Pilgrims for Kids | History of Pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving

the pilgrims [Music] in the patriotic song titled America the poet called America land of the pilgrims pride who were these pilgrims and where did they come from about 400 years ago 13 years after the first English settlement in America called Jamestown there was another group of travelers who came to America in search of religious freedom they wanted to worship God in their own way and separate from the Church of England they formed their own congregation and called themselves Saints the Saints came under persecution in England and many of these people moved to Holland in the Netherlands seeking religious liberty and a better life and Holland life became unbearable these people could not find jobs and the parents did not like the bad influence that the local culture was having on their own children the Saints packed up their few possessions gathered their families and went back to England and England they again faced persecution and were sent to prison they wanted to go to America where they could be free to live according to their own beliefs they bargained and paid for passage across the Atlantic Ocean on two ships the Speedwell and the Mayflower in the summer of 1620 these two ships set sail for a new land where these people could fulfill their hopes and dreams of a new life 300 miles and many days out to sea this speed rail began leaking water into the ship it could not be repaired at sea and both ships returned to the harbor it was decided that the Mayflower would sail alone and the people and cargo that could fit were transferred to the Mayflower the Mayflower finally set sail for America on the 6th of September 1620 the passengers on the Mayflower were known as Saints strangers and crew those who were believers and members of the congregation were Saints the strangers were those who were still looking for a better life away from England and to get and develop land but were not members of the congregation and the crew were the officers and working hands on the ship all together there were about a hundred and thirty people the first half of the voyage went smooth the seas were calm and good progress was made but many of the travelers still became sick and during the second half of the journey the seas were rough and stormy the winds were so fierce that the crew had to drop the sails on the ship allowing it to drift freely the Mayflower became damaged and many believed they would not make their intended destination it was a long and difficult voyage the Mayflower was a small ship only a hundred feet long it was crowded there was not enough fresh water it was stinky dirty and cold two people died one of them a young man who fell overboard during a very turbulent storm he was not recovered after a 66 days at sea the Shipman cried out man America had been sighted surprisingly they were not far from where they intended to make landfall upon arriving the pilgrims made an agreement on paper about how their new colony would be run they created and signed a document which today is called the mayflower compact the compact stated they were loyal to the king of England were Christians who serve God laws they make will be fair and everyone would work for the good of the colony each man before leaving the ship was asked to sign the Mayflower Compact the pilgrims searched the New England coast for a place to settle and he cited on the area already named by previous explorers to the area there was land for planting crops a harbor for ships and the river for fresh water they built their village and established Plymouth Colony in what is now the state of Massachusetts inside Cape Cod although the pilgrims were happy to have settled in America they faced a difficult and cold winter they were not prepared they built a large house and some smaller homes yet for a period people still slept on the Mayflower that first winter in Plymouth Colony almost half of the people died it was a very hard and harsh life Native Americans were already living in America for thousands of years before these settlers from England arrived the Native Americans were not surprised to see these new visitors since explorers and hunters and fishermen had been here before when the Mayflower arrived the Native Americans saw these families with men women and children come off the ship it was hoped that they would come in peace there was not much integration that first winter between the Native Americans and those of Plymouth Colony the Pilgrims and Native Americans formed a treaty that helped for peaceful relations between these two cultures they would trade for furs food and tools after the first harvest in 1621 a year after their arrival in this land that held great promise and hope for these immigrants the pilgrims invited some of the Native Americans to join them for a feast the pilgrims provided food of their harvest and the Native Americans provided venison from the deer they had hunted this is referred to as the first Thanksgiving as the tradition continued after every harvest in the years that followed life was not easy for the pilgrims especially in those first years the most important thing for them was to freely practice their religion as the years went by the community of settlers from England grew to the thirteen original colonies and then to the United States of America

Channel: Learn Bright

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Keywords: Pilgrims for Kids, Pilgrims, Pilgrim, Thanksgiving, thanksgiving videos, pilgrims for kids video, thanksgiving for kids, the mayflower, history of thanksgiving, the first thanksgiving, the pilgrims journey, story of pilgrims, story of pilgrims for kids, the story of pilgrims for kids, Learn Bright

Id: OBjqrKyfRnA

Length: 6min 53sec (413 seconds)

Published: Wed Nov 15 2017