Richard Rothrock's Blog

Up until I read this book, I only knew of the Pilgrims’ voyage on the Mayflower and the events of their first year in the New World which led up to Thanksgiving. This book opened my eyes by filling in the Pilgrims’ turbulent times in England prior to sailing as well as their first attempt to settle aboard in Holland. It helped me better understand the foundations of their beliefs and how heretical they were when placed against the establishment’s Church of England doctrines. The book also continued the story beyond Thanksgiving and showed how the settlers we call Pilgrims continued to clash with their big business sponsors back in England. Their preference for piety over profit led to the New England Company drafting the Puritans (who had no problem balancing piety and profit) to come over and establish Boston, nee Massachusetts, in 1630. The result led to an uneasy alliance between the two colonies that finally ended with Plymouth’s forced annexation into greater Massachusetts in 1690. Author Feenie Ziner did a great job of taking the largely apochryphal Thanksgiving tale and placing it within the historical context of the 17th century, and why the Pilgrims and Plymouth colony remain an essential chapter in the American story.

FYI, the American Heritage Junior Library series was my favorite book series growing up. This book remains one of my favorite books of the series.
The Pilgrims and Plymouth Colony (American Heritage Junior Library

I read this back in elementary school in the 1970s. Prior to reading it, I only knew the basic details of Thanksgiving: the pilgrims and the Mayflower and Plymouth and the turkey. Some of the major players like William Bradford, William Brewster, Prisilla Mullins, John Alden, Miles Standish. This book was a revelation. It brought the whole culture of the Pilgrims to life. And how they raised the children. How perilous the voyage to the New World was. What they believed and how they dressed and what they ate. How they came to settle in Plymouth. How they barely survived the first winter there. The stories of Samoset and Squanto. It gave me a greater appreciate for the challenges the Pilgrims faced and overcame. It remains one of my favorite books of my childhood.