A History From Beginning to End

Copyright © 2016 by Hourly History

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Table of Contents

Introduction

How Religious Upheaval Shaped American Colonization

The Ship that Launched a Nation’s Future

The Contract and the Crossing

Plymouth: Arrival in America

Early Life in the Colonies

Of Pilgrims and Puritans

The Ideology that Shaped a Nation

Conclusion

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Introduction

What prompts a group of people to undertake a dangerous journey to an unknown destination? It sounds like the opening line of an adventure novel, but instead, it is history: in 1620, a group of people left their homes, and their country, to cross an ocean so that they could live in the way their beliefs dictated. So strong was their conviction that they were willing to risk everything; indeed, many of them would pay the ultimate price the first winter in their new land. This is the story of the earliest American colonists, the Pilgrims, and their journey on the Mayflower to a new home.

The Pilgrims were English Protestant Separatists. Protestants believed that the bureaucracy created by the Catholic Church was an unnecessary middleman between the believer and salvation. The initial break with the Catholic Church was instigated by Martin Luther, an Augustinian monk who, like other protestors before him, believed that the only authority was Scripture. He called for an end to many of the Roman Catholic practices, such as the selling of indulgences and the conducting of mass in Latin. He also questioned the divine authority of the Pope. His relationship with Catholicism was clearly not a match made in Heaven; Luther excommunicated himself and proceeded to translate the Bible into German. That set off a religious firestorm that would take centuries to put out.

By the time the English Separatists were considering their journey, there had been numerous conflicts between Catholicism and Protestantism. The undermining of Catholic authority in England had been initiated for different reasons, but it too had resulted in an unsatisfactory environment for the Separatists. Henry VIII, who just wanted to divorce his wife, formed a new church after the Catholic Church refused him an annulment. He had himself declared the new pope of his church, the Anglican Church – or Church of England. His first act was to grant himself a divorce. While the reasons for the break with Catholicism were secular, genuine theological differences were quick to emerge. What followed in England was a long period of religious flip-flopping between Catholicism and Protestantism, but the Protestantism of the Anglican Church, with its ambiguous theological foundation, was not ultimately satisfactory to the Separatists. They finally decided they had to move, initially to Holland and later to America.

The Pilgrims were so firm in their resolve that they were willing to enter into a contract of indentured servitude in order to pay for their passage. This was arranged with the London Company and other investors, including Thomas Weston’s Merchant Adventurers. With the contract signed, the Pilgrims hired a merchant ship, the Mayflower, to take them across the Atlantic. The crossing was difficult. The passengers resided in cramped conditions with no sanitary bathroom facilities, little food, and little to do save care for those who suffered from seasickness. They weathered several storms that battered the small ship and even damaged one of the main beams supporting the hull. Two people died during the crossing, and one baby was born.

The Pilgrims arrived in their new land on November 9, 1620, but it was an inhospitable environment in which they found themselves. They were unprepared for the bitterly cold conditions, and their food stores were low. They lost and over half the crew and all but 53 of the 102 passengers who made the trip that first winter as they struggled to build their colony. They lived on board the Mayflower while they shuttled back and forth to shore to build their homes. Finally, with their colony established by March, they disembarked to begin their new life. Their beliefs would help shape a nation that was yet to be born. It was a true adventure.

 

Chapter One

The Protestant Reformation: How Religious Upheaval Shaped American Colonization

“Why do people move? What makes them uproot and leave everything they`ve known for a great unknown beyond the horizon? Why climb this Mount Everest of formalities that makes you feel like a beggar? Why enter this jungle of foreignness where everything is new, strange and difficult? –The answer is the same the world over: people move in the hope of a better life.”

—Life of Pi by Yann Martel

The hope of a better life: it is a powerful motivator, or perhaps it is a difficult life that is the powerful motivator. What would cause people to uproot their lives, their families, and their homes, to leave the known with all the comfort that provides, in order to face untold dangers on a perilous journey to a strange land that may never yield what they are seeking? A better life, but what did that mean for the earliest European colonists who came to America? To understand what they were looking for, it is important first to understand what they were leaving. This requires delving into a basic history of the Christian church.

Both Christianity and Islam descended from the same Judaic roots early in the Common Era (CE). The term “common era” is used in place of AD in many modern history books, just as Before the Common Era (BCE) is used in place of BC. Christianity developed from a Judaic foundation in the early first century of the Common Era, and Islam developed in the seventh century CE. Both religions trace their origins to the Biblical patriarch Abraham and are thus referred to as the Abrahamic religions. Additionally, both religions have withstood major divisions. For Christianity, the first of these divisions came in the 11th century CE when the Eastern Orthodox Church divided from the western Roman Catholic Church. This division in Christianity occurred in 1054 CE and is known as the Great Schism. The Eastern Orthodox Church was based in Constantinople and lacked celibacy requirements for its priests. The western division, the Roman Catholic Church, was based in the Vatican in Italy and had strict celibacy rules that prevented priests from engaging in sexual activities as well as prohibiting marriage. Aside from the different rules for priests, theological issues prompted the separation as well. Among these are differences in how each branch views the holy trinity and the concept that the heart is united with the mind in the eastern tradition versus the Western understanding of “reason alone”, that is, as separate from emotion. This is also reflected in the means by which each division validates their dogmas. The Roman Catholic Church uses scholasticism, a model which emphasizes logic and tradition, while the Eastern Orthodox Church uses theoria, a stage of illumination in which the believer goes on to behold God and learns from that experience. These differences ultimately culminated in mutual excommunication.

The second division in Christianity and the one most pertinent to the colonization of America occurred in the early 16th century. This is known as the Protestant Reformation, and indeed, the impacts of this division are intricately connected not only with the colonization of America but also with the founding principles upon which the United States was formed, principles which permeate every aspect of modern American society. The Protestant Reformation occurred when Protestant denominations broke with Catholicism. While the Lutheran Church played a prominent role in fighting for the division, the Reformation gave rise to numerous other forms of Christianity, including Baptist, Presbyterian, and Mormonism.

