What was the primary purpose of the Mayflower Compact signed in 1620?

• A. To establish self-government through a civil covenant among the Pilgrims and set a precedent for consent of the governed.
• B. To declare allegiance to the English Crown.
• C. To organize a military alliance against rival colonies.
• D. To create a framework for trade with Native Americans.

Answer: (A)

At its core, the Mayflower Compact is about creating self-government through a voluntary agreement among the settlers. Faced with the challenge of moving forward in unfamiliar territory, the Pilgrims agreed to bind themselves together and to establish laws for the general good, to be enacted by leaders chosen with the consent of the governed. This established a civil body politic—government based on a social compact rather than autocratic rule from a single authority—and it emphasized that legitimate authority derives from the people’s consent. The document was a pragmatic, early step toward representative government in America and set a precedent for later democratic practices in the colonies.

It isn’t a pledge of allegiance to the English Crown, nor is it a military alliance against other colonies, nor a framework for trade with Native Americans, so those options don’t fit the situation or the purpose of the compact.