The Voyage That Made a Nation
The Pilgrims arrived in 1620 with hopes of making a better life for themselves and their children.
Undoubtedly the most famous colonists in world history, their faith and fortitude are legendary. Their perseverance laid the cornerstone of a new Nation. The Pilgrims’ courage, gratitude to God, and love for one another still inspire people today.
The story of Mayflower and her tumultuous trans-Atlantic crossing, Plimoth Colony- with its tragic first winter, treaty with the Wampanoag People and celebrated First Thanksgiving echoes down the ages and around the world. Regardless of anything that came before or after, Plimoth is the ‘once upon a time’ to the story of the United States — the symbolic, if not literal, birthplace of our Nation.
In the autumn of 1620, while anchored in Cape Cod Bay, the Pilgrims’ small ship became the birthplace of our Nation’s constitutional tradition. Historian Henry Culver called Mayflower “the wave-rocked cradle of our liberties.” The Plimoth colonists, Native peoples of the region, mariners and traders who met along New England’s shores of change created a new society- sometimes in conflict, sometimes in collaboration. They crafted a region rich in intellect, spirituality, self-government and commerce; a place of creative splendors whose influence on American culture and the world is inestimable.