After the Great Schism, the western division of Christianity, the Roman Catholic Church, grew quite politically powerful. The pope was considered a king as well as a religious leader, and several Papal States were delineated in Italy. As a result, the Church became prone to many of the same failings common to any secular government. There were charges of corruption resulting from the influence of wealthy non-theologians on the papal throne, allegations of child abuse, and what was defined as immoral behaviour – presumably as a result of the celibacy rules – and numerous protests and complaints regarding conducting masses in Latin and selling indulgences to grieving relatives so that the souls of the deceased might be freed from Purgatory, a stage in the afterlife that is between heaven and hell. The Church was also very strict about adherence to its tenets. It dealt harshly with other religious beliefs, which it defined as pagan, and it was also intolerant of other versions of Christianity, which it defined as heretical.

As a result of the Church’s strict stance on dissent, protesters were not tolerated. One early protestor, John Wycliffe, who protested the privileged status of the clergy and called for an English translation of the Bible, was deemed a heretic by the Council of Constance in 1415, some 31 years after his death in 1384. As a result, his writings were banned, and his works were burned. Additionally, his remains were removed from consecrated ground, a serious threat to Catholics who believed that even after death the soul was still vulnerable to the works of Satan. Burial in consecrated ground was considered a powerful means of protection, and thus, the removal of his remains would have been a potent deterrent to other protestors.

Another early protestor, Jan Hus, a priest who denounced the moral failings of the clergy and even the papacy itself, and spoke out forcefully against indulgences, didn’t fare nearly as well as Wycliffe. He was burned at the stake for heresy in 1415 because of his religious teachings, the followers of which were known as Hussites. His teachings, however, had a very strong influence on Western Europe, and more than a century later, on Martin Luther himself. Luther was as Augustinian monk, who in 1517 began to expand on the complaints of Wycliffe and Hus.

Martin Luther shared many of the same complaints as his predecessors. However, he expanded on their protests by challenging papal authority itself. He believed in the doctrine of sola fide, by faith alone. He denied that the pope was divinely ordained and felt that faith alone ensured salvation. In accordance with this belief, the Church and its massive bureaucracy were nothing more than an unnecessary middleman. Luther based this tenet on St. Paul’s writings in Romans in the Bible. He, therefore, wanted to eliminate the middleman from the process of salvation. He also wanted to wash the church clean of early corruptions, that is, influences from pagan religions. Christmas celebrations are one example of corruption he desired to “wash away.” His belief was that this would return the church to an earlier, purer state.

Luther first tried to work within the bureaucracy of the Church by staging a protest, nailing his complaints in Latin to the door of his home cathedral in Wittenberg, in what is now Germany. When the pope at the time, Pope Leo X, responded by correcting Luther’s 95 complaints, he excommunicated himself before the Church had a chance to do so. He declared that his only allegiance was to scripture, and as he did not believe in priestly celibacy, he married a nun; they proceeded to have six children. He might have faced execution, were it not for the threat of Muslim invasion in Europe. Islam had made inroads into Eastern Europe and had even taken over Constantinople, renaming it Istanbul in 1453. Ottoman armies (Turkish Muslims) were next threatening central Europe, and as a result, German princes took a liking to Luther’s criticism of the Catholic Church, since they stood to gain monetarily if they could extract a protection fee from the Church for their military defense against Ottoman incursions. Luther’s criticisms likely provided a rationale for the extortion. Therefore, the Church was compelled to go easier on Luther than it otherwise might have to appease the Germans.

Luther took refuge in Germany, where he went by an alias to avoid capture. From there, he made use of the modern technology of the day, a printing press, to disseminate his ideas and transcribe and translate the Bible from Latin into German. Once this was accomplished, others followed suit, and soon the Bible was translated into many languages. It was disseminated throughout Europe, setting off a theological firestorm in the process.

The Catholic Church responded with neither apologies nor reform; rather, it held a series of Councils in Trent, Italy, declaring Protestantism as heresy and initiating the Counter-Reformation or Catholic Revival. This then resulted in a 150-year-long period of violent factionalism collectively known as the Wars of Religion, which began in 1524 CE. The Wars of Religion culminated with the Thirty Years’ War, which was a series of wars between 1618 and 1648 CE. This is considered one of the most, if not the most, destructive periods in European history since, when the dust settled, an estimated 10-20% of Europe’s population had been killed. To put it in context, World War II killed roughly 3% of the world’s population, albeit over a shorter period and with a higher total overall. Still, the loss of 10-20% of Europe’s population illustrates the level of violence generated by the divisions borne of the Protestant Reformation.

In England, the Reformation and the undermining of Catholic authority proceeded slightly differently than in the rest of Europe. The trials and tribulations of the Tudor Dynasty prompted the official break with Catholicism, though genuine theological differences promptly emerged and led to a century of turmoil. The role the Tudor Dynasty played began with King Henry VII, who sought to form an alliance with Spain by arranging a marriage between his son Arthur and Catherine of Aragon. Arthur died, however, only four months after the wedding, and following a special dispensation from the Pope, Catherine married Arthur’s brother, Henry VIII. Their union failed to produce a male heir, however, and Henry subsequently fell in love with Anne Boleyn. He sought an annulment from Pope Clement VII, but that was denied so that the emerging – and very Catholic – Spanish monarchy would not be offended at a time when England was desperately trying to retain what small amount of power it had left over European rulers.

Henry, who had burned several Lutherans at the stake in the early 16th century, felt that the Church owed him, and in his outrage at their failure to grant his wish, he severed England’s ties with the Catholic Church and formed the Anglican Church (Church of England). With the help of the Archbishop Thomas Cranmer and lawyer Thomas Cromwell, he appointed himself as pope of the new church in 1534. His first official act as pope was to grant himself a divorce from Catherine. The story of his subsequent marriages is the stuff of legend, as he had a total of six wives, two of whom he divorced, two of whom he beheaded, and one of whom died. The Anglican Church, however, went on to play a role in intensifying the problems endemic to the Catholic and Protestant split. Because of its theological ambiguity, both sides were unhappy with the Church of England.

The fact that the Anglican Church retained Catholic vestiges prompted real Protestants to attempt further to purify their church and move the country in their direction. The new Queen, Mary I, dealt with the Protestants harshly, so much so that she was dubbed “Bloody Mary”. She died of cancer and her half-sister, Elizabeth, Henry VIII’s daughter with Anne Boleyn and a Protestant, vied for power with Mary Stuart, also known as Mary Queen of Scots. It initially appeared that Mary would win out because of her marriage to Frances II of France, but when he died, Elizabeth got the upper hand and eventually executed Mary for conspiring to overthrow her. Elizabeth, though moderate in practice, was a resolute Protestant. Spain tried to mitigate her influence as such by attempting to lure her into a marriage. She refused, however, and proceeded to assist Dutch Protestants as they sought to drive Spain out of the low countries of northwest Europe. This prompted Spain to attempt a conquest of England. Bad weather aided Elizabeth’s navy in defeating the Spanish, and she took this as a sign that God preferred Protestants. She again severed England’s ties with the Catholic Church.

