USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Plymouth > The truth about the Pilgrims > Part 2
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no such institutions existed in England at that time (NO. 66).
The Pilgrims were the only colonists who established a system whereby the people actually governed themselves. To avoid officialdom, they never elected any of their officers for a term of more than one year. They introduced local self-government as originally established in the township system. DeTocqueville said, "This system seems to have come directly from the hand of God." The first Declaration of Independence in America was formulated and ratified at a meeting of the General Court of New Plymouth, November 15, 1636. After reading their Compact and their Letters Patent of 1629, it was enacted: "We think good that it be established for an act: That ... no imposition, law or ordinance be made or imposed upon or by ourselves or others at present, or to come, but such as shall be made or imposed by consent" of the voters.
In the Massachusetts Bay Colony at one period, not one man in four was a church member. There, as was the case in the New Haven Colony, only church members; were allowed to vote. No such restriction was ever adopted in Plymouth. (H XI 21).
"American self-government was not the sudden birth of the Declaration of Independence. For a century and a half the idea and political habits from which its strength was drawn had been gradually developed. According to Charles Borgeaud in his 'Rise of Democracy,' it 'really sprang from the organization which the Pilgrim Fathers gave to the first Colony, an organization which determined the shape and character of the State Constitutions which followed." (BR 16).
THANKSGIVING DAY
Thanksgiving is a day which will be forever associated with the Pilgrims because they introduced it to America. It really was adopted from the Dutch who in turn had
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adopted it from the early Christians who in turn had taken it from the Bible in which the early thanksgivings of the Jewish people are described. The Dutch during their Eighty Years War with Spain used it to show their thanks to the Creator for His aid in the repelling of the invaders. The hymn, "The Prayer of Thanksgiving," was of Dutch origin and was first sung in the sixteenth century.
The first real day of Thanksgiving by the Pilgrims was when they were driven to take refuge on Clark's Island before the landing at Plymouth on Monday, December 21, 1620. The event is described by Bradford as follows: "for the next day was a faire sunshining day, and they found themsellvs to be on an iland secure from the Indeans, wher they might drie their stufe, fixe their peeces, and rest them- selves, and gave God thanks for his mercies in their mani- fould deliverances. And this being the last day of the weeke, they prepared ther to keepe the Sabath." (B 104).
It was in 1623 that no rain fell between the third week in May and the middle of July. All of their plantings began to dry and wither because of the lack of water, and it seemed that all crops would be lost and famine would be their lot. The Indians appealed to their God for rain but in vain. Eventually the Pilgrims decided to call on their God by a day of humiliation and prayer (M 64-65). Brad- ford describes what took place as follows: "Upon which they sett a parte a solemne day of humiliation, to seek the Lord by humble and fervente prayer, in this great distrese. And he was pleased to give them a gracious and speedy answer, both to thier owne and the Indeans admiration, that lived amongest them. For all the morning, and the greatest part of the day, it was clear weather and very hotte, and not a cloud or any signe of raine to be seen, yet toward evening it begane to overcast, and shortly after to raine, with shuch sweete and gentle showers, as gave them cause of rejoyceing and blessing God. It came, without either. wind, or thunder, or any violence, and by degreese in that
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abundance, as that the earth was thorowly wete and soked therwith. Which did so apparently revive and quicken the decayed corne and other fruits, as was wonderful to see, and the Indeans astonished to behold; and afterwards the Lord sent them shuch seasonable showers, with enterchange of faire warme weather, as, through his blessing, caused a fruitfull and liberall harvest, to ther no small comforte and rejoycing. For which mercie (in time conveniente) they also sett aparte a day of thanksgiveing." (B 152-153). In 1637, an ordinance was passed "that it be in the power of the governor and assistants to command solemn days of humiliation, and also for thanksgiving, as occasion shall be offered." (Note M 13). When the other New England colonies were formed, they eventually followed the example of Plymouth and fixed a certain day for Thanksgiving by formal proclamation.
