The Mayflower CompactThe Mayflower Compact was signed on November 11, 1620 aboard the ship Mayflower. The Mayflower Compact was signed by forty-one men aboard the ship. The main person responsible for this situation was William Bradford. He explained that the reason he wrote this was because he was afraid of mutiny, and another reason was that he thought they needed some form of self-government. This document was the first colonial agreement that formed a government with the consent of the governed. The compact gave the colonists a plan to develop and enact laws for the general good of the organized colony. Most of the pilgrims were members of the separatist congregation which had split from the Church of England. However, some were not and these people sought independence from the separatists. To prevent this, the Separatist leaders drafted the Covenant, which was formed after the alliance that had established their Separatist faith. Each adult male signed the document. The signatories agreed to follow all “just and equal” laws enacted by the settlers and to be governed by the will of the majority. Plymouth Colony did not receive an English royal charter and so the compact determined governmental authority in the colony until it became part of the Massachusetts Colony in 1691. They believed that they needed to survive, because they needed rules. Otherwise, they could have ended up killing each other. People believed that this would give equal power to the separatists and those who were against them. This was also a good thing because it helped contain the mutiny. The Pilgrims had many reasons for writing the Mayflower Compact. The Pilgrims stated their purposes in writing and forming the colony and the pact was "for the glory of God and the advancement of the Christian faith." Following what the compact said, they declared that they had the power "to promulgate, constitute and formulate such just and equal laws, ordinances and acts." Following what the compact said, they had the power to create "constitutions and offices from time to time, as shall be deemed most convenient for the general good of the colony." This means that the government does not have the power to change or develop. The power to create and cancel governments and new positions belongs to the people..