Elizabeth died in 1603, leaving no heir to the throne. James I, the son of Mary Queen of Scots, took over. He was a Protestant, and under his rule, the King James Bible was transcribed. It remains to this day the most famous version of the Bible. It was in this setting that a group of English Separatists, who believed that the Anglican Church had not gone far enough in purging Catholic rituals and purifying the church, decided that they had to leave England in order to practice religion as they believed it should be practiced. They initially left for Holland in 1608, where they would stay for 12 years in the city of Leiden. There they forged a life for themselves, but it was very difficult. They worked in the cloth, carpentry, tailor, and printer industries, but even young children had to work to support their families. Older children, tired of the difficult life and lured by temptations of the Dutch culture, left their families to become soldiers or sailors. Their parents worried this would result in the loss of their own English cultural traditions. Additionally, they feared another war between the Dutch and the Spanish was imminent. This life had become so difficult and uncertain for the Separatists that they decided to make another move, one that would require much more courage than the previous one, but the hope of a better life spurred them on. They moved briefly back to England to secure what they needed to make the journey. From there they set sail to the New World with the plan of establishing a farming community in the northern part of the Virginia colony that had already been established. They would need all of the courage their hope provided.

 

Chapter Two

The Mayflower: The Ship that Launched a Nation’s Future

“There is little man has made that approaches anything in nature, but a sailing ship does. There is not much man has made that calls to the best in him, but a sailing ship does.”

—Allan Villiers

The Mayflower that carried the Pilgrims to America was a small, merchant ship, estimated at approximately 100 feet in length (from the most forward part of her prow to the most aft part of the superstructure of her stern) and 25 feet at her widest point, although the exact figures are not known. The ship was built before the standardization of such measurements, and thus, no dimensions of her hull can be stated with certainty. Her estimated tonnage was 180 to 200 tons, and she had a draft of about 13 feet. The estimates come from what has been gleaned from the records that have survived, specifically, that she was capable of carrying 180 casks of wine in her cargo hold. The ship was likely launched at Harwich in the County of Essex, which was also the birthplace of her master, Christopher Jones. The Port Books of 1609-1611 list her as “of Harwich”, though later Port Books during the reign of James I (1603-1625) list her as “of London”. The name “Mayflower” was popular during this period. There were 26 other Mayflowers listed in the Port Books, and this has caused some confusion over just which Mayflower carried the Pilgrims; however, the correct ship is identified with the master’s name, the home port, and the estimated tonnage. The reason for the popularity of the name has never been discovered.

Records from 1609 first make mention of Christopher Jones as the master and part owner of the ship when it was chartered for a voyage from London to Norway and back by Andrew Pawling. Litigation that was still ongoing as of 1612 resulted from that trip after bad weather caused the loss of an anchor and much of her cargo. Later records mention the ship with a cargo of wine, vinegar, and salt after trips to France, Spain, and Germany. Between 1616 and 1624, there is no further mention in the records of Jones’s Mayflower. That is somewhat unusual for a ship that would be engaged in this type of trade, but the fact the ship was contracted to carry the Pilgrims may explain this, or the records could have simply been lost through time.

The general layout of the ship included three masts – the mizzen mast, which would have been aft, the main mast, which would have been located amidships, and the foremast, along with a spritsail, in the bow area. There were three primary levels that included the main deck, a gun deck, and a cargo hold. It was typical for trading ships to be fully armed on routes around Europe because of the possibility of encountering pirates and privateers, and also, with the armament, the ship and crew could be called into duty by the English monarch if a conflict with other nations broke out.

The aft part of the main deck would have included the master’s cabin and the steerage room. Rather than a wheel, which would come later, she would have been steered with a whipstaff (an extension of the tiller). The ship’s compass, and likely also the berths for the ship’s officers, would have been in this area as well. The capstan, which was an axle used to pull in ropes or cables, would have been forward of the steerage room, and far forward, just behind the bow, was the forecastle, which would have been where the ship’s cook prepared meals and also possibly where the sailors slept.

The Mayflower’s passengers would have been housed on the gun deck, in a space approximately 50 feet by 25 feet with a five-foot ceiling. The gun room itself would have been located in the stern area on this deck, and the passengers would not have had access to it. The gun room is where the gunpowder, ammunition, and other weapons or related equipment would have been stored. The windlass, an axle similar in function to the capstan but used to raise and lower the anchor, would have been located forward on the gun deck. Access to the main deck from this level would have been via the use of a wooden or rope ladder, as there were no stairs. Additionally, there was no latrine on the ship; the crew had to fend for themselves in that regard, and the passengers likely used a bucket affixed to the deck to keep it from jostling about during the voyage.

The gun deck armament included a minion cannon made of brass weighing approximately 1,200 pounds. It was the largest gun aboard, and could shoot a 3.5-pound cannonball almost a mile. There was also a saker cannon (named for a falconry bird in the Middle East) weighing about 800 pounds, and two base cannons, each weighing approximately 200 pounds. The saker was capable of firing a 5 pound round shot, while the two base cannons could fire 3- to 5-ounce balls. The ship carried at least ten pieces of ordnance on both the port and starboard sides of the gun deck, and two “stern chasers”, small cannons used to fire out the back of the stern. The exact numbers of ordnance are not known, but records do show that the ship’s master unloaded four pieces of armament for the colonists to use should they be needed, and he would not have done so if he didn’t feel comfortable with what he had left on board the ship.

The third primary level, the cargo hold, was located below the gun deck, and this is where the passengers would have stored their supplies, including food, much of which likely consisted of live animals. It also would have held their personal weapons and military equipment, clothing, bedding, and kitchen utensils. Some of the pilgrims also brought trade goods on board, and these likely would have been stored in the cargo hold as well.

