Essay On The Mayflower Compact

Words: 544
Pages: 3

The Mayflower Compact established the newfound rights of the Puritans coming to America from Great Britain. The Puritans wanted religious freedom, but still remain faithful to their ruler, King James. The document made these requirements clear and was the first written form of any established law of the new colonies. With the set principles in place, the Puritans practiced their religion and regulated their own freedoms apart from the original guidelines that were given to the pilgrims by Great Britain. In 1620, the pilgrims landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts, which was far from the original destination. With the original intention to land in Virginia, the pilgrims needed to write an established law because the one given to them by the King James no longer applied to the colonies that far north. This situation was mentioned in the document and stated the new location of the colony: “Honour of our King and Country, a Voyage to plant the first Colony in the northern Parts of Virginia … we have hereunto …show more content…
The pilgrims made those ideas clear and stated in the compact, “ 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” (Mayflower Compact). The Mayflower Compact ensured theses ideas to be under, yet separate, from the country of Great Britain and the rule of King James. The pilgrims’ promised “ due Submission and Obedience” to their ruler, which showed the pilgrims were still loyal. By being the first written form of a constitution for the colonies, the Mayflower Compact is of great importance. Though the document was not strong enough to be even used by the pilgrims for long, the Mayflower Compact still provided an example to other countries and people of established