The Mayflower Compact was signed aboard the ship Mayflower on November 11, 1620, while it was anchored in Provincetown Harbor, Massachusetts, near the northern tip of Cape Cod. This location was where the passengers decided to establish a temporary government before going ashore, as they had landed outside the jurisdiction of their original patent for Virginia. The signing took place onboard the ship itself, not on land. Provincetown Harbor was the specific place where the document was drafted and signed by 41 men among the passengers of the Mayflower. This significant event marked the first framework of government in what would become the United States.
