Seen as a forerunner to the U.S. Constitution, the signers of The Mayflower Compact agreed to work together and to establish their own rules. The Pilgrims were a small group of religious separatists who sailed for the British colony of Virginia in September 1620. Along with a party of Merchant Adventurers, they arrived farther north at Cape Cod instead. Deciding to remain in Massachusetts, it was believed that their original patent for Virginia was now invalid. In its place the adult males signed a new agreement or compact which was later named for their ship as the Mayflower Compact.(*Note: Modern spellings have been used.) Read the full text here.
