Why did the people on the Mayflower sign the Mayflower Compact?

Of the 102 passengers aboard, only about 52 of them were actually "pilgrims" from Leiden who were leaving to the New World in hopes of religious freedom. The other half consisted of passengers of varying beliefs and ethics. It was decided that the signing of the Mayflower Compact would ease tensions and help colonists work together. One of the most important provisions of the Mayflower Compact was that a governor would be democratically elected, unlike the way it was done in either England's monarchy or Leiden's church congregation.

Although it was brief and rather unconventional, the democratic nature of the document combined with the fact that it was the first such document signed in America makes the Mayflower Compact one of the important documents in U.S. history. It is sometimes compared to the Declaration of Independence and considered one of its inspirations.