This paper explains that the Pilgrims' colony was
established by the signing of the Mayflower Compact, which also established
the concept of "just and equal laws for the general good of the colony". The author points out that this agreement is among the first of the American documents of self-
government with unity for the United States, an attempt at establishing the voluntary principles of government, which may be seen to have evolved from the Word of God, with the consent of the citizens. The paper continues that the American Revolution reconstituted the colonies as independent civil societies, and this change required a new round of covenanting, which resulted in the Declaration of Independence.