Initially, there were two ships hired to carry the pilgrims to America. The Mayflower, the larger of the two, was hired for transport and exploration services. The other ship was the Speedwell, originally named the Swiftsure, and it was to carry 31 passengers to the New World. A pinnace or small “race-built” galleon, it was constructed in 1577 and had been part of the English fleet that defeated the Spanish Armada under Elizabeth I. The name was changed from Swiftsure to Speedwell after the hostilities with Spain ended and the ship was decommissioned. Her master for the voyage to America was one of the Leiden Separatists, a Captain Blossom. The ship set sail with the Mayflower on August 5, 1620, but the Speedwell was leaking, and both ships put into port at Dartmouth for repairs. On the second attempt, they had sailed about 300 nautical miles when, once again, the Speedwell was found to be leaking. Both ships then returned to Plymouth where 11 of the 31 passengers on board the Speedwell transferred to the Mayflower to set sail for America. The remaining 20 passengers returned to London.

There are competing theories about why the Speedwell leaked. One of the pilgrims, Nathaniel Philbrick cited “overmasting”, a mast that was too large for the ship and therefore strained the hull, as the problem that caused the leaking. But, William Bradford, while noting that the ship was overmasted, attributed the main cause of the leak to intentional actions taken by the crew. Another passenger, Robert Cushman, wrote that the leaking was caused by a loose board approximately two feet in length. Whatever the cause, the ship was unable to make the voyage.

There is also mention in some records of the Mayflower’s companion ship, the Supply, making the voyage later in the year. It reportedly set sail three weeks after the Mayflower on September 18, 1620 from Bristol, England with 50 passengers, but the records of its arrival in the New World give conflicting dates with some saying January 29 of 1620 rather than 1621. Finally, a second Mayflower sailed to the New World in 1629, almost a decade later. It was carrying 35 passengers, many of whom had been forced to remain in England because of the leaky Speedwell in 1620. This ship left for the Plymouth colony in May of 1629 and arrived in August of that year. It later made four more trips to America and attempted a fifth. It was on the fifth trip to Virginia in October of 1641 that the ship departed, but never arrived. A deposition regarding its loss was made in October of 1642.

Christopher Jones’ Mayflower, therefore, set sail alone for America on September 6, 1620 with 102 passengers. The passenger list was as follows:

1. John Alden
2. Isaac and Mary (Norris) Allerton, and children Bartholomew, Remember, and Mary
3. John Allerton
4. John and Eleanor Billington, and sons John and Francis.
5. William and Dorothy (May) Bradford
6. William and Mary Brewster, and children Love and Wrestling
7. Richard Britteridge
8. Peter Browne
9. William Butten
10. Robert Carter
11. John and Katherine (White) Carver
12. James and Mrs. Chilton, and daughter Mary
13. Richard Clarke
14. Francis Cooke and son John
15. Humility Cooper
16. John Crackstone and son John
17. Edward Doty
18. Francis and Sarah Eaton, and son Samuel
19. Thomas English
20. Moses Fletcher
21. Edward and Mrs. Fuller, and son Samuel
22. Samuel Fuller
23. Richard Gardiner
24. John Goodman
25. William Holbeck
26. John Hooke
27. Stephen and Elizabeth (Fisher) Hopkins and children Constance, Giles and Damaris; son Oceanus was born during the voyage.
28. John Howland
29. John Langmore
30. William Latham
31. Edward Leister
32. Edmund Margesson
33. Christopher and Mary (Prower) Martin
34. Desire Minter
35. Ellen, Jasper, Richard, and Mary More
36. William and Alice Mullins and children Priscilla and Joseph
37. Degory Priest
38. Solomon Prower
39. John and Alice Rigsdale
40. Thomas Rogers and son Joseph
41. Henry Samson
42. George Soule
43. Myles and Rose Standish
44. Elias Story
45. Edward Thompson
46. Edward and Agnes (Cooper) Tilley
47. John and Joan (Hurst) Tilley and daughter Elizabeth
48. Thomas and Mrs. Tinker, and a son
49. William Trevore
50. John Turner, and two sons
51. Richard Warren
52. William and Susanna White, and son Resolved (son Peregrine was born shipboard in Provincetown Harbor after arrival).
53. Roger Wilder
54. Thomas Williams
55. Edward and Elizabeth (Barker) Winslow
56. Gilbert Winslow
57. “Mr. Ely”
58. Dorothy (John Carver’s maidservant)

 

Chapter Three

Voyage to a New World: The Contract and the Crossing

“Hark, now hear the sailors’ cry, smell the sea, and feel the sky. Let your soul and spirit fly, into the Mystic….”

—Van Morrison

When the Separatists made the decision to leave Holland and set sail for America, they did not have the money to pay for everything they needed to make the crossing. They had to seek assistance from investors, and permission from existing landholders to settle in the New World. They would not be the first to arrive in America, and it was not their intent to form a new nation. Their hope was to continue living as English citizens, but in a place where they could practice their religion as they felt it should be practiced. They had considered settling in Essequibo, a colony established by the Dutch in Guiana, but colonies in Virginia were older, and they felt these might be more secure than the one in Guiana. They did not want to live too close to other English citizens, however, as they wanted the freedom to live as their beliefs dictated.

They sent Robert Cushman and John Carver to negotiate with the London Company for permission to settle on their lands in the New World. The London Company was one of two companies that had claimed territory along the east coast of North America. The other company, the Plymouth Company, had gone out of business in 1609, and the London Company was then granted an extension from “sea to sea”. The London Company had been cultivating sweeter strains of tobacco in America but struggled with labor shortages. As a result, it had instituted a system of indentured servitude, which was well-established by the time the Pilgrims would make their voyage.

There were several delays in the negotiations between the London Company and the Separatists, but an agreement was finally reached. It stated that every individual 16 years of age and older would work, they would pool the income and divide it equally to pay for what they needed to live, and all of their profits would go the London Company. This agreement would be in place for seven years, and a late change to the agreement stipulated that, at the end of the seven-year period, half of the land the Pilgrims had been granted would revert to investors. This change had been negotiated on behalf of new investors, among them Thomas Weston’s Merchant Adventurers, and not all of the Pilgrims were informed of this last change before their departure. The agreement further stated that, while they were free to practice their religion as they saw fit, it would not be officially recognized by the crown. Their destination in accordance with this agreement was land north of the existing Virginia territory which would be called New England. Moreover, so it was that the Pilgrims had the capital and permission they needed to make the voyage.

