People often want to either glorify the Pilgrims or vilify them. I probably wouldn't have gotten along with them so great, but they formed a much more stable society than Jamestown did.
With the recent Culture Wars over American history, I feel that the Pilgrims are unfairly maligned. The Pilgrims were very forward-thinking for their time. Many Enlightenment ideals we take for granted in America—democracy, equality, human rights, etc.—have their genesis in these English Puritan settlers. But fair point, the Pilgrims weren't exactly flawless either.
Enlightenment and low church theology are two things I really detest haha. But their literacy rates were amazing, especially among girls at the time -- better than they were the year after they were forced to instead attend government schools. They also had the death penalty for rape, which got you a slap on the wrist in Virginia. The Pilgrims also got along much better than the later Puritans.
People often want to either glorify the Pilgrims or vilify them. I probably wouldn't have gotten along with them so great, but they formed a much more stable society than Jamestown did.
With the recent Culture Wars over American history, I feel that the Pilgrims are unfairly maligned. The Pilgrims were very forward-thinking for their time. Many Enlightenment ideals we take for granted in America—democracy, equality, human rights, etc.—have their genesis in these English Puritan settlers. But fair point, the Pilgrims weren't exactly flawless either.
Enlightenment and low church theology are two things I really detest haha. But their literacy rates were amazing, especially among girls at the time -- better than they were the year after they were forced to instead attend government schools. They also had the death penalty for rape, which got you a slap on the wrist in Virginia. The Pilgrims also got along much better than the later Puritans.