The first written Constitution in North America was written in 1620 by Pilgrims just before landing at Plymouth rock. It remained the fundamental law of the Plymouth colony until the late seventeenth century. What was it called?

When the Pilgrims' ship was blown off course, landing them in modern-day Massachusetts instead of Virginia, they found themselves outside the authority of any established government. To prevent anarchy and create a functioning society, the 41 adult male colonists drafted and signed a short document aboard their ship before setting foot on land. This agreement, the first governing document of the Plymouth Colony, is known as the Mayflower Compact.

The Compact was not a detailed constitution but rather a social contract. In it, the signers agreed to form a "civil body politic" and to enact "just and equal laws" for the general good of the colony. By signing, they pledged to subordinate their own interests to the will of the group, establishing a government based on the consent of the governed.

This brief but profound document served as the foundation (Review) of law for the Plymouth Colony for over 70 years. It is considered a landmark text in the history of American democracy, establishing an early precedent for self-government and the idea that a society's power can derive from its own members rather than from a distant monarch.