What is the Mayflower Compact known for?

The Mayflower Compact is recognized for its role in establishing a self-government agreement among the Pilgrims who arrived in North America aboard the Mayflower in 1620. This historic document was created because the Pilgrims found themselves outside the authority of the Virginia Company’s charter when they landed in New England. In order to maintain order and ensure that they could govern themselves, the signers agreed to form a community and establish laws for the general good of the colony. This is significant because it represented one of the first forms of social contract in the New World, fostering the idea of governance by consent of the governed and laying foundational principles for democracy in America.

The other choices do not accurately reflect the essence of the Mayflower Compact. The document does not establish a monarchy, nor is it a treaty or an oath of allegiance. Instead, it is focused on self-governance, which was a revolutionary concept at the time and contributed to the development of democratic principles that would resonate throughout American history.