The Role of Civil Liberty in American Westward Expansion – On the 400th Anniver-sary of the Mayflower Compact

Abstract

The Mayflower Compact was signed 400 years ago, on November 11, 1620 and marked the birth of self-government in North America. The Pil-grim Fathers received a charter from James I and were determined to establish a colony in Virginia. However, as they anchored at Cape Cod in Massachusetts, the settlers decided to formulate a social contract and create their own rules and regulations. The purpose of this essay is to examine the role of civil liberty and settler initiative in American westward expansion from the founding of the first English colonies to the middle of the 19th century when the USA reached its continental borders.