U.S. Citizenship 15a: Thanksgiving

The Pilgrims were a small group of Europeans from England. The Pilgrims left Europe to escape persecution. The Pilgrims wanted freedom to practice their religion. The Pilgrims decided to go to America to be colonists. The Pilgrims sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to start a colony. Before the Pilgrims left the ship, they wrote and signed the Mayflower Compact. The Mayflower Compact said that the Pilgrims would practice self-government. The Mayflower Compact said that the Pilgrims would have political liberty and religious freedom.. The Pilgrims landed in the land of the Wampanoag, near present-day Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The Pilgrims were met by the Wampanoag. The Wampanoag were a Native American tribe. The Wampanoag were led by Chief Massasoit. The Pilgrims were led by William Bradford. The Pilgrims started the Plymouth Colony. The Wampanoag helped the Pilgrims grow food. After the fall harvest of 1621, the Pilgrims and Wampanoag celebrated Thanksgiving. Americans now celebrate Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November. We celebrate Thanksgiving with food, family, and friends. Some people collect food and clothing for the poor. Others start their Christmas shopping during the Thanksgiving weekend. Happy Thanksgiving! USCIS 100:59. Who lived in America before the Europeans arrived? USCIS 100:100. Name two national U.S. holidays. "The First Thanksgiving" by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/The_First_Thanksgiving_cph.3g04961.jpg **Note: The painting shows common misconceptions about the event that persist to modern times: Pilgrims did not wear such outfits, and the Wampanoag are dressed in the style of Native Americans from the Great Plains.