Childrens Illustrated Encyclopedia

407

Government

the early Plymouth settlers elected

their own government, which met

annually to make laws and levy taxes.

Puritanism

the Puritan religion stressed hard

work and obedience and disapproved

of frivolity and idleness.

early

settlement

the first settlements

in Plymouth were built

of wood from the local

forests. the chimneys

were made of sticks

held together with

clay, and the roofs

were waterproofed

with bark.

on a blustery sePtember day in 1620, a small ship set sail

from the port of Plymouth, england, bound for north america.

the 102 settlers on board hoped that in the new World they could

worship freely in their own way, which they had not been able to

do in england. because of their Puritan faith, and because they

started one of the colonies that would later grow into the united

states, the group became known as the Pilgrims. the Pilgrims

landed in what is now massachusetts and established a

settlement they named Plymouth. the first winter was hard.

the settlers had little food, and it was difficult to farm and

fish. but with help from the local native americans, the

settlement eventually prospered. the Pilgrims replaced their

wooden homes with more secure

dwellings and started trading furs

with the native americans. more groups

of Puritans came to join the original settlers;

together they created one of the first successful

european settlements in north america.

The Pilgrims

held prayer meetings

outside until they

built churches.

Cape Cod

Bay

Puritans

the people known as the Puritans

wished to purify the Church of england

of its pomp and ritual. they dressed

in simple clothes and tried

to live in accordance

with the bible.

November 21

Mayflower anchors in

Provincetown harbor.

December 26

Plymouth

colony founded,

Massachusetts.

Splitting logs

to make planks

Every member of

the family had to

work hard to build a

house and plant crops for food.

Pilgrims

September 16, 1620,

Mayflower sets sail

from Plymouth.

Find out more

explorers

Holidays

north america

united states, history of

tHanksGivinG

in the fall of 1621, the Pilgrims

celebrated their first successful

harvest. they invited the local

native americans to join them in a

feast of thanksgiving. thanksgiving,

which became a national holiday in

1863, is celebrated in the united

states on the fourth thursday

in november.

Food had to

be cooked in

the open.

November 19

Cape Cod is sighted.

Mayflower

the Pilgrims sailed to north

america in a two-masted ship,

the Mayflower. the ship was

about 90 ft (30 m) long and

was built to carry wine and

other cargo.

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