Thanksgiving became a national day of observance when the Continental Congress on November 7, 1777, by formal proclamation, recommended that Thursday, December 18, 1777, be recognized as such. This action was probably motivated by the delegates from the New England colonies. When the British General Burgoyne was defeated at the Battle of Saratoga, Samuel Adams offered a resolution that a committee of three be appointed to prepare a recom- mendation to the several states to select a day for Thanks- giving "for the signal success lately obtained over the enemy of these United States." The resolution was adopted, and the three persons to serve on the committee: were Samuel Adams, Richard Henry Lee and Col. Daniel Rober- deau. They were the drafters of a formal Proclamation which was subsequently adopted. This practice was; con- tinued annually by the Continental Congress until and including the year 1783. No day was thereafter set aside until on October 3, 1789, President George Washington, at the request of Congress, issued his first National Thanks- giving proclamation recommending and appointing Thurs-
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day, November 26, 1789, as the day. This was the last Thursday of the month.
Thereafter other dates were sometimes selected as follows: President George Washington issued on his own initiative a proclamation dated January 1, 1795, selecting Thursday, February 19, 1795, as the day; President John Adams in a Proclamation dated March 23, 1798, selected May 5, 1798; again in 1799, he selected Thursday, April 25, 1799; Presi- dent Thomas Jefferson issued no proclamation; President James Madison by proclamation dated November 16, 1814, selected Thursday, January 12, 1815; again by proclamation dated March 4, 1815, he selected Thursday, April 13, 1815; and thereafter the practice was discontinued for forty-seven years. .
On his own initiative, President Abraham Lincoln issued a formal proclamation dated April 10, 1862, selecting Sunday, April 13, 1862, as a day of National Thanksgiving. President James Buchanan, also President Lincoln, issued Proclamations for days of humiliation, fasting and prayer but these were not the same as Thanksgiving. In 1863 and 1864, President Lincoln followed the example of Washing- ton and selected the last Thursday in November. In 1865, President Andrew Johnson selected Thursday, December 7, 1865, and in 1869, President Ulysses S. Grant selected Thursday, November 18, 1869. In 1870, President Grant changed back to the last Thursday in November, which was followed by all succeeding presidents, except for the times that President Franklin D. Roosevelt tried to move the day forward a week, causing two days frequently to be celebrated, the first, sometimes facetiously called "Franks- giving," on the earlier new official date, and an unofficial "Thanksgiving" on the last Thursday of November. Even President Roosevelt could not withstand the demand of the people that the day selected by Washington and followed by Lincoln should be selected again. So he reverted to the
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fourth Thursday in November, and so it has remained to the present time by act of Congress as a National day of Thanksgiving for everyone in the United States. .. " .
THE PLYMOUTH SETTLEMENT
.. The third exploring party of the "Mayflower" landed on December 21, 1620 (N.S.), at Plymouth, and the Pilgrims later began their settlement there in the wilderness. Their suffering was terrible. In the words of Governor Bradford, "But that which was most sadd & lamentable was, that in 2, or 3, moneths time halfe of their company dyed, espetialy in Jan. & February, being ye depth of winter, and wanting houses & other comforts; being infected with the scurvie & other diseases, which this long vioage & their inacomodate condition had brought upon them; so as ther dyed some times 2. or 3. of a day, in ye foresaid time; that of 100. & odd persons, scarce 50. remained. And of these in the time of most distress, ther was but 6. or 7. sound persons, who, to their great comendations be it spoken, spared no pains, night nor day, but with abundance of toyle and hazard of their owne health, fetched them woode, made them fires, drest them meat, made their beads, washed their lothsome cloaths, cloathd and uncloathed them; in a word, did all the homly & necessarie offices for them which dainty & quesie stomacks cannot endure to hear named; and all this willingly & cherfully, without any grudging in ye least, shewing herein their true love unto their freinds and bretheren." (B 10). They were very often on the point of starving. It is related that they placed sick men with mus- kets on rests and with their backs leaning against trees to be a guard against possible attacks by the Indians when they had no well .men who could be spared to stand guard (PP 121). Their dead were buried in Cole's Hill, and later,
NOTE: Thanksgiving Day is appointed in each State by action of the Governor, and in the District of Columbia by statute fixing the fourth Thursday in November.
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corn was planted over their graves that the Indians might not know how many were gone; yet their courage con- tinued. In April, 1621, Christopher Jones, the Captain of the "Mayflower," which had remained in Plymouth harbor since December, offered to take back to England any who might wish to return, but such was their resolution and devotion to their ideal that not one of them went back.