After two failed departure attempts with the Speedwell, the Mayflower departed again, this time solo, on September 6, 1620, with 102 Pilgrims and some 25 – 30 officers and crew, bringing the total to approximately 130 people on board. The passengers had been living on board the ship for nearly a month and a half at the time she sailed – this had further depleted their already low provisions. Still, the ship departed from Plymouth with the hope of a better life, though some historians argue that it made another stop in Newlyn in Cornwall to pick up fresh water. The water they had gotten in Plymouth was believed to have caused cholera in the city, and they wanted to replace it. There is a plaque in Newlyn that commemorates the historian who uncovered this little-known and still controversial detail.

The voyage would take 66 days and cost two lives. Initially, the sailing was smooth, and the Pilgrims only had to contend with sea-sickness and cramped quarters. By October, however, a number of storms in the North Atlantic battered the ship. One storm cracked one of the wooden beams supporting the frame of the ship, and it was the passengers who were able to assist in its repair. They had brought along a jackscrew, a large iron screw, and they were able to secure the beam using this device. It was also during one of these storms that one of the crew was swept overboard and died. One of the Pilgrims, William Bradford, wrote that it was God’s providence since the young man was profane, cursing the passengers and telling them that he would throw them overboard. Another young man, John Howland, was also swept overboard, but he was saved. The other death was a passenger, a servant named William Butten, who died as the ship neared its destination. One child was born on the voyage to Stephen and Elizabeth Hopkins. The child, a boy, was named Oceanus to commemorate the voyage.

It is hard to imagine just how difficult this crossing would have truly been. There were 102 passengers cramped into a space of approximately 50 feet by 25 feet, with no form of temperature or climate control – no heat or air conditioning. There was no privacy, no sanitary bathroom facilities, food was in short supply, and many people were seasick. Additionally, the waves were buffeting the ship, the physical demands of assisting the crew increased the level of exhaustion, and added to all of this was the uncertainty of what lay ahead. One can only imagine the joy they must have felt at the sight of land when on November 9, 1620, they sighted what is now Cape Cod, well north of their intended destination, but land nonetheless. After trying to sail south to their intended destination, strong seas forced them back into what is now Provincetown Harbor at the northern tip of Cape Cod, where they finally anchored. It was likely no exaggeration when William Bradford wrote, “…they fell upon their knees and blessed the God of heaven, who had brought them over the vast and furious ocean, and delivered them from all the perils and miseries thereof”.

 

Chapter Four

Plymouth: Arrival in America

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.”

—Henry Miller

While the majority of the passengers on the Mayflower were English Separatists, who called themselves Saints, there were also some adventurers and tradesmen, whom the Separatists called Strangers. It was only later that both groups were referred to collectively as Pilgrims or Pilgrim Fathers. When the ship made anchor well to the north of the intended destination, some of the Strangers suggested that since they had no patent (or agreement) for this land, they were then free to do as they pleased. This prompted the others to establish a provisional government in the form of a social contract that would help to ensure order and for the sake of survival. The result was the Mayflower Compact. The original document was lost through time, but three versions exist from the 17th century. Two of these were written by William Bradford, one printed in Mourt’s Relation in 1622 and the other handwritten by Bradford in his journal, Of Plimouth Plantation in 1646. These two versions contain very similar wording and probably most accurately reflect the wording of the original document. The Compact reads as follows:

“In the name of God, Amen. We, whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord King James, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, etc.

Having undertaken, for the Glory of God, and advancements of the Christian faith and honor of our King and Country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the Northern parts of Virginia, do by these presents, solemnly and mutually, in the presence of God, and one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic; for our better ordering, and preservation and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute, and frame, such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, and offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the colony; unto which we promise all due submission and obedience.

In witness whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names at Cape Cod the 11th of November, in the year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord King James, of England, France, and Ireland, the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth, 1620”.

Note the that the use of the word dread in reference to King James uses the archaic definition which means awe and reverence for the king. The Compact was approved by the majority of eligible voters, which didn’t include women and children. It was signed by the 41 male passengers. The Mayflower Compact is seen to contain the seeds of the democracy that would later be established as the United States, and some have referred to it as the world’s first written constitution. With a provisional government in place, the Pilgrims now set themselves to the task of locating a suitable area for settlement.

On November 27, 1620, an exploratory expedition led by Captain Jones and Myles Standish (an English soldier the colonists had met in Leiden) left to find a suitable location for a settlement. After encountering rough seas, they were forced to spend the night on shore in sub-zero temperatures with wet clothing and shoes. Bradford later wrote that of those who would die that first winter; several “caught” their death as a result of this expedition. Despite the rough night, they located an empty native village, now known as Corn Hill in Truro. They dug up some mounds and found corn stores and some burials. Nathaniel Philbrook characterized the discovery as looting and stealing, which sparked tensions with the natives, but Bradford wrote they only took some of the corn, and though they later took more corn, they paid the natives back within six months, and they (the natives) were satisfied with that.

By December, most of the passengers and crew were sick. Most had violent coughs likely caused by pneumonia and tuberculosis, but many were also suffering from scurvy, which results from a deficiency of vitamin C. Despite the illness, explorations seeking a suitable settlement site resumed on December 6. This time, the exploration crew encountered the first native people they would see. They headed south along the Cape; the area where they landed was inhabited by the Nauset people, an Algonquin-speaking North American Native tribe that inhabited most of what is now Cape Cod. The Native people of the area had encountered the English before when Thomas Hunt had arrived a few years earlier and attempted to kidnap many of them to sell as slaves in England. When Franciscan friars discovered what Hunt was trying to do, they took the natives to safety. One of the abductees, a Native named Squanto, had already been to England, where he had learned English. He would later become an ally to the Pilgrims in their colony at Plymouth.

Because of Hunt’s actions, the Native people that the colonists initially saw were wary of the English and fled upon seeing them. They later shot at them with arrows, though no one was injured. The colonists continued in their search for a suitable settlement area to what is now Duxbury and Plymouth barrier beaches. It was across from an island they had stumbled onto, which they named Clark’s Island for the individual who first set foot on it, where they ultimately surveyed the area that would become the settlement. The area had already been cleared and had tall hills, which made for a good defensive position. It was known as Patuxet to the Wampanoag people, who had abandoned the site some three years before after a plague had killed many of their people. They described the illness as involving hemorrhaging, and most experts today believe it was likely either fulminating smallpox, introduced by Europeans, or leptospirosis, also known as the seven-day fever.

