A ship blown off course wrote its own rulebook before anyone stepped ashore

Storms pushed the Mayflower hundreds of miles north of its intended landing in Virginia, leaving the Pilgrims outside any existing colonial charter's legal authority. Before disembarking, 41 men signed an agreement to govern themselves by majority rule — a short document now considered an early seed of American constitutional self-government.

— Signed by 41 passengers of the Mayflower, Mayflower Compact — November 11, 1620