The Mayflower Compact, signed in 1620 by the Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower, is significant as it established a foundational principle of self-governance in the New World. It represented an early form of social contract where the settlers agreed to create their own laws and abide by them for the sake of order and survival. This compact embodies the democratic ideals that would later influence the formation of the United States. By asserting that authority derives from the consent of the governed, it laid the groundwork for future American democratic practices.