The colonists began construction immediately, and the first common house was completed on January 9, 1621. To minimize the number of houses they needed to build, single men were ordered to join with one of the 19 families. Each family was allotted a plot of land and then had to build their own dwelling. Upon its completion, the first house built became the first hospital for ill Pilgrims. By the end of February, 31 individuals had died from illness; by the end of March, of the Pilgrims who had become ill, only 47 survived their illness. At that time, only 53 colonists total had survived the worst of the winter. Over half the crew had also died. A hill overlooking the site became the first cemetery, although the colonists chose to let it become overgrown with grass so that the Natives would not see how weakened the colony had become. During the building of the homes, the colonists had lived on board the Mayflower. On March 21, 1621, the surviving colonists disembarked the Mayflower to live in the newly constructed settlement of Plymouth (originally spelled Plimouth). With the help of Captain Jones, the colonists mounted six cannons on the hill overlooking the settlement to be used for defensive purposes.

For his part, Captain Jones had originally planned to return to England as soon as the colonists had established their colony. However, since his men were sick from the same diseases that had inflicted the colonists, he was obliged to wait until they were healthy enough to return. It would not be until April 5, 1621 that the Mayflower would set sail to return to England. The ship would arrive back in England on May 6 after favorable winds pushed her along in less than half the time it had taken to sail to America. Captain Jones would die less than a year later on March 5, 1622. As for the Mayflower, after one more trading voyage, she would lay in her berth for the next two years not far from the grave of her master. In 1624, she was no longer considered useful as a ship, and while her fate is not a matter of record, it is assumed she was broken up at that time16. Many believe that the trip to the New World had taken its toll on Captain Jones, who died at age 52. Perhaps it took its toll on the ship that made the historic crossing as well.

 

Chapter Five

Of Pilgrims and Native Americans: Early Life in the Colonies

“Throw your dreams into space like a kite, and you do not know what it will bring back, a new life, a new friend, a new love, a new country.”

—Anais Nin

The establishment of the colony at Plymouth was a difficult task. The Atlantic crossing and the first winter on board the Mayflower had taken its toll and reduced the population of the colonists to only 53 of the original 102 who made the trip16. Food was scarce, and the colonists had borrowed, or by some accounts stolen, corn from Native American stores they found in nearby villages. They had managed to build their settlement at Plymouth, but they still needed help with learning about local crops so that they could successfully grow and store their own food. By the end of April of 1621, the colonists were on their own. The Mayflower had returned to England, and the Pilgrims were now living in their new settlement 16,19. They had encountered Natives in the area; some of those encounters had been contentious. They had heard them in the woods for several months before any real relationship was forged. Finally, the Wampanoag man Squanto, who had been abducted and taken to England, and had learned English as a result, established the first relationship with the colonists. He acted as their ally in negotiations with the Wampanoag chief, Massasoit.

From the Native American point of view, the colonists were not the first Europeans they had encountered. They had previous experiences with Europeans, and those experiences had not been positive ones. The expedition with Thomas Hunt had resulted in the kidnapping and enslavement of several Natives. Additionally, in the years before the arrival of the Pilgrims, the Wampanoag people who lived in the area had suffered large population losses due to a plague. Experts believe it to have either been fulminating smallpox or leptospirosis. They had previously numbered in the thousands, but the plague reduced their population to only a few hundred. Thus, the Natives were well-acquainted with the dangers presented by the colonists. They were cautious in their alliance, but both needed each other. The colonists needed the Natives to help them learn how to work the land and find food. The Natives, specifically the Wampanoag, needed the colonists to help them fight the oppression they faced from their inland rival, the Narragansett. With their population devastated by disease, they had been forced to restructure their political systems, and they had already agreed to give up valuable territory to the Narragansett, who had less contact with Europeans and were not nearly so severely affected by disease. Thus, the stage was set for an alliance, and in the end, it would last many years.

In March of 1621, with Squanto acting as mediator, Massasoit visited the Plymouth colony and signed an agreement with the Pilgrims. The alliance basically stated that both sides would aid each other when needed, and it gave the Pilgrims permission to take 12,000 acres of land for Plymouth Plantation. Modern scholars question whether Massasoit and the Wampanoag understood the concept of ownership as the English thought of it, but their population had been so devastated by disease that the loss of the acreage made little difference. For the colonists, the Natives taught them about what they called the three sisters – corn, beans, and squash – and how to cultivate and harvest them. It led to a successful harvest in the Autumn of 1621, something the Pilgrims celebrated with a feast of thanksgiving. This was, in the minds of most Americans, the first Thanksgiving, though many argue it has been romanticized in the history books.

Accounts vary concerning the nature of the Native participation in the feast that has become known as the first Thanksgiving. Most American history books teach that the Natives were invited to the celebration and proceeded to eat and celebrate with the Pilgrims, but many sources doubt that level of interaction occurred7,17,18,19. Edward Winslow and William Bradford wrote about it, however, in much that way in Mourt’s Relation5 and Of Plimouth Plantation6. The Wampanoag history tells a different story whereby Natives were alerted to the celebration because of gunfire. Not knowing why the colonists were shooting off guns, about 90 Wampanoag warriors rushed to see what was happening. After being assured there was no attack, they stayed nearby to keep an eye on the events, and of course, they hunted and prepared their own food 20. Most do not debate the both groups were present, though the level of interaction between the two remains a controversial topic. A few others argue the first Thanksgiving did not occur until two decades later in 1637, but it is described as occurring in 1621 in at least two primary sources. In 1971, Native American organizations, during a renewed period of activism, declared Thanksgiving a “National Day of Mourning” because of the subsequent consequences of European contact.

In the years that followed that first Thanksgiving, more Europeans would arrive in New England. Metacomet, the second son of Wampanoag Chief Massasoit, succeeded his father in 1662. He protested the continued encroachment of newly arriving Europeans into Native territory. In 1671, colonists forced him to sign another peace agreement that included surrendering Native guns. In 1675, tensions erupted after Plymouth officials hanged three Natives for murdering another Native who had converted to Christianity. This action was the final straw for Native groups who, under Metacomet’s leadership, initiated hostilities. The war was known as King Philip’s War, so named because Metacomet had taken the name King Philip in honour of the friendly relations established between his father and the original Pilgrims. The war would last until 1678, and it is considered by many to be one of the most deadly wars that occurred in the history of European settlement. In less than a year, 12 towns were destroyed, the colony’s economy was in ruins, and its population was decimated. A full one-tenth of all men available for military service were lost when roughly 1,000 colonists were killed. Approximately 3,000 Native Americans died, though mostly from disease. The Native American warriors attacked more than half of the towns in New England. The official fighting ended in Native defeat with the Treaty of Casco in 1678. The Native American groups lost most of the land in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island though they retained some control over their territories to the north. This was, of course, only the first of many conflicts to come between European settlers and Native Americans.

