PILGRIMS OF THE MAYFLOWER

 In the Patriotic Song titled America, the poet calls America "Land of the Pilgrims Pride". About 400 years ago, 13 years after the first English Settlement in America called James Town, there was another group of people who came to America to seek freedom of religion. They wanted to worship their God different from the Church of England and formed their own Congregation called Saints. The Saints came under persecution in England. Many of these Saints moved to Holland, Netherlands seeking religious freedom.

These immigrants could not find jobs in Holland and parents did not like the bad influence the local culture was having on their children. The Saints (along with their Family) went back to England. They were again persecuted in England and sent to prisons. They wanted to go to America and they bargained and paid for passage along to Atlantic Ocean on to ships called the Speedwell and the Mayflower.

Summer 1620

These ships set sail. 300 miles and into the sea the Speedwell sinking in water. The ships were returned to the harbor and they decided to let Mayflower sail alone. The people and cargo that could fit was shifted to Mayflower. And the Mayflower set sail on September 6, 1620. It consisted of Saint, Strangers and the Crew. The believers and member of the congregations were Saints. The Strangers were those who were still looking for a better life, but not member of the congregation. The first half of the journey was smooth. But, many people fell sick. The second half was turbulent and many people lost their lives and thrown out of the ship. Being a small ship (100ft) and overcrowded with people, Mayflower was stinky and damaged because of the tide. Many believed that it would not make it to the destination. After 66 days in sea, they sighted America not far from their intended landfall. 

Upon arrival, the Pilgrims made an agreement on how their colony would be run. The document is known as the Mayflower Compact (world's first written constituiton) which stated that they would remain loyal to the king of England. Christians who served God, laws they make were fair and work for betterment of people. The pilgrims searched New England coast (East Coast) and decided to settled in the land named by the previous explorers. There were lands to plant crops and harbor for the ships, river for fresh water. The Pilgrims established Plymouth colony know as Massachusetts now inside Cape cod. The Pilgrims were happy to settle in America yet they had a difficult time in cold. They build small and large houses, yet for most of the time they stayed in Mayflower. That winter nearly half of the people of the Plymouth colony died. 

Native Americans had been living in America for thousands of years before these visitors arrived. Native Americans were not surprised to see these visitors since explorers, hunters and fishermen had been there before. When Mayflower arrived they saw the men coming with children and family and believed that the visitors come in peace. There was not much socializing that happened between the Native Americans and the Pilgrims. A peace treaty was signed between the travelers and the Native Americans. They would trade for furs, food and tools. After first harvest in 1621 the Pilgrims invited the Native Americans to join them for a feast. The Pilgrims provided food from the harvest they had and the Native Americans provided medicines from the deer they hunted. This came to be knows as the first Thanksgiving. And the tradition continued and celebrated after every harvest. Over the subsequent period of years, more travelers from England came to America and formed 13 colonies leading to the formation of the United States of America.

Reality:

By the time the pilgrims arrived almost half of the Native Americans were killed by plagues brought down by the European Travelers or they were captured and sold for slavery. After arriving, the pilgrims stole the graves of the Wampanoag tribe and took the provisions for winters. This created a war like situation between the Wampanoag and the Puritans which was unwillingly called off by the chief of the Wampanoag Tribe Massasoit because they wanted to focus on invasion from other tribes. 1621, the families had a feast to celebrate their first harvest which was thanks to the help from Native Americans, but none of the Native Americans were invited as they were considered barbaric in their practices and hence lower in status than the whites. On the contrary, the puritans fired canons and rifles as a form of sport during the feast which put the Native Americans on high alert.

As the colonies of the New England increased, the Native Americans were out numbered. The so believed peace treaties signed by the Plymouth colony with Native Americans was insignificant to the new colonies. They ill-treated the Native Americans and declared a war on them which threatened their very existence. The next thanks giving was celebrated 16 years after the first thanksgiving which basically was to celebrate the massacre of the Native American Pequot Tribe by the Puritans. Thanksgiving became a National Holiday in the 19th century when Lincoln declared it as one to bring people together during civil war.