How did the Mayflower Compact influence the Constitution?
Answers
Answer:
One major idea from the Mayflower Compact that influenced the Declaration of Independence is that the government should be for the common good of all people, not just selected elites.
Explanation:
The Pilgrims or Puritans came to America in order to escape from the Church of England. England was in the hands of a select group of people who were in charge because of their wealth or lineage. They did not put the common good of all the people as their priority, and even if they attempted to, it was because they would benefit from it.
That's why the Puritans signed the Mayflower Compact before leaving the Mayflower. They promised that the government in America (although not totally independent from English rule) would be for the common good of all individuals.
The Declaration of Independence was influenced by this idea and therefore emphasized the importance of the common good:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among men......
Consequently, because of the Mayflower Compact which then influenced the Declaration of Independence, every person has a right to a government that is for their good and the good of every other individual in the country.