 

Chapter Six

Later Arrivals: Of Pilgrims and Puritans

“The land flourished because it was fed from so many sources – because it was nourished by so many cultures and traditions and peoples.”

—President Lyndon B. Johnson

Many people often confuse the Pilgrims and the Puritans, thinking the terms are interchangeable. In fact, while the distinction is a fine one, they are different groups. Both groups were Protestants, but they differed in the degree and manner to which they believed the Church should be purified. The Pilgrims were English Protestant Separatists. Like most Protestants of the day, they believed the Church needed to be purified, meaning cleansed from pagan corruptions and Catholic ritual. They believed that to do this, however, they needed to separate from the Church of England created by Henry VIII. Because of its theological ambiguity, they felt essentially that it was not holy enough to suit their needs. The Puritans, on the other hand, did not want to separate from the Anglican Church. They wanted simply to purify it. They sought reform in England during the 1620s, and only when that failed did they decide to make the move to the New World.

There were other, more subtle differences as well between the two groups. Both believed, as did all Protestants, that there was no authority beyond Scripture. With the Pilgrims, this had translated into a more egalitarian mode of living. The Puritans, however, believed that religion was complex and highly intellectual, requiring trained scholars to interpret the scriptures. That led to a hierarchical structure within the Puritan belief since some were more educated, or more appropriately educated, than others. Despite the class distinction that developed, the belief did encourage more education overall as it demanded a level of learning regarding salvation, and this had beneficial economic effects as well. The result was that the Puritans were better educated and better financed in general than the Separatists.

In the years following the Mayflower’s voyage, several other ships brought both Pilgrims and Puritans to the colony at Plymouth and the surrounding area. The Fortune arrived in 1621 very soon after the Thanksgiving feast. This trip, like that of the Mayflower, was also financed by Thomas Weston’s investment group, the Merchant Adventurers. The Fortune, however, was a much smaller ship than theMayflower, carrying only 35 passengers, one of whom was Robert Cushman, one of the Separatists who had stayed in London when the Speedwell returned to port the final time. While the colony needed more settlers, the ship brought no supplies. Thus, the arrival of this ship caused the colony more problems than it solved. Governor William Bradford had to cut rations in half to accommodate the new arrivals.

Thomas Weston’s Merchant Adventurers group financed two more ships in 1623, the Anne and the Little James. Together they brought 90 more colonists, although many of those were sent back the next year after being judged unfit for the task of living in such a harsh environment. Among the 90 passengers who came on these ships, 60 were English Separatists who had been living in Leiden. The other 30 were part of a group led by John Oldham. His group was given a separate area to live in the Plymouth colony, but some of the members, including Oldham himself, caused problems for the colony, resulting in their eventual banishment. After delivering their cargo, the Anne returned to England, but the Little James remained with the colonists.

It would be another seven years before the first large group of Puritans would arrive in New England. They were led by a wealthy English Puritan lawyer named John Winthrop, who was a leading figure in the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He made the decision to migrate to the American colonies after the religious environment in England became increasingly intolerant of Puritans and other groups that had emerged after the Reformation. King Charles I, who married a Catholic, took several steps that alarmed Puritans living in England. He supported the Anglican Church in its efforts to oppress religious groups that did not strictly adhere to its tenets, and in 1629, he dissolved Parliament, an action which caused great concern among the principal investors in the Massachusetts Bay Company. After losing his position in the Court of Wards and Liveries after the crackdown on Puritans, Winthrop became more involved with the company as a proponent of emigration. When the company decided to emigrate, Winthrop was chosen to be governor of the new colony.

A fleet of 11 ships carrying 700 migrants left the Isle of Wight on April 8, 1630. They were bound for the New World and would arrive in Salem in June of that year. When they arrived, they were welcomed by John Endecott, who had been sent there in 1628 to prepare for their arrival. They eventually established their colony on the Shawmut Peninsula, where they founded what is now the city of Boston2. These were the first of many Puritan expeditions that would follow, and their impact would extend to the very core of what was to become American values.

 

Chapter Seven

Lasting Impacts: The Ideology that Shaped a Nation

“In America, we have a Declaration of Independence, but our history, our advancements, our global strength all point to an American declaration of interdependence.”

—Cory Booker

One thing that all of the early colonial residents shared, Pilgrims and Puritans alike, is a history of religious oppression. While they were by no means tolerant in the modern sense of the word, the pluralism that existed in the early colonies, and the need for everyone to get along in order to survive, created a fertile ground for the concept of long-term tolerance, even though that concept was not realized at the time. The fact that they had been denied the freedom to practice their religion by the monarchy, a government which could capriciously change religious allegiance at will, provoked a resistance toward government influence over religious practice. Though these early colonists had nothing to do with the creation of the United States of America, some of the founding fathers did share their views. Whether or not the Pilgrims and Puritans would have approved of the concept of religious freedom, their resistance to persecution and desire to practice their beliefs provided a foundation for the separation of church and state that exists in the Constitution of the United States today. It remains, in fact, one of the most important principles. Furthermore, their willingness to confront what they considered an unfair system and rebel against it provided inspiration for America’s own revolution to come.

The Pilgrims and the Puritans played an even larger role, however, in shaping American character. The fact that they placed a great value on self-reliance and mutual respect, along with their emphasis on hard work, helped shape the American concept of individualism. Additionally, their resistance to what they considered an unjust system, both religiously and politically, promoted an anti-authoritarian tradition and helped develop a strong sense of self-awareness as well as an independent attitude. Furthermore, as Puritans equated material wealth with God’s favor, the ideals of hard work and thrift leading to a greater acquisition of wealth are logical products of that belief. These concepts combined with a strong sense of mission are pervasive in modern American society. Finally, the Mayflower Compact is considered by many to have led to the birth of American democracy. It included concepts such as self-government and the idea that covenants form communities. The latter resulted in America’s first democratic institution, the town meeting.

