The colonial document that is often considered as the first in which the signers gave their consent to be governed according to the decisions made by their leaders is the Mayflower Compact. The Mayflower Compact was a social contract signed by the Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower ship in 1620 before they landed at Plymouth Colony in present-day Massachusetts. It established a basic government and outlined the principles of self-governance for the new colony.
The colonial document that was the first in which the signers gave their consent to the governed, according to the decisions made by their leaders, is the Mayflower Compact.
