Lessons from the Mayflower Compact on its 400th Anniversary

Four hundred years ago this weekend (November 21), about one hundred passengers and thirty crew sat off the coast of modern day Massachusetts in a ship called Mayflower. Forty-one of the passengers were a group of religious pilgrims, while the rest were a mixture of merchants and other people wanting to settle in the new world. They had endured a difficult 10 weeks crossing the Atlantic Ocean from England. Their goal was to reach the northern part of the Colony of Virginia in the Hudson River area of North America, where they had been granted permission by their King to settle. During their crossing, however, they had landed further north, beyond the Virginia borders where they were authorized. As such, the conditions they had agreed to live by in Virginia no longer applied in this new territory. The passengers realized they had to come up with a new set of common rules to guide them. On November 21, 1620, 41 of the passengers signed a document for this purpose that became known as the Mayflower Compact.

Three hundred years later, Massachusetts Governor (and soon to be Vice President and President) Calvin Coolidge described the Mayflower Compact this way: "The compact which they signed was an event of the greatest importance. It was the foundation of liberty based on law and order, and that tradition has been steadily upheld. They drew up a form of government which has been designated as the first real constitution of modern times. It was democratic, an acknowledgment of liberty under law and order and the giving to each person the right to participate in the government, while they promised to be obedient to the laws."

To mark the 400ths anniversary of the signing of the Mayflower Compact, here is the text of the Compact (in bold italics) with some annotations:

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, &c. Having undertaken for the Glory of God, and Advancement of the Christian Faith, and the Honour of our King and Country, a Voyage to plant the first Colony in the northern Parts of Virginia;

In this opening, the signers are reaffirming that they remain loyal subjects of King James in this world and loyal followers of God beyond this world. Because they were outside of the borders of their intended landing spot in the northern edge of the Colony of Virginia, some of the passengers may have sensed an opportunity to free themselves of their loyalty to their monarch. By starting with this statement, the signers nipped that temptation in the bud before it could grow.

Do by these Presents, solemnly and mutually, in the Presence of God and one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil Body Politick, for our better Ordering and Preservation, and Furtherance of the Ends aforesaid:

With this phrase, the signers are saying they knew they must cooperate. They realized they were about to go through an arduous winter in this new world. They must have known they needed all the help they could get, so cooperation was key. This was particularly important because they had landed as winter began instead of in the spring due to delays in their departure.

And by Virtue hereof do enact, constitute, and frame, such just and equal Laws, Ordinances, Acts, Constitutions, and Officers, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general Good of the Colony; unto which we promise all due Submission and Obedience. 

Here the signers were describing the basic outlines of how this common governance was going to work. There were four main parts to this. First, they saw codifying their rules in written "laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions" as being important. Next, they saw the need to select "officers" to act on behalf of the whole. Then they talked about meetings as a way to make these written rules and select officers. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, they commited to abide by the rules and officers this collective governance created. They basically forfeited their individual rights for their right to share in the design and implementation of their collective governance.

IN WITNESS whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names at Cape-Cod the eleventh of November, in the Reign of our Sovereign Lord King James, of England, France, and Ireland, the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth, Anno Domini; 1620.

The date referenced here is from the old calendar system of the time where the eleventh of November would now be equal to the 21st of November. The 41 signers of the document were all adult men, as was the custom of the day. Sixty-plus other people on the Mayflower did not sign the document because they were women, too young, or other reasons.

It has been said that "necessity is the mother of invention." This saying seems to be most appropriate in describing the Mayflower Compact. Due to an unintended landing spot, the Mayflower passengers were forced to come up with something to govern them, and they ended up coming up with the broad brush outline of representative democracy. Many see the Mayflower Compact as the seed that evolved into the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States of America. (Others point to the democratic practices of the Iroquois Nation centuries earlier as the true birth of democracy in North America.) Like much in history, it leaves us to wonder how history would have evolved if the Mayflower had landed where it was intended.

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About the Author: Victor Prince is a corporate trainer, executive coach, and an Amazon Top 20 best-selling leadership author who helps organizations build leadership, strategy, communications, and critical thinking skills. Follow Victor on LinkedIN to access his 100+ articles on leadership, strategy, learning & development, and more.

Sources: Wikipedia.org, History.com, Brittanica.com