Though there were many good ideals that Pilgrim and Puritan beliefs contributed to the shaping of the nation that would become the United States, there were some unflattering ones as well. Their willingness to take whatever they needed from Native Americans laid the foundation for the relations to come. Native Americans would suffer greatly from their subsequent interactions with Europeans, and modern day Native Americans still live with that legacy. After their populations had been decimated by disease, their political and social identities were completely restructured. Later encroachment into Native territories would ultimately result in the relocation of Native groups to reservations, most of which were located in areas where the land was not arable and had no evident value. The result was systematized oppression that resulted in high levels of poverty, disease, and substance abuse in the populations that inhabit the reservations. That is still evident today.

 

Conclusion

The story of the Mayflower and its passengers is an iconic tale in American history. Regardless of how one perceives the beliefs or even the actions of the Pilgrims and the Puritans who founded the earliest American colonies, there is no denying the courage they had in making the journey and forging a new life in a new world. To leave the relative comfort of their homes in order to remain true to their convictions, to undertake a perilous journey to an unknown destination, and to then have to build – by hand – their own homes in a bitterly cold environment with little food is certainly the definition of courage. For the English Separatists, or Pilgrims, who formed the colony at Plymouth, the perils they faced were worth the result: a new life and the freedom to practice their deeply-held beliefs.

Their beliefs had already prompted rebellion in their home countries, and that dissent alone took tremendous courage as the possible consequences included such horrors as being burned at the stake. They had moved once to Holland, and they had then willingly signed a contract of indentured servitude to follow their dreams and move again. Upon their arrival in a foreign land, they faced a wintry nightmare they were ill-prepared for, and yet they forged ahead. They found a place to build their homes, and each family proceeded to build their own dwelling, despite the illnesses they faced that, along with the bitter cold, cost the lives of almost half of the Pilgrims who originally departed from England. The same ship that transported them, the Mayflower, housed them during that first difficult winter.

After the worst of the winter was over, the Pilgrims emerged from the ship to take up residence in their newly formed colony, Plymouth Plantation. There they proceeded to forge alliances with some of the Native groups they encountered. With the help of the Natives, they successfully produced their first harvest. According to primary accounts of at least two of the Pilgrims, they celebrated with a feast of Thanksgiving, a tradition that continues in the United States to this day, alongside their Native allies. The Natives with whom they purportedly celebrated didn’t fare so well when more Europeans moved to the New World and encroached upon their territories, often taking them by force. Today, the descendants of those Native groups consider Thanksgiving a day of mourning.

Despite the fact that these early Pilgrims had no desire to form a new nation, their values would play a critical role in shaping the United States of America. Their willingness to risk everything for their beliefs, their sense of mission, and their rebellious attitude would encourage another revolution over a century later. Their values of hard work, self-reliance, and mutual respect would form the foundation of that newly emerging nation. Their independent nature and their concept of equal participation and justice, along with the ideal of freedom to practice one’s religious beliefs, would be central themes in the Constitution of the United States of America. Thus, their story is truly one of adventure, courage, and destiny.

 

References Cited

1. Addis, Cameron. (2015). Protestant Reformation and America.http://sites.austincc.edu/caddis/protestant-reformation-america.
2. Anderson, Robert Charles (1995). The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620–1633. New England Historic Genealogical Society: Boston, MA.
3. Banks, Charles Edward. (2006). The English Ancestry and Homes of the Pilgrim Fathers: who came to Plymouth on the Mayflower in 1620, the Fortune in 1621, and the Anne and the Little James in 1623. Genealogical Publishing Co.: Baltimore, MD.
4. Boulden, John. (2013). Newlyn was the last port for Mayflower. The Herald. http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/newlyn-port-mayflower/story-18662032-detail/story.html.
5. Bradford, William. (1622). Mourt’s Relation or Journal of the Plantation at Plymouth. Rand and Avery: Boston.
6. Bradford, William (1898) [1651]. Hildebrandt, Ted, ed. Bradford’s History “Of Plimoth Plantation”. Boston: Wright & Potter Printing Co.
7. Galloway, Colin. (2013). New Worlds for All: Indians, Europeans, and the Remaking of Early America. The Johns Hopkins University Press: Baltimore.
8. Golson, J. Geoffrey (2006). Colonial America from Settlement to the Revolution. ABC-CLIO: Santa Barbara, CA.
9. History.com Staff. (2009). Puritanism. History.com. http://www.history.com/topics/puritanism. Publisher A+E Networks.
10. History.com Staff. (2009). The Pilgrims. History.com. http://www.history.com/topics/pilgrims. Publisher A+E Networks.
11. Howland Maxwell, Richard. (2003). Pilgrim and Puritan: A delicate distinction. Pilgrim Society Note, Series Two. Pilgrim Hall Museum: Plymouth, MA.
12. Johnson, Caleb H. (2006). The Mayflower and Her Passengers. Xlibris Corp.: Indiana.
13. Kang, Ning. (2009). Puritanism and its impact upon American values. Review of European Studies. Vol. 1, No. 2. pp. 148-151.
14. Lepore, Jill. (1999). The name of the war: King Philip’s War and the Origins of American Identity. Vintage Books: New York.
15. McFarlane, K. B. (1966). The origins of religious dissent in England. Collier Books: New York.
16. Philbrook, Nathaniel. (2006). Mayflower: A story of courage, community, and war. Penguin Group, Inc.: New York.
17. Salisbury, Neal and Colin G. Calloway, eds. (1993). Reinterpreting New England Indians and the Colonial Experience. Vol. 71 of Publications of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts. University of Virginia Press: Boston, MA.
18. Silverman, David. (2007). Faith and Boundaries: Colonists, Christianity, and Community Among the Wampanoag Indians of Martha’s Vineyard, 1600–1871. Cambridge University Press: New York.
19. Stratton, Eugene Aubrey. (1986). Plymouth Colony: Its History and People, 1620–1691. Ancestry Publishing: Salt Lake City, UT.
20. Toensing, Gale C. (2012). What really happened at the first Thanksgiving? The Wampanoag side of the tale. http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2012/11/23/what-really-happened-first-thanksgiving-wampanoag-side-tale-and-whats-done-today-145807.

 

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