We all know the story of the Pilgrims landing in Massachusetts and coming ashore on Plymouth Rock to start a new colony based on religious freedom, and having Thanksgiving giving thanks to God for his bounty and blessings with the local Natives. Every American school child is told this story early on in their educations. The story has some truths to it, but it leaves out a lot. It is basically the sanitized and simplified version of what really went on when the Pilgrims came to America… a story suitable for children and one that instills pride in one’s country, but leaving out the more harsh details of the tale. For example, the Pilgrims were coming here to practice religious freedom… their own; they were considered too radical in their interpretation of Christianity in England, but once in America, they would tolerate no other type of religious practice in their newly formed town. Further, the Pilgrims lost more than half the passengers of the Mayflower during the first hard winter in America and never would have made it through the cold months had it not been for the assistance of local Natives.

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