Commentary
The year 2020 marks the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower Compact. The agreement, signed by 41 Pilgrim Fathers in 1620, was the first in a series of documents memorializing deliberate self-government in America.
'9th November 1620, Signing the Mayflower Compact' by Edward Percy Moran (1862-1935). Aboard ship the pilgrims are signing an agreement for temporary government of the colony by the will of the majority. Three Lions/Getty Images
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Rob Natelson
Author
Robert G. Natelson, a former constitutional law professor who is senior fellow in constitutional jurisprudence at the Independence Institute in Denver, authored “The Original Constitution” (4th ed., 2025). He is a contributor to the Heritage Foundation’s “Heritage Guide to the Constitution.”
