Signing the Mayflower Compact 1620, a painting by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris 1899

The Mayflower Compact was the first governing document of Plymouth Colony. It was drafted by the Pilgrims who crossed the Atlantic on the Mayflower, looking for the freedom to belive in Christianity according to their own beliefs in God. It was signed on 11 November 1620 (OS) by 41 of the ship's more than one hundred passengers, where they first landed. According to the customs of the time, the signers were all male. Of the 41 men who signed the Compact, 21 died during the first year in United States of America. view more...