Why Did The Mayflower Compact?

Historical Beginning in the early 15th century a group came together, calling themselves the “Company of Merchant Adventurers of London”.(3) In later years they would send a crew out to the New World, on a ship known as the Mayflower. Via their financing the Mayflower was able to make its transatlantic journey. Having reached the New World it was met with unforeseen circumstances, and wound up anchoring off of Cape Cod, near what is present day Massachusetts. With their original destination being Virginia, some crew members saw this as an opportunity to, “use their own liberty” to create a new civilization, as no one, “had power to command them”.(1) At that point the Pilgrims realized they were in desperate need of something, anything,

In their constitutions, rules, or guidelines they fail to outline and emphasize that new laws will be put in place, “from time to time ... for the general good”.(4) Commonly, governments fail when they can no longer support their people as originally intended. A prime example being Communism, and the Soviet Union, failing their people until they too, fell. The Mayflower Compact addressed this issue perfectly, in stating that laws should be put in place when necessary. This is important because it keeps the nation’s rules simple, orderly, and understandable for the average citizen. Furthermore the Mayflower Compact stated that laws should be made for the general good. In emerging governments this tends to get glossed over. Opting instead to enact laws that will boost their GDP over their country’s general happiness. A happy nation, however, is easier to run, as the natural tendency will be to trust the government, rather than fear or despise it. In scripting the Mayflower Compact the way that they did, the Pilgrims wrote an eloquent, and impactful guideline for any emerging government