Done by: Sarah Reilly & Ellen Frey

It was not easy for people to practice religion in Europe in the 1500s. Christians were even divided into two groups. (Protestants and Roman Catholic) which caused many wars In France they even fought for 40 years and thousands were killed for their personal beliefs

The European rulers believed that they couldn’t rule unless they supported a certain religion. The religion they chose was known as the established church. In the 1530s parliament passed a law that the English monarch was the head of the church If a man didn’t follow the rules of the monarch they could be sentenced to Persecution

A religious group in England that faced persecution was the Pilgrims. At that time the pilgrims were know as Separatists because they were Protestant, wanted to separate from the Church of England. In the early 1600s a group of them left for Leyden, which is a city in the Netherlands. Once there the Dutch allowed them to worship freely.

a group of Separatists decided to return back to England/ some of the people were not Separatists they won a charter to set up a colony in Virginia in September 1620 more then 100 men, women, and children set sail on the Mayflower as we have learned that November the Mayflower landed in cold Cape Cod They called the new settlement Plymouth because they had sailed from Plymouth, England

Before going to shore the pilgrims realized that they would settle in the boundaries of Virginia. Not all colonists on the Mayflower were Pilgrims. Some of these “strangers” (as the Pilgrims called them) said that they were not bound to obey the Pilgrims. In respond the Pilgrims joined together to write the framework for governing their colony. On Nov. 11, 1620 all 41 male passengers signed the Mayflower Compact. Because of the Mayflower Compact the Pilgrims were left without a government, but then got together and made one.

The pilgrims were the first of many English settlers to come to North America Many settlers who wished to worship as they pleased continued to believe that only their religious beliefs should be observed Most of the later English settlers set up their own churches The pilgrims still wanted to worship freely and that set up a precedent Then the Plymouth leaders announced, “that any honest men may live with them, that will carry themselves peaceably and seek the common good” In time, the idea of religious freedom for all would become a corner stone of American Democracy

The corn was not enough to get the Pilgrims through the first winter ( it was too late in the season to plant new crops and they didn’t bring enough food with them) The pilgrims also didn’t have the proper shelters so it was hard to survive Most of them made bad houses out of sod, clumps of Earth, pits in the ground Nearly half of them died from either disease or starvation (even the first governor died) William Bradford was chosen to take his place he lead them for 36 years

In the spring, the pilgrims started to plant new crops They received lots of help from the Native Americans ( they introduced the seeds of corn, beans, and pumpkins to them) They also taught them how to plant and water the seeds In the Fall the Pilgrims had a good harvest( they set aside a day to give thanks for the wonderful harvest) That day is now know as Thanksgiving in America