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The Thanksgiving tale of the Pilgrims and the Indian has an astonishing, less well-known back story. The story of how the Pilgrims arrived at our shores on the Mayflower—and how a friendly Patuxet native named Squanto showed them how to plant corn, using fish as fertilizer—is well-known. But Squanto’s full story is not, as National Geographic’s new Thanksgiving miniseries, “Saints & Strangers,” shows. That might be because some details of Squanto’s life are in dispute. The important ones are not, however. His story is astonishing, even raising profound questions about God’s role in American history. Every Thanksgiving we remember that,...

John Howland may not be as famous as William Bradford, John Carver and Myles Standish, notable passengers on the Mayflower that landed in Massachusetts in 1620. Yet Howland, who boarded the ship as Carver's servant, probably had a greater impact on the history of the United States than any of them. Hundreds of thousands of Americans will sit down for Thanksgiving dinner Thursday unaware that they owe their very existence to Howland, who almost never even made it to the New World. Howland fell overboard in the middle of the Atlantic during a gale

Another English Town Tries to Claim the Mayflower, and Tourism, From Plymouth HARWICH, England—A disagreement between two sleepy English seaside towns could make a splash across the Atlantic: by forcing a rewrite of American history. For 393 years, the southwest England town of Plymouth has been celebrated as the last port of call of the Mayflower before the ship carried the first Pilgrim settlers to what was to become the United States of America. But that is only part of the story. Plymouth's fame has come at the expense of this tiny town to the northeast of London. The reason:...

One of my favorite Peanuts holiday specials. Charlie Brown and the gang play Pilgrim children in this re-enactment of the Mayflower voyage and the first Thanksgiving. I highly recommend this one for children. It's also nice to see something from Hollywood that's pro Western civilization.

What’s even more American than turkey, cranberries and pumpkin pie these days? An Italian gun, that’s what. The only known surviving firearm that crossed the wild Atlantic aboard the good ship Mayflower, settled with the pilgrims at Plymouth Colony and ultimately helped the first colonists not only survive, but prosper. Meet the Mayflower Gun. The GunAffectionately dubbed the Mayflower Gun and thought of as an American icon, the gun is actually an Italian-made wheel-lock carbine. This single-shot musket was originally chambered in .50 caliber rifle, though ages of heavy use have worn away the majority of the rifling. Given...

Can Americans Learn Anything From Our Founders for Today? Who were the original Founders of America? Two groups can be described from the group of original hardy settlers—the Pilgrims and the Puritans. The seeds of the Pilgrim stock came from the illegal English Separatist Church. All Englishmen were expected to attend Anglican Church, weekly. It provoked much controversy in Christian circles that power swung between English Protestants and Catholics. The Separatists wanted no state meddling in private beliefs, and so left England in search of religious freedom, first to Leiden, Netherlands, and later to North America. This explains the US...

The Pilgrims set foot on Plymouth Rock in November, 1620. Can you imagine moving to a “New World”? Can you imagine moving anywhere for that matter right before the rush of the Christmas season? I can’t. Maybe it’s just a woman thing, but I know what would have been on my mind had I been on the Mayflower. I would be thinking.......Here it is nearly the first of December, I have no home, and Christmas is just around the corner. I have shopping to do, the decorations need to be up (hope I remembered where I packed them), and then...

That's right, the Pilgrims who came to America on the Mayflower were debt slaves. The London Company, which financed the trip and the establishment of the Plymouth Colony, was a publicly owned business that insisted that the Pilgrims live and work in a communal or collectivist group, under the guise of lowering costs and speeding up repayment. Unfortunately, then as now, socialist/collectivist endeavors don't work out very well. That's because when it's "All for One and One For All," society breaks down and everyone winds up broke and starving. In the 1600's, economic thought was not very well developed and...

When the Pilgrims landed in 1620, they established a system of communal property. Within three years they had scrapped it, instituting private property instead. Hoover media fellow Tom Bethell tells the story. There are three configurations of property rights: state, communal, and private property. Within a family, many goods are in effect communally owned. But when the number of communal members exceeds normal family size, as happens in tribes and communes, serious and intractable problems arise. It becomes costly to police the activities of the members, all of whom are entitled to their share of the total product of the...

