Pilgrims Were Peaceful Research Reveals
By Bob Small
Another organization I learned about from presentations at the 2021 Bill of Rights Banquet was the Plymouth Rock Foundation.
I was skeptical about many of its claims after first sailing through it voluminous website — especially the one regarding 50 years peaceful relationships with the Native Americans.
Reviewing numerous other websites, though, had my questions answered positively.
Especially interesting sections of the Foundations’ website are America’s Hometown Thanksgiving; A lesson from Plymouth, and Who were the Pilgrims.
Previously unknown to me was that The Pilgrims kept their treaties with the Pakauoket and Wampanong, and other tribes, from 1621 to 1675, when King Phillips War began and that started as was a civil war between tribes with the Pilgrims choosing a side. In terms of percentage of population killed, this war was more than twice as costly as The Civil War and The Revolutionary War.
Also, the Wampanong brought deer and seafood. The American Turkey Union should publicize this.
The Pilgrims, in England, were Seperatist Puritans who felt their congregations should separate from the Church of England as under the 1559 Act of Uniformity, it was illegal not to attend Church of England services. Penalties included both fines and Imprisonment.
Some of the sources I used to confirm the Foundation’s claims
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas.com/archive/2019/11/thanksgiving-belongs-wampanong-tribe-602422/
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/native-intelligence-109314481/
Some of these articles use the models of restorative narrative.
This is a link meant for grade school students, from Eastern Illinois University: https://castle.eiu.edu/-wow/classes/fa09/Plimouth?Lessons5.html
Having recently viewed Ken Burns documentary The West, one can only wish that other settlers, many of whom considered themselves Christians, would of followed the example of their Pilgrim predecessors, rather than violating almost every subsequent treaty with Native Americans.
