistake.
During the creation of the compact the Pilgrims included some traditions, including the notion of social contract and the belief in covenants (also known as agreements), amongst others. They believed that covenants not only exist between man and God but also between man and man. The Pilgrims covenants were communicated and adopted by other colonies in the old world. The covenants in the Mayflower Compact were popular and fair to everyone that the settlers agreed to form a government based on the Compact and to be bound by its rules.
The Mayflower Compact is often described as America’s first constitution as it was the initial documents that led to what is now known as democratic rule. The importance of the Compact lies in the belief that government is a form of an agreement between parties and for government to be lawful and legitimate it must derive from the consent of those who agree to be governed by it.
The original Mayflower Compact has not been found and it is thought that it had been destroyed or lost. However, one of the pilgrims, William Bradford, made a copy of the Compact for himself, but it didn’t have any founding signatures