Mayflower Compact

E1771

The Mayflower Compact was a 1620 agreement among the Pilgrim settlers establishing a framework for self-government and majority rule in the Plymouth Colony.


Statements (72)
Predicate Object
instanceOf colonial charter
historical document
political agreement
social contract
appliesTo Plymouth Colony
category 1620 in law
1620 in the Thirteen Colonies
Documents of the Thirteen Colonies
Founding documents of the United States
Legal history of Massachusetts
Plymouth Colony
containsPhrase civil Body Politick
general good of the Colony
just and equal Laws
createdBy Pilgrim settlers
Separatist Puritans
non-Separatist colonists
draftedBy John Carver
Pilgrim leaders
William Bradford
William Brewster
established civil body politic
majority rule
self-government in Plymouth Colony
governedUntil 1691
hasAlternativeName Agreement Between the Settlers of New Plymouth
Compact of the Mayflower
hasDateDiscrepancyReason difference between Julian and Gregorian calendars
inspiredBy English self-governing traditions
church covenant models
covenant theology
jurisdictionContext outside the bounds of the Virginia Company patent
knownFrom later copies and transcriptions
language English
originalTextStatus original manuscript lost
purpose to legitimize settlement outside Virginia Company jurisdiction
to maintain order and survival
to provide a framework for government in Plymouth Colony
relatedTo Plymouth Colony legal framework
United States constitutional history
colonial New England governance
signedAboard Mayflower
signedAtLocation Provincetown Harbor
signedBy 41 male passengers
Degory Priest
Edward Doty
Edward Leister
Edward Tilley
Edward Winslow
Francis Cooke
Isaac Allerton
John Alden
John Billington
John Carver
John Howland
John Tilley
John Turner
Myles Standish
Richard Warren
Samuel Fuller
Stephen Hopkins
Thomas Tinker
William Bradford
William Brewster
signedInColony Plymouth Colony
signedNear Cape Cod
signedOn 1620-11-11
1620-11-21
significance early example of self-government in North America
precursor to later American constitutional documents
symbol of majority rule tradition in the United States
supersededBy Massachusetts Bay Colony charter


Please wait…