How Did The Mayflower Compact

The Mayflower Compact is written to“constitute and frame” the government for the Pilgrims, and the Mayflower Compact contains and applies to law, ordinances, and acts that are meant to be followed by each of the Pilgrims living in northern Virginia. This document exemplifies how the first body of government in North America came to be, and the first laws, ordinances, etc. that were instituted, and it represents how the Mayflower Compact was a basis, and an influence on today’s government.

Written documents proved to be a major influence on the unification of the American colonies. Beginning as early as 1620, when the Separatist Pilgrims left the jurisdiction of the Church of England and escaped the “Dutchification” of their children in Holland to go to the New World, the establishment of self-government through the Mayflower Compact became present. It was heavily based off of the Magna Carta of 1215 which provided the foundation of the rule of law. Created and signed by the adult males onboard, the document stated that the Pilgrims would “combine [themselves] together into one civil body politic, for [their] better ordering and preservation” (Document 1). It went on to declare that they would abide by the newly formed laws and elect officers. This led to the creation of town meetings, places of direct democracy where men could work together with each other to create laws.

This document attempted “... to temporarily establish that government until a more official one could be drawn up in England that would give them the right to self-govern themselves in New England”( MayflowerHistory.com) . While the Compact could be seen as a basis for the Constitution, in reality it was not.

When they were on there way to Virginia they didn't have enough resources to continue on towards Virginia. They were also too lazy to go on any further so they landed on Massachusetts and they made a colonization called Plymouth. The only reason they made Plymouth is for religious persecution.

The Mayflower landed on Massachusetts bay in 1620, some distance away from their intended destination of Virginia and out of the jurisdiction of the Virginia Company. The colonists signed the Mayflower Compact thus establishing a "civil body politic". This was the commencement of another colonial area which would prove to be much different than the already developing Chesapeake region but also share some similarities. The New England and Chesapeake colonies were socially similar yet developed different economies and ways of life. Slave labor was a much larger factor of economic development in the Chesapeake areas. And religious beliefs had a larger force in shaping life in the New England colonies. However, both regions encountered similar tensions with native Americans over land.

On September 6, 1620, 102 men, women and children from England boarded a small cargo boat called the Mayflower and set sail for the New World. The passengers left their homes in England in search of religious freedom from the King of England. Today they are known as "pilgrims."

The Mayflower Compact, marked by 41 English settlers on the ship Mayflower on November 11, 1620, was the primary composed system of government built up in what is currently the United States. The smaller was drafted to forestall contradict among Puritans and non-separatist Pilgrims who had arrived at Plymouth a couple of days

The creation the Mayflower compact was a very significant event in the history of the United States because of its example of a the first type of government in North America. The Mayflower Compact was draw up by a group of people known as Pilgrims in 1620. These people, mostly English, were in search of more religious freedom and better lives in the New World. 100 pilgrims began this journey in September of 1620 (History.com staff). Before, landing in New England, the Pilgrims signed the Mayflower Compact. This legal document created “just and equal Laws, Ordinances, Acts, Constitutions and Offices” (History.com staff). This was the first example of a self-government in the New World. The founding fathers would later use many of the ideas in the Mayflower Compact in other governing documents such as the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution. Through these examples, it is clear that the Mayflower Compact is significant to American history because it provided many ideas of self government that are still used in our governing documents today.

In 1620, the Pilgrim leaders, who came to America on the ship the Mayflower, wrote the Mayflower Compact. The original document was lost, however a copy of it that was written in William Bradford’s journal, was found. (“Pilgrim Hall Museum…”) The Pilgrims were originally going to land in Virginia, but their ship got off course due to a storm. Instead, the Pilgrims and crewmembers of the ship landed in Cape Cod. They later became known as the Plymouth Colony. (Foner, 66) The Pilgrim leaders wrote the Mayflower Compact when they landed in Cape Cod. The men aboard the Mayflower ship signed the Mayflower Compact, which was named for the ship. (“Pilgrim Hall Museum…”)

The Mayflower Compact, written and signed in 1620 by forty-one white men aboard a ship called the Mayflower, provided basic laws for those who first arrived in America. Eventually the thirteen colonies expanded, which brought an economical benefit and expanded trade for Britain. However, in the mid-1700s, Britain pushed the colonists to their limits, imposing them with unfair taxes. As a result, in 1775, colonists revolted in the American Revolution. When the war ended, colonists gained their freedom, from Britain, with the signing of The Treaty of Paris (1783).

The pilgrims arrived to Plymouth, Massachusetts December 11, 1620. Massachusetts during this time was a cold and dreary place. As the newly arrived pilgrims stepped off the Mayflower in their layers of stockings, waistcoats, petticoats, and breeches they knew nothing about the people or the new land they had arrived to. Considering Planting season had come and gone the newly arrived pilgrims had to find a way to survive. If the pilgrims wanted to survive they would have to learn how to tend and manage the land from their Native American friends the Wampanoag.

In the movie, they were portrayed by William Bradford and Dr. Samuel Fuller, Puritans who were referred to as Men of Peace. They arrived on the coastline of Massachusetts in the vicinity of Squanto's former village, where they took over the deserted wigwams of the Patuxet tribe and named their new home Plymouth. After the Native Americans' previous encounters with arriving Englishmen resulted in death and tragedy, they were prepared for war. The newly arrived Pilgrims were not willing to leave the acquired territory and were ready to defend it. Expecting resistance, they brought soldiers and

The pilgrims were suppose to get off the boat in Virginia, instead they stopped in Massachusetts. The ship the pilgrims were on, was called the MayFlower, which left on September 16,1620. William Bradford was the captain of the ship. They said for two months. On November 21, 1620 pilgrims who were still alive, were suppose to sign a compact, which was called the Mayflower Compact. In the late 1620s, they landed in Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts. When they finally got to Massachusetts, half of the pilgrims on the Mayflower died. In March 1621, Samoset a native american the pilgrims met introduced Squanto to the pilgrims. Squanto taught the pilgrims how to fertilize the soil with fish bones. Then, the celebrated a harvest with the Wampango Indians.

The Mayflower compact was very important because it was what kept the pilgrims in line. Without the compact, they would have done whatever they want because there would have been no rules. According to Learningtogive.org, “The drafters of the Compact clearly indicated the importance of the greater good”. What that means is that the members of the ship wanted the choices to be made to be good for the majority. The Mayflower compact was also influenced our present day

The Pilgrims are a group of people who left Holland to build a new life in North America and evangelize to the native inhabitants. They found a group of English business men, known as the Adventures, who financed their expedition in exchange for the Pilgrim’s profits during the first seven years. They shipped off with the Speedwell and Mayflower ships. However, the Speedwell continued to leak, forcing them to return to the port. Thus resorting to the Pilgrim’s crowding onto the Mayflower, leaving some behind. Once again, they shipped off from Plymouth, New England, with people from the Leyden congregation, non-separatists, and “strangers.” November 9, 1620, after 66 days at sea, the pilgrims finally reached the shore and stayed at the Cape