The First Thanksgiving

The First Thanksgiving

Plymouth, England-1620. A ship is in the harbor taking on passengers. The people going aboard seem too poor and too ordinary to ever be famous. And yet their names are now in history books. Now, almost 400 years later, we still tell their story.

These are the people we call the Pilgrims. They are about to sail to a strange new land called America. They've been warned that Indians may attack them. Even the voyage will be dangerous.

There may be pirates or hurricanes. Many a ship has sailed off and never been seen again. The Pilgrims are risking their lives. Why?

It started with the king. The king declared that everybody must belong to his religion. The Pilgrims wanted their own religion. They tried meeting in secret.