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The Mayflower Compact and ‘Consent of the Governed’ Is Now 400 Years Old

The Mayflower Compact and ‘Consent of the Governed’ Is Now 400 Years Old
'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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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.

Rob Natelson
Rob Natelson
Author
Robert G. Natelson is a former constitutional law professor and senior fellow in constitutional jurisprudence at the Independence Institute in Denver. He is the author of “The Original Constitution: What It Actually Said and Meant” (4th ed. publication pending). He also is a contributor to the Heritage Foundation’s “Heritage Guide to the Constitution.”
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