Transcript The Pilgrim Experience

Bellwork 10/3
• Write all that you know about the The
Mayflower and The First Thanksgiving
• Myth: The first Thanksgiving was in 1621 and the pilgrims
celebrated it every year thereafter.
• Fact: The first feast wasn't repeated, so it wasn't the
beginning of a tradition. In fact, the colonists didn't even
call the day Thanksgiving. To them, a thanksgiving was a
religious holiday in which they would go to church and
thank God for a specific event, such as the winning of a
battle. On such a religious day, the types of recreational
activities that the pilgrims and Wampanoag Indians
participated in during the 1621 harvest feast--dancing,
singing secular songs, playing games--wouldn't have been
allowed. The feast was a secular celebration, so it never
would have been considered a thanksgiving in the pilgrims
minds.
• Myth: The original Thanksgiving feast took place on the fourth
Thursday of November.
• Fact: The original feast in 1621 occurred sometime between
September 21 and November 11. Unlike our modern holiday, it was
three days long. The event was based on English harvest festivals,
which traditionally occurred around the 29th of September. After
that first harvest was completed by the Plymouth colonists, Gov.
William Bradford proclaimed a day of thanksgiving and prayer,
shared by all the colonists and neighboring Indians. In 1623 a day of
fasting and prayer during a period of drought was changed to one
of thanksgiving because the rain came during the prayers. Gradually
the custom prevailed in New England of annually celebrating
thanksgiving after the harvest.
• During the American Revolution a yearly day of national
thanksgiving was suggested by the Continental Congress. In
1817 New York State adopted Thanksgiving Day as an
annual custom, and by the middle of the 19th century
many other states had done the same. In 1863 President
Abraham Lincoln appointed a day of thanksgiving as the last
Thursday in November, which he may have correlated it
with the November 21, 1621, anchoring of
the Mayflower at Cape Cod. Since then, each president has
issued a Thanksgiving Day proclamation. President Franklin
D. Roosevelt set the date for Thanksgiving to the fourth
Thursday of November in 1939 (approved by Congress in
1941.)
• Myth: The pilgrims wore only black and white
clothing. They had buckles on their hats,
garments, and shoes.
• Fact: Buckles did not come into fashion until later
in the seventeenth century and black and white
were commonly worn only on Sunday and formal
occasions. Women typically dressed in red, earthy
green, brown, blue, violet, and gray, while men
wore clothing in white, beige, black, earthy green,
and brown.
• Myth: The Mayflower was headed for Virginia, but
due to a navigational mistake it ended up in Cape Cod
Massachusetts.
• Fact: The Pilgrims were in fact planning to settle in
Virginia, but not the modern-day state of Virginia. They
were part of the Virginia Company, which had the
rights to most of the eastern seaboard of the U.S. The
pilgrims had intended to go to the Hudson River region
in New York State, which would have been considered
"Northern Virginia," but they landed in Cape Cod
instead. Treacherous seas prevented them from
venturing further south.
Essential Question:
• What were the reasons for Puritans and
Pilgrims immigrating to America and how
were they able to create a successful colony?
The Pilgrim Experience
Puritans and Pilgrims
• In 1604, England’s King James I held a
conference to meet with Protestant leaders
• These leaders wanted to reform the Church
of England, also known as the Anglican
church
– They felt that bishops had too much power.
• King James responded that he would not
make any changes, and that those who would
not conform will be driven out of the land
Definitions
• Puritans- Protestant group that wanted to
reform, or purify, the church of England
– The Puritan’s main complaint was that bishops and
priests had too much power over church members
• Sect- Religious group
– The most extreme Puritans wanted to separate from
the Church of England
• Separatists- Puritans who wanted to form their
own church, and cut all ties with the Church of
England
• Pilgrims- A group of Separatists who were
punished for their beliefs
– Faced harsh treatment, and left England to escape
persecution
• Immigrants- people who came to a new
country after leaving the land of their birth
• The pilgrims left England for the Netherlands,
but returned to England to apply for
permission to settle in Virginia
The Founding of Plymouth
• On September 16, 1620, a ship called The
Mayflower left England with more than 100 men,
women, and children.
• William Bradford was in charge of the Pilgrims.
• The Pilgrims traveled for two months, dealing
with rough ocean conditions, before finally
sighting land.
• They realized they strayed outside of the area
they were supposed to settle in.
Mayflower Deconstructed
• http://www.history.com/topics/mayflowercompact/videos#deconstructed-mayflower
• On November 21, 1620, on board The Mayflower 41
male passengers signed the Mayflower Compact.
– Legal contract calling for fair laws to protect the general
good.
– One of the first attempts at government in the English
colonies.
• The Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock, in present-day
Massachusetts.
• The Pilgrims had difficulty establishing a colony
– Nearly half the Pilgrims died from cold and sickness during
the first winter.
Pilgrims and American Indians
• The first Europeans to visit the Plymouth area
were European fishermen
– They brought new diseases to the area, which killed
most of the local American Indians.
• The Pilgrims did not have much contact with
Native Americans at first
• Samoset was a Native American who learned
English from the crews of fishing boats.
– He gave the Pilgrims useful information about the
people and places around Plymouth
• Squanto was a Pawtuxet Indian who had lived
in Europe and spoke English
• He also was a great help to the colonists
helping them by:
– Being an interpreter
– Showed them how to plant corn
– Showed them where to catch fish
– Showed them where to get other important goods
– Was a guide for them
• Conditions in the Plymouth colony began to
improve
– They began to store food and prepare their
houses for the winter.
• The Pilgrims invited Chief Massasoit and 90
other Wampanoag guests to celebrate their
harvest.
– This feast was held to thank God for providing for
them.
– It was known as the first Thanksgiving.
History of Thanksgiving
• http://www.history.com/topics/mayflowercompact/videos#history-of-the-thanksgivingholiday
• 3:14
• While the conditions began to improve, there
still were many problems
• Most Pilgrims tried farming, but the farmland
around their settlement was poor.
• The Pilgrims also tried to be successful in trading
furs and fishing, but were unsuccessful.
– Hunting and fishing conditions were not good in the
local area.
• Despite these setbacks, the colony grew stronger
when new settlers arrived.
• The Pilgrim settlement was different from
Virginia because of the importance of family.
– Most families hoped to have many children who
could help with work
– The Pilgrims also taught their children to read
– The family served as the center of religious life,
health care, and community well-being.
• All family members worked together to
survive during the early years of the colony.
– Women generally:
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Cooked
Spun and wove wool
Sewed clothing
Made soap and butter, carried water, dried fruit
Cared for livestock
– Men generally:
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Repaired tools
Worked in the fields
Chopped wood
Built shelters
• Women also were given more legal rights
than women in England.
– Women were allowed to sign contracts and own
property
Review Song• http://www.history.com/topics/mayflowercompact/videos#the-mayflower