Plymouth was the first successful settlement in any part of what later became the thirteen colonies. It is true that the Hudson River was discovered in 1609, and a trading post was built on the Island of Manhattan by the Dutch in 1613, but until 1624 the Dutch visited New Netherland only as traders. That year thirty families of Walloons settled on western Long Island. It was not until 1626 that all of the island of Manhattan was purchased from the Indians. Virginia was settled in 1607, but it was for many years a disastrous experiment. The success of the settle- ment at Plymouth encouraged the backers of the Virginia colonists to continue with their support (Y 122). Governor Hutchinson said that it was the success of the Plymouth settlement that caused the Puritans to settle at Boston and other points in New England in and after 1630.
The question may be asked as to why the settlement at Plymouth succeeded in spite of what seems insurmountable obstacles. The answer may be found in the Pilgrim char- acter. The earliest settlers of Virginia were largely adven- turers who were unaccustomed to hard work and who sought their fortunes in the New World usually without their wives. The earliest Dutch settlers in Manhattan were traders. The Pilgrims, both men and women, were made of the material that could learn to work hard and could withstand all forms of persecution and death that they might worship God according to their consciences. In the New World they found religious freedom, and here they planted the permanent seeds of the New Nation.
When the Pilgrims came to the New World, they were
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not the first white persons who had been to Plymouth. A map of the country had been made by Samuel de Cham- plain in 1605. The Pilgrims actually had in their possession a map made by Captain John Smith in 1614 on which the place of their future location is called "Plimouth" (B 94). There had been many other voyagers to those parts. On May 15, 1602, Bartholomew Gosnold discovered and named Cape Cod, because his party took much fish there. (B 95) (Y 101) (SV 31-50). The Cape kept this name in spite of the fact that John Smith in 1614 renamed it Cape James. In 1603, Martin Pring visited New England, then known as Northern Virginia (SV 51-63). In 1605, Captain George Waymouth came to New England (SV 98-151) as did Cap- tain George Popham and Raleigh Gilbert in 1607 (SV 152- 175). In 1609, Captain Henry Hudson visited Cape Cod (SV 176-192), and Captain Samuel Argall did the same in 1610 (SV 193-209). The latter is mentioned in a letter dated May 8, 1619, from Robert Cushman to the Leyden group in which Argall brings bad news concerning the Virginia settlement (B 59-60).
When Captain John Smith was off New England (SV 210-247), one of his captains, Thomas Hunt, took twenty of the Patuxet (Plymouth) Indians and also seven of the Nauset (Eastham) Indians as prisoners and sold them as slaves in Malaga, in the West Indies (M 41). The local friars caused them to be released, and one of them, named Squanto, made his way to England where he became a servant of Mr. John Slanie, a London merchant. When Thomas Dermer visited Plymouth in 1619 (SV 248-258), he brought Squanto back to his former home only for the latter to find that the Paauxet tribe had been swept away by disease (B 111, note). It was Squanto who, with Samoset, became a lasting friend of the Pilgrims. The hostility of the Indians was also largely aroused by a sea captain, alleged to be English, who a few years before the arrival of the Pilgrims had enticed a large group of peaceful
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Indians on his ship only to murder them. When Captain Dermer was on shore, he visited Plymouth as well as Middleborough and Eastham because he left a description of the soil in those places (B 113). Of the many visitors to these shores, Waymouth, Popham, Hudson, Argall, Smith and Dermer left accounts of their voyages which were published (SV 98-258) and which, with the exception of Dermer's, might have been read by the Pilgrims before they began their voyage. Bradford read Dermer's account after the Pilgrims had settled in Plymouth (B 111). Captain Smith renamed Northern Virginia, New England. As al- ready stated, he also named Plymouth (B 112) (MD XXV 67). It is said that the Pilgrims were influenced to retain the name because Plymouth, England, was the last town they left in their native land and a place where many of the people had shown much kindness ( M42). Smith may have been influenced to give the name Plymouth to the section because it was within the grant of the Plymouth Company which in 1620 was reorganized as the Council at Plymouth for New England. Plymouth is not on the Cape. When the writer was a boy in Plymouth, he was impressed that two statements especially annoyed the resi- dents there. One was to say that the Pilgrims were Puri- tans; the other was to say that Plymouth is on the Cape.
