The Mayflower Compact

November 11, 1620

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In the name of God, Amen.

We, whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread Sovereigne Lord, King James, by the grace of God, of Great Britaine, France and Ireland king, defender of the faith, etc. having undertaken, for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith, and honour of our king and country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the Northerne parts of Virginia, doe by these presents solemnly and mutually in the presence of God and one of another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civill body politick, for our better ordering and preservation, and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by virtue hereof to enacte, constitute, and frame such just and equall laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions and offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meete and convenient for the generall good of the Colonie unto which we promise all due submission and obedience. In witness whereof we have hereunder subscribed our names at Cape-Codd the 11. of November, in the year of the raigne of our sovereigne lord, King James, of England, France and Ireland, the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fiftie-fourth. Anno Dom. 1620.

• John Carver

• William Bradford

• Edward Winslow

• William Brewster

• Issac Allerton

• Myles Standish

• John Alden

• Samuel Fuller

• Christopher Martin

• William Mullins

• William White

• Richard Warren

• John Howland

• Stephen Hopkins

• Edward Tilley

• John Tilley

• Francis Cooke

• Thomas Rogers

• Thomas Tinker

• John Rigdale

• Edward Fuller

• John Turner

• Francis Eaton

• James Chilton

• John Crackston

• John Billington

• Moses Fletcher

• John Goodman

• Degory Priest

• Thomas Williams

• Gilbert Winslow

• Edmund Margeson

• Peter Browne

• Richard Britteridge

• George Soule

• Richard Clarke

• Richard Gardiner

• John Allerton

• Thomas English

• Edward Dotey

• Edward Leister

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This document appears in the Compendium: Chapter 2

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William Bradford's transcription of the Compact (1646)

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Annotation:

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An agreement signed by the passengers of the Mayflower before they disembarked at Plymouth. Drafted primarily by the Pilgrims, it established a self-governing colony based on majority rule and mutual consent, with signers pledging to create “just and equal laws” for the good of the community. The Compact was significant because it represented one of the earliest forms of social contract in English North America, emphasizing collective governance, civic responsibility, and the principle that legitimate authority derives from the consent of the governed rather than from the Crown alone.

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Author:

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Signing the Mayflower Compact 1620 — Jean Leon Gerome Ferris 1899

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Transcript Source: https://www.ushistory.org/documents//mayflower.htm 

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