Final answer:
The settlement that penned the Mayflower Compact before permanently leaving their ship was the Plymouth Colony, established by Puritan Separatists in 1620. This document, signed on November 11, 1620, is regarded as an early example of self-governance and democratic principles in what would later become the United States.
Step-by-step explanation:
The settlement that wrote the Mayflower Compact before leaving their ship for good was founded by a group of Puritan Separatists in 1620. These individuals boarded the Mayflower and left Plymouth, England to establish a new colony, which they would call Plymouth, in an area now known as Massachusetts, near present-day Boston. Before disembarking the Mayflower, the colony's leaders signed the Mayflower Compact, a seminal document in American history. The Compact not only served as a religious declaration, emphasizing the creation of a community for "the glory of God and Advancement of the Christian Faith" but also was emblematic of political innovation. It supported the concept of direct democracy and the establishment of a government by social contract that reflects the will of its people, binding them to a common purpose.
The signing of the Mayflower Compact took place on November 11, 1620, and marked an agreement amongst the settlers to form a self-governing colony that would honor their shared values and beliefs. This document is frequently referenced as the first American governing document, with some historians considering it to display a democratic spirit due to its cooperative nature. It set a precedent for the development of other governing structures in the colony and in later colonies, including the Fundamentals of Plymouth in 1639 which recognized habeas corpus and the right to a jury trial in the burgeoning society.