Page 14 - Heavenly Signs III by Mel Gable

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The Mayflower Compact was the first governing document of Plymouth Colony. It was written by the
Separatists, also known as the “Saints” fleeing from religious persecution by King James of Great Britain. They
traveled aboard the Mayflower in 1620 along with adventurers, tradesmen, and servants. The Mayflower was
originally bound for the Colony of Virginia, financed by the Company of Merchant Adventurers of London.
Storms forced the landing at Cape Cod in what is now Massachusetts. This inspired the passengers to proclaim
and draft an agreement, since the settlement would not be made in the agreed upon Virginia territory. They
“would use their own liberty; for none had power to command them....” It is the reason for many of the colonists to choose
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to establish a government.

The Mayflower Compact was based upon a majority model even though the signers were not in the majority.
The pilgrims pledged allegiance to the King of England. It was in essence a social contract in which the settlers
consented to follow the compact's rules and regulations for the sake of survival. In November 1620, the
Mayflower landed at Plymouth, named after the major port city in Devon, England from which she sailed. The
settlers named their settlement “Plimoth” or “Plimouth” using the early English spellings of the 17th century.

Pilgrim Monument:

The Pilgrim Monument was founded in 1892 as
the Cape Cod Pilgrim Memorial Association—
Cape Cod’s oldest non-profit organization. Its
purpose is to commemorate the Mayflower
Pilgrims’ first landing in the New World in
Provincetown, in November 1620. Here the
Pilgrims spent 5 weeks exploring the tip of Cape
Cod, before they sailed on to Plymouth. They
also drew up and signed the Mayflower
Compact, which established the rule of law for
the new land. The Cape Cod Pilgrim Memorial
Association built the Pilgrim Monument to
honor the Pilgrims’ first landing in
Provincetown. President Theodore Roosevelt
laid the cornerstone in 1907. In 1910, President
William Howard Taft dedicated the finished
252-foot tower. In 1910, the Cape’s first building
built to house a museum opened at the base of
the monument, to educate the public about
Provincetown’s role in Pilgrim history and
American history.

The Cape Cod Pilgrim Monument (CCASA)

The Mayflower Compact was signed aboard ship on November 11, 1620 by most adult men, but not by most
crew and adult male servants. The Pilgrims used the Julian calendar which was known as Old Style dates. At that
time, it was ten days behind the Gregorian calendar used today. Signing the covenant were 41 who were free men
of the ship's 101 passengers. It occurred while the Mayflower was anchored in what is now Provincetown
Harbor within the northern tip of Cape Cod. Signing occurred prior to the settlement site being selected. 9

9 Young, Alexander (1841). Chronicles of the Pilgrim Fathers of the Colony of Plymouth from 1602 to 1625. pp. 117–124