The Mayflower Compact was ratified and enacted on November 11, 1620 (Old Style calendar), which corresponds to November 21, 1620, in the New Style (Gregorian) calendar, while the Mayflower was anchored at Provincetown Harbor off Cape Cod. The compact was signed by 41 adult male passengers aboard the ship as a social contract to form a governing body and abide by laws for the colony's general good, establishing the first framework of government in what is now the United States.