Who Led the Plymouth Pilgrims?

And thus they found the Lord to be with them in all their
ways, and to bless their outgoings & incomings, for which
let his holy name have the praise for ever, to all posterity.
-William Bradford

The first officially-celebrated federal holiday was that of Thanksgiving, declared by President George Washington within a few months after his inauguration. ¹ Thanksgiving, a long-cherished holiday celebration of rejoicing and giving thanks to God, has a long history in America from both before and after that 1789 proclamation.

Out of many historic celebrations of Thanksgiving, the most well known and closely emulated was the feast of the pilgrims as they celebrated the goodness of God in keeping them alive through a hard season, and providing them with food and shelter to face the coming winter. One of those attending what is known as the first thanksgiving was the Pilgrim’s newly chosen governor, William Bradford.

As a young orphan, William Bradford sought revelation through the Bible. ² Living near Scrooby, England, he became acquainted with the Puritans and the separatist movement.  Drawn by the simplicity of their services, and their commitment to both religious and political reforms, he joined the congregation, despite his family’s disapproval. ³

When the English threatened permanent imprisonment for those who criticized the corrupt practices of both the state and the church, the Scrooby church fled to Amsterdam to take refuge from the growing persecution. ⁴ Following a decade of relative peace in Holland, the religious climate became volatile due to a potential looming war with Spain and the secular behavior of the Dutch, ⁵ so the Pilgrims therefore decided to start a new English colony in America. ⁶
At 30 years of age, William Bradford and his wife Dorothy left  behind their 4 year-old son to make the perilous journey, along with 100 other congregation members. ⁷ While anchored off the coast of the New World, Dorothy fell overboard and drowned. ⁸

Over the following winter, one half of the 102 colonists died from hunger, exposure, or disease. ⁹  In 1621 following that brutal winter, William Bradford was chosen governor of the colony to replace John Carver, one of those who died.  With the exception of a few years, he continued to serve in that capacity for virtually the rest of his life. ¹⁰

The University of Kentucky highlights William Bradford and his account of the first years of the colony in their online course, American Literature from 1600-1865.  Throughout this course the reading assignments go back to the original documents, and you can read about the early years of America in the very words of those who lived then.

Endnotes

¹ George Washington, Thanksgiving Proclamation, November 26, 1789; as published in The Providence Gazette and Country Journal on October 17, 1789.
² Jeremy Belknap, American Biography (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1855), Vol. III, p. 7, “William Bradford.”  See also, Caleb Johnson, “William Bradford,” Mayflower History (at: https://mayflowerhistory.com/bradford-william/) (accessed on November 26, 2014).
³ Caleb Johnson, “William Bradford,” Mayflower History (at: https://mayflowerhistory.com/bradford-william/) (accessed on November 26, 2014).< ⁴ William Allen, The American Biographical Dictionary, (Boston: J.P. Jewett and Company, 1857), p. 117, “Bradford, William“; Dorothy Honiss Kelso, “Beyond the Pilgrim Story: William Bradford,” Pilgrim Hall Museum (at: https://www.pilgrimhallmuseum.org/william_bradford.htm) (accessed November 18, 2014); Jeremy Belknap, American Biography (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1855), Vol. III, pp. 17-52, “William Bradford.”
⁵ Emma Willard, History of the United States, Or, Republic of America (Philadelphia: A.S. Barnes & Company, 1843), p. 33. See also,  William Bradford and Valerian Paget, Bradford’s History of the Plymouth Settlement 1608-1650: Rendered into Modern English (New York: John McBride Company, 1909), pg. 21.
⁶ Dorothy Honiss Kelso, “Beyond the Pilgrim Story: William Bradford,” Pilgrim Hall Museum (at: https://www.pilgrimhallmuseum.org/william_bradford.htm) (accessed November 18, 2014). See also, Emma Willard, History of the United States, Or, Republic of America (Philadelphia: A.S. Barnes & Company, 1843), p. 33.
⁷ Dorothy Honiss Kelso, “Beyond the Pilgrim Story: William Bradford,” Pilgrim Hall Museum (at: https://www.pilgrimhallmuseum.org/william_bradford.htm) (accessed November 18, 2014).
⁸ Jacob Bailey Moore, Lives of the Governors of New Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay (Boston: C.D. Strong, 1851), p. 88.
⁹ William Bradford and Valerian Paget, Bradford’s History of the Plymouth Settlement 1608-1650: Rendered into Modern English (New York: John McBride Company, 1909), pp. 74-76.
¹⁰ William Allen, The American Biographical Dictionary,  (Boston : J.P. Jewett and Company, 1857), pp. 117-121, “Bradford, William.” See also, Dorothy Honiss Kelso, “Beyond the Pilgrim Story: William Bradford,” Pilgrim Hall Museum (at: https://www.pilgrimhallmuseum.org/william_bradford.htm) (accessed November 18, 2014); Caleb Johnson, “William Bradford,” Mayflower History (at: https://mayflowerhistory.com/bradford-william/) (accessed on November 26, 2014).