There are various theories about the origin of the phrase, which dates at least from the late 18th century, most of which sound plausible. One theory is that the saying was a reminder to printers to make sure that they didn't confuse the letter p with the letter q while typesetting, although the evidence for this is, apparently, merely anecdotal. Today the phrase is often used as shorthand for 'mind your please and thank yous', but it's unclear whether the p's and q's expanded into or are a contraction of 'please and thank yous'.
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My favourite one, however, attributes it to tavern keepers in England and New England, and probably other parts of the US: especially during busy times the tavern keeper would remind his staff to keep an eye on the running tally of pints and quarts that customers consumed, shortened to 'mind your P's and Q's'. This version is recorded in an 1852 issue of Harper's New Monthly Magazine, along with the following anecdote:
'The same writer, from whom we glean this information, mentions an amusing anecdote in connection with it, which had its origin in London, at the time a "Learned Pig" was attracting the attention of half the town. A theatrical wag, who attended the porcine performances, maliciously set before the four-legged actor some peas—a temptation which the animal could not resist, and which immediately occasioned him to lose the "cue" given him by the showman. The pig-exhibitor remonstrated with the author of the mischief, on the unfairness of what he had done ; to which he replied: "I only wanted to ascertain whether the pig knew his "peas" from his "cues !"’'
(Sources: Harper's New Monthly Magazine, 1852, p. 270; Historic Taverns of Boston: 370 Years of Tavern History in One Definitive Guide, by Gavin Nathan, 2006; Word myths: debunking linguistic urban legends, by David Wilton & Ivan Brunetti, 2004)
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