LeDondrea Patton

US History

Smith

Religious Persecutions Drive Colonists to North America

What was the Mayflower Compact and what is its significance in American history? The Mayflower Compact is something that we have heard about since we began school. To understand the concept and the makeup of the Mayflower Compact, we must first get an understanding of why it we created.

The “first” colonists to step foot into the New World, were called Separatists for leaving the British government, and way of life. These group of individuals were tired of being persecuted by the British government, and wanted a clean path to walk on in what they thought would be a promising future. They were driven by God, God, and Glory. They left on a ship called the Mayflower and embarked on a life changing journey. We all are familiar with the creation of a country (in this case a colony), meaning that we know if you want to be a successful and thriving colony you must first have laws set in place for people to follow, also a government is needed.

These Separatists realized that since they want to be better that the British tolerant, than their laws must follow accordingly. These very first laws of this New World, which evolved into the United States of America, was the soil for this great nation to grow and prosper. This law that the Pilgrims (Separatists) founded was taken to vote as a whole, meaning that everyone had to agree on the laws peaceably. These set of