were governed or consented to be governed, this theory went back
at least to the Greeks, and doubtless much earlier; and, though
of some significance in medieval thought, it became of greater
importance in British political philosophy, especially through
the works of Thomas Hobbes and John Locke. A very practical
application of the compact theory was made in the English
Revolution of 1688, when in order to avoid the embarrassment of
deposing the king, the convention of the Parliament adopted the
resolution: "That King James the Second, having endeavored to
subvert the Constitution of the Kingdom, by breaking the original
Contract between King and People, and having, by the advice of
Jesuits, and other wicked persons, violated the fundamental Laws,
and withdrawn himself out of this Kingdom, has abdicated the
Government, and that the throne is hereby vacant." These theories
were developed by Jean Jacques Rousseau in his "Contrat
Social"--a book so attractively written that it eclipsed all
other works upon the subject and resulted in his being regarded
as the author of the doctrine--and through him they spread all
over Europe.

Conditions in America did more than lend color to pale
speculation; they seemed to take this hypothesis out of the realm
of theory and to give it practical application. What happened
when men went into the wilderness to live? The Pilgrim Fathers on
board the Mayflower entered into an agreement which was signed by
the heads of families who took part in the enterprise: "We, whose
names are underwritten . . . Do by these presents, solemnly and
mutually, in the Presence of God and one another, covenant and
combine ourselves together into a civil Body Politick."