mayflower compact

The Mayflower Compact was a foundational document signed on November 11, 1620, by the male passengers aboard the ship Mayflower as they landed at Cape Cod. It established a temporary, legally-binding government for the new Plymouth Colony, as the passengers had landed outside the jurisdiction of their original patent from the Virginia Company. The Compact bound the signers to form a "civil body politic" and to enact laws for the general good of the colony with due submission and obedience. It is considered a significant step in the development of democratic government in America, emphasizing self- government and collective agreement. The original document has been lost, but its text and the names of the signers have been preserved in later historical accounts. The Compact was not a constitution but rather a practical covenant to maintain order and unity among the settlers in a legally uncertain situation. It remained in force until Plymouth Colony was absorbed into the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1691.