Why were the Mayflower compact and the fundamentals orders of Connecticut written?

Answer 1

The Mayflower Compact was written when in 1620 the settlers aboard the Mayflower landed north of their original destination in Virginia. The Mayflower Compact was designed to provide a framework of government for Plymouth in the absence Virginian authority. It was significant because it is established the principle of government by the consent of the governed in the new world.

The Fundamental Orders Of Connecticut, adopted in 1639, was also an early document of self-governance in the New World. The Fundamental Orders were substantially more complex than the Mayflower Compact, however, and detailed an actual system system of government, complete with a general assembly that was to meet at regular intervals and a process for election of officials.