The Pilgrims (separatists) found corruption and practices that were in conflict with the Holy Word of God and thus began to meet in secret so they could worship God according to the way the Bible told them.  It was time to flee from England and find a place where they could worship freely.

Early 1600's – Persecution, imprisonment and death for those who separated themselves from King James rule of the church of England.

The Pilgrims flee to Holland

After a decade in Leiden, the low wages, the danger of renewed war with Spain, and concern for their children's future led them to seek another solution.  The Leiden Separatist community decided to relocate to America despite the perils and dangers.

The ships painted below are the size of the Speedwell, the small ship in which some of the Pilgrims sailed from Holland to England.  Both the Speedwell and the Mayflower (right) were meant to sail to America, but the Speedwell developed leaks.  The Pilgrims decided she could not survive the voyage.

On November 9th they spotted land. On November 21, 1620, the Pilgrims and other colonists met in the cabin of the ship and forty-one men signed an agreement that became known as the Mayflower Compact. This was the earliest attempt at self-government in the New World. (Because women had few legal rights in those days, only men signed the Compact.)

DEC 23, 1620 THE ENTIRE GROUP GOES ASHORE

THEY DIDN’T ERECT GRAVESTONES FOR FEAR OF BEING ATTACT BY THE INDIANS BECAUSE OF THEIR DWINDLING NUMBERS.

THE FIRST WINTER WAS ROUGH AND MORE THAN 40 PILGRIMS DIED BUT

Three months after the Pilgrims landed in Plymouth they met their first Indian neighbor.  They didn’t expect him to just walk right up and begin speaking English but that is exactly what happened.  His name was Samoset, and he had learned to speak from a visiting English fisherman.  The Pilgrims offered him food, drink and clothing, and then Samoset educated the Pilgrims about the land, surrounding Indian tribes and a strange sickness that killed nearly everyone in his Patuxet tribe.

Another Indian named Squanto who also spoke English, which he learned from the English captain who kidnapped him and tried to sold him into slavery which he later escaped, also helped the Pilgrims to survive.

Squanto showed the them the best way to catch fish, where to hunt deer, turkey, and other animals, and how to use nets, hooks, and spears to capture prey.  He showed them which plants were safe to eat and he even taught them how to use fish as fertilizer to help their corn grow more plentiful.

Instead of begging God for more blessing, the Pilgrims'profound faith in God led Governor William Bradford to set aside a day for public Thanksgiving in gratitude for the blessings already received.

We still maintain the tradition of

giving thanks for our good fortune,

but we have some new

traditions the Pilgrims would

never recognize

FOOTBALL

FOOTBALL

HOW MANY TURKEYS ARE EATEN IN THE U.S. ON THANKSGIVING DAY?

MORE THAN 45 MILLION!!

SHOPPING!!

Happy Thanksgiving

• I would like to give credit to the following websites for their resources:

• http://stufffromthelab.wordpress.com/2007/11/12/why-did-the-pilgrims-come-to-the-new-world/

• http://mbeinstitute.org/America/amerch2.html• http://www.scarborough.k12.me.us/wis/teachers/

dtewhey/webquest/colonial/pilgrims.htm• http://ed101.bu.edu/StudentDoc/current/ED101fa08/

kfurbush/Indian%20Interaction.html• http://christianityinhistory.blogspot.com/2007/11/

thanksgiving-christian-holiday-part-ii.html• http://www.pilgrimhall.org/holland.htm• http://www.dailyencouragement.net/seasonal/

pilgrim_history.html• http://islandbreath.org/2005Year/a05-11-spirit/0511-

07AtonementDay.html