THE "MAYFLOWER"
It has been said that the model of the "Mayflower" in Pilgrim Hall, Plymouth, is the best model of the "May- flower" in existence. It was made by R. C. Anderson of Basset Holt, Southampton, England, who has been Vice- President of the Society of Nautical Research, (frontispiece LH). There are two conflicting records concerning the ton- nage of the "Mayflower." The "Mayflower" was a ship of about 180 tons burden, according to Governor Bradford (LH 16). Mr. Anderson, accepting Bradford's statement, cal- culated length of keel, 64 feet; greatest beam, 26 feet inside
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the planking; depth from beam to top of keel, 11 feet; and length from stem-post to stern-post, 90 feet. These dimen- sions give a ship of 183 tons burden or 244 gross tonnage, of the regular merchantman design (LH 21).
In record 152 in the London Public Record Office may be found a note made by the Virginia Company showing ships sent to Virginia in 1620. Of six ships mentioned the third is the "May-Flower of 140 tuns in August 1620 with 100 persons" (HS II 155). This means the "Mayflower" was even smaller than Bradford's figure.
The first plan was that the "Mayflower" would have ninety passengers. The ship brought more than this num- ber because twelve more persons were added from those on the "Speedwell" when the latter vessel gave up the voy- age (DY 7). Oceanus Hopkins and Peregrine White were born on the voyage. The "Mayflower," small as she was, was a fine representative vessel, according to English pos- sessions, for in 1587 there were not more than five mer- chant vessels exceeding 200 tons (HXI 24). There were many other vessels at the time with the same name (B Note 78) (LH 53). It was another "May'lower" which came to Salem in 1629.
The Pilgrims landed from the "Mayflower" (M 14) first in Provincetown (M.D. III 231) where they obtained wood and water and refreshed themselves (Y118, 123). After cer- tain explorations they brought the "Mayflower" to Ply- mouth where they landed and settled. The rock was the place of their first permanent landing.
THE CREW
A vessel the size of the "Mayflower" would have had a crew of from twenty to twenty-five seamen in addition to the captain, mates, surgeon, petty officers and persons with special qualifications. The entire crew must have numbered between thirty-six and forty-one men (DY 7).
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Photographs courtesy Pilgrim Society
PLYMOUTH ROCK TODAY
$ 1 wo right profitable
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and fruitfull Concordances , or large and ample Tables Alphabeticall.
The firft conteining the interpretation of the Hebrue, Caldean , Greeke, and Latine wordes "4 and dames fcatteringly difperfed throughout the whole Bible, with their common places following euery of them: and the fecond comprehending all fuch other principall wordet and matiere , a concerne the life and meaning
The further contents and vfe of both the which Ta- bles (for breuitie fake) is expreffed more at large in the Preface to the Reader: And will ferue as wel for the tranflacon called Gramz, a for the other ambathed to by neaà in Chếthị)
Colledo by R CH.
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London
So Fmprinted at London by the Deputies of Chriftopher Barker, Printer to the
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Photographs courtesy Pilgrim Society
A PAGE FROM THE BIBLE OF WILLIAM BRADFORD
There has been some unnecessary confusion as to certain of the officers of the "Mayflower." The name of the captain was Christopher Jones, (B, Note 87), (MJ, 669-680), (NE, XL, 62), not Thomas Jones (LH 18, 48-49). It is stated that the kindness of Captain Jones was appreciated (Y 138) though Morton suspects him of duplicity (M 21-22). The first mate and pilot was John Clark (B Note 75) and not Thomas Clark, who came on the "Anne" in 1623. The sec- ond mate and pilot was Robert Coppin (B 103) and not Robert Coffin. Other mates were Andrew Williamson and John Parker (K 19). The surgeon was Dr. Giles Heale, who was of great help to the Pilgrims while the "Mayflower" remained at Plymouth. He was a witness to the will of William Mullins (MD 1, 230-232) (NE 42, 62) (MA 38). In the State Library at Richmond, Virginia, is a book, namely, a second edition of Henry Ainsworth's "Annotations upon the Book of Psalmes," published in 1617. On the front page appears the following: "This Booke was given unto me Giles Heale Cherugion by Isaacke Allerton Tailor in Virginia the X of February in the Yeare of our Lord 1620." This date in February 1621, according to our present meth- od of keeping time, was just before Mrs. Allerton's death. At that time Virginia was considered as covering a vast territory which included New England (B 65) (MD 34, 1-7). The cooper of the ship was John Alden. The names of the remainder of the crew are unknown.
