Mayflower Compact

The Mayflower Compact, regarded here as the first written constitution in America, was signed by 41 adult male passengers aboard the Mayflower on November 11, 1620, off Cape Cod before the landing at Plymouth. The surviving version was recorded by William Bradford, second governor of the colony, on page 54 of his History of the Plymouth Plantation, written during 1630-1648, while the original compact's whereabouts are unknown and it is thought to have been destroyed by fire during the colony's early years. In the text, the signers, identifying themselves as loyal subjects of King James, declared that they had undertaken a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia for the glory of God, the advancement of the Christian faith, and the honor of king and country. In the presence of God and of one another, they solemnly and mutually covenanted and combined themselves into a civil body politic for their better ordering, preservation, and the furtherance of those ends, and by that authority agreed to enact and frame just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, and offices from time to time for the general good of the colony, promising due submission and obedience.

Sandusky, Ohio · United States