Where can I find another New World for religious freedom? I guess I will try and reclaim this one that my forefathers first claimed. Can I now be a neo-Pilgrim instead of a neoCon?

Overcoming Socialism. Great, short, video about the REAL truth behind why we celebrate Thanksgiving. Enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igdCrePWTF4

The woman accused of running a prostitution ring allegedly patronized by Eliot Spitzer told one of her call girls that the New York governor had been known to "ask you to do things that, like, you might not think were safe." But whatever Spitzer -- or, in the language of a federal court filing, "Client-9" -- did with a petite brunette nicknamed "Kristen" on the eve of Valentine's Day last month at Washington's Mayflower Hotel, it probably wasn't as monstrous as what he asked his wife to do yesterday. In the grand tradition of Larry Craig, David Vitter and Jim...

He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God. - Romans 14:6 According to the Pilgrim Hall Museum: There are 2 (and only 2) primary sources for the events of autumn 1621 in Plymouth : Edward Winslow writing in Mourt's Relation and William Bradford writing in Of Plymouth Plantation Edward Winslow, Mourt's Relation :"our harvest being gotten in, our governour sent foure men on fowling, that so...

Video link to the Mayflower II just outside of Plymouth Harbor last Sunday the 22nd, her 11 time under sail since 1957. The Mayflower Compact: IN THE name of God, Amen. We whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread sovereign Lord, King James, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France and Ireland king, defender of the faith, etc., having undertaken, for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith, and honor of our king and country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the Northern parts of Virginia, do by these presents...

November 21, 1620 • Original Mayflower Compact There are more than l60 independent nations in the world. Whether dictatorships or democracies, nearly all have written constitutions, but that of the United States is by far the oldest. This is something we can so easily take for granted. But it really marked a pivotal turning point in history and the way nations came to govern themselves. Signing the Mayflower Compact. How do you suppose the founding fathers ever thought of having a written Constitution? The idea of a written contract between the people and their government came from a tiny band...

When the Pilgrims came to America aboard the Mayflower to establish the Plymouth Colony, they did so under the requirement that "all profits and benefits that are got by trade, working, fishing, or any other means" were to be placed into the "common stock" of the colony and that "all such persons as are of this colony are to have their provisions out of the common stock." Sort of "from each according to his ability, to each according to his need"— Socialism. But something happened at Plymouth in 1623 because "instead of famine now God gave them plenty," Bradford wrote...

The 11 Commandments of a THANKSGIVING DINNER           To-Do's, to make your Holiday brighter..1) Make a list and check it twice.. Plan your menu in advance, and for heaven sakes write it down.. Pull out the recipes and jot down the ingredients and check to see if you have everything on hand to complete the meal without having to run to the store at the last minute.. Be sure to check the expiration date on spices and milks and dated stuff.. There isn't a good time on the day of a big dinner to run to any store, and the...

My apologies for not bringing a should-be classic, "The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History," to the attention of our Internet readers in a more timely fashion. What Dr. Thomas Woods does is directly confront many of the falsehoods that are weighing down Americans with boatloads (dwarfing the Mayflower) of junk knowledge. Frankly, many well-meaning people, including many educators, have been sucked into thinking things "that just ain't so." In fact, I have been divested of quite a number of things in my head. The academic world has miserably failed the public in accepting, teaching, and promoting many "clichés," to...

Well, it's that time again, when we old timers dust off the holiday recipes. For you newcomers, just bear with us, it won't take long, and you could just move on if this is too corny for you to handle. Otherwise, cut and paste, and have a great Thanksgiving.. This is a bit early because I will once again be on the great oceans this years cookin and spinnin my tales of the kitchen.. ENJOY..God bless you and your family!.. Chef Remembering Our first recorded Thanksgiving DayThe Mayflower 1620- 2002 The voyage of the Mayflower in 1620 from Plymouth England,...

Remembering Thanksgiving Day The Mayflower  1620- 2002 The voyage of the Mayflower in 1620 from Plymouth England, to Plymouth Rock started as a journey to find peace and justice in a new world. It began as a fervent prayer to give freedom a chance, and remains today as the promise each year for a new beginning. Thanksgiving Day is a celebration of hope, and remembrance. Today, we bring our families and friends together to share our tables and our hearts, and give thanks for all that we have to be grateful for in our new and glorious country. From this grand...