The question has been asked whether Captain Jones had been bribed to land the Pilgrims where he did. There is no direct evidence that he was. There is plenty of circumstan- tial evidence that something was wrong. Bradford never made the charge, but Morton on page 23 of his "Memorial" makes the allegation, and the facts seem to support his claim. The Pilgrims, according to Bradford, desired to find some place about "Hudson's" River for their habitation (B 94). The Dutch had been ready to accept them as Dutch settlers, but not as an English colony in what was later
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New Jersey, a territory claimed by the English and by the Dutch. Captain Jones was experienced, and he had a copy of Captain John Smith's map of the coast. He must have known exactly what he was doing when he landed the Pilgrims on lands of the Plymouth Company, where their charter did not apply, instead of on the lands of the Vir- ginia Company, to which their charter did apply. Once they arrived, they were too exhausted to move further. Morton's statement may be accepted as amply sustained by provable facts.
THE DATE OF THE LANDING
The Pilgrim method of fixing the day of the month dif- fered from ours today. Prior to 1752, the civil year began on March 25, which was called the first month. April was the second month. The new style was introduced and has been continued since 1752. To render Old Style (O.S.) into New Style (N.S.), the first month must be accounted the third, and ten days be added to all dates between 1582 and 1700, and eleven days to dates between 1700 and 1752. For the single year, 1600, eleven days should be added.
The day of the landing by the third exploring party in the shallop at Plymouth was on the 11th day of December "O.S." This corresponds to the 21st day of December "N.S." as just explained (M.D. I, 17-23).
PLYMOUTH ROCK
Thacher's "History of Plymouth" contains a good ac- count of Plymouth Rock "The identical granite rock, upon which the sea-wearied Pilgrims from the 'Mayflower' first impressed their footsteps, has never been a subject of doubtful designation. The fact of its identity has been trans- mitted from father to son" (T 29). James Thacher, who wrote the foregoing, was a famous Plymouth historian and was born in 1754. William S. Russell in his "Memorials"
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says, "The visitor frequently inquires, 'Is this the veritable rock which first received the Pilgrims?' Happily, we are able to answer his question with perfect confidence" (R 18).
In considering the question of whether the Pilgrims actu- ally landed on Plymouth Rock, we may well take up the likelihood of it. The Plymouth shore is sandy and flat, and it is difficult to land without stepping into the water, even from the flat-bottomed boats in use today. The difficulty would have been greatly increased by the fact that the boats in use at the time of the landing were round bottomed. Before locating the Rock, the Pilgrims complained that the shore was so shallow that the men were obliged to wade in water over their knees in going to and from their shallop, by which many had taken colds and coughs (MR 5) (Y 120). The wading was called the cause of many of their deaths (MR 68). It is reasonable to suppose that, to avoid stepping into the icy water, they would look along the shore for a rock that they might use, as a means to land without getting wet. The only rock in that vicinity was Plymouth Rock, which is not a native, but a fine-grained granite boulder, brought down and deposited by the ice-sheet, which once covered the greater part of eastern North America. This rock is near highwater mark, and owing to the many flats in the harbor, the exploring party would doubtless have come across from the island, where it had spent Sunday, when the tide was at its highest. The Rock was at the place where the Pilgrims landed according to the records. So. much for the probability of the story.
Its authenticity rests on general and undisputed tradition and on certain well-defined statements transmitted from generation to generation (Notes M 34-36). It was accentu- ated by the following event. Thomas Faunce, the last pre- siding elder of the First Church, was born in 1647 (D 367). In 1741, when he was ninety-four years old, it was proposed to construct a wharf over the Rock, and he, supposing that it was to be buried away forever, was very anxious to see it.
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once more. He was brought down to the shore in a chair and there related how his father (who had come in the "Ann" in 1623) had told him that there was where the Pilgrims had first landed. He was old enough, too, to have heard the story from the Pilgrims themselves. He was nine years old when Standish died, ten years old when Bradford died, sixteen years old when Cooke died, twenty-six years old when Howland died and a man of thirty-eight when Samson died. He must have known twenty-three of the Pilgrims, and his mother was the sister of Nathaniel Mor- ton, the colony historian. He thus had ample opportunity to verify his father's story. Ephraim Spooner, deacon of the First Church, told many times in his later life of being down at the Rock and hearing Faunce's story. The same information was communicated by Mrs. Joanna (Howland) White, a great granddaughter of John Howland and widow of Gideon White. She knew Elder Faunce well. She died 23 September 1810, age 95 years (R 19).
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