What was the signifacance of the mayflower compact?

Answer 1

In England, where the Pilgrims came from, and most other places in Europe, people were subject to a King and to the lords and officials he appointed. Even where a Parliament existed, as in England, very few people were entitled to vote for representatives, and the King still had great power. In some areas, groups might be ruled by a clan chief who was the strongest warrior - but always, the people were ruled by others. The Mayflower Compact is the earliest known instance in which the members of a group agreed that the best way for their community to survive was for ALL the men in the group to agree jointly upon their own rules for the community and to obey those rules were even if they had originally voted against them. This was a true democracy, the first ever established in the American colonies by Europeans. It was a revolutionary idea that people could and should govern themselves.