Mayflower Compact Essay, Research Paper

Mayflower Compact

In the name of God. Amen. We, whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread sovereign, Lord King James, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, etc having undertaken, for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith, and honor of our king and country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia, do by these Presents solemnly and mutually promise in the presence of God, and one of another, covenant and combine ourselves into a civil Body Politik for our better ordering and preservation and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by Virtue hereof, to enact, constitute, and frame such just and equal Laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, and offices from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the Good of the Colony unto which we promise all due submission and obedience.”

On November 21, 1620, forty-one men signed the Mayflower Compact, a contract modeled after a Separatist church covenant, by which each man agreed to establish a Civil Body Politik and to be bound by its laws. This agreement was thought necessary, because there were rumors that some of the non-Separatists among the crew would defy the Pilgrims, if they landed in a place other than the one specified in the land grant they had received from the Virginia Company.

The Pilgrims did not land in the northern parts of Virginia were they were granted by the kings charter. Instead they landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts. In order to keep peace and prevent mutiny from occurring, they formed the Mayflower Compact, which is a document, basically like the charter, granting rights or privileges to the settlers in the new colony. The compact became the basis of government in the Plymouth Colony, and later on, it became the fundamental framework of government.

The Mayflower Compact is basically an agreement that says that, since the 41 men who signed the document are traveling for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith, and honor of our king and country to plant the first colony in northern Virginia they all agree to form a temporary government and make their own laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, and offices that benefits the new colony. In other words, the colonists are combining together to form a government whose purpose is to frame just and equal laws for the general good of the colony.

The drafters intentions were to establish a strong government. The Pilgrims knew that in order to achieve stability in the colony, they needed to establish leadership. That is why in the Mayflower Compact, they promised and pledged submission and obedience to the leaders that they elect, and the laws they pass.

By joining together and forming a government, order will be brought to the people and there will be less chaos in their colony. The people will have rules to live by and the chance of making their own laws that both sides, the Pilgrims and the strangers, can agree on.