Putting the thanks back in Thanksgiving

A comprehensive new look at the Pilgrims gives new life to a Great American story that has taken its historical lumps over the years.

Strangers and Pilgrims, the 928-page history of the Pilgrims by Jeremy Bangs, explores the religious and political foundations of the Pilgrims in England and Holland and finds historical basis for much of the treasured Pilgrim tradition.

Bangs, the director of the Leiden American Pilgrim Museum in The Netherlands and the author of 12 previous works, has been researching Strangers and Pilgrims since 1980. He spent the last five years writing the book. Strangers and Pilgrims was published by The Mayflower Society and released last week.

The book covers a range of topics, from the general story of who formed the Pilgrim group to how and why they left England and then Holland. It includes details of family life and the specifics about the houses they inhabited in Europe. The last chapter is 75 pages and covers the history of Plymouth Colony to 1645, emphasizing the influence of the Pilgrims’ exile in Leiden on the new colony.

A former curator of Plimoth Plantation, the living history museum that depicts life here in 1627, Bangs admits his book may be a bit heavy on some aspects of theology and 17th century politics. But he says he wanted to make sure he thoroughly examined all the primary sources, rather than rely on later historical interpretations of the period. The bibliography alone exceeds 100 pages.

Several points stand out as notable exceptions to what has become the accepted, modern perception that the rich Pilgrim story was overblown by early historians.

Bangs, for instance, points to the false notion that the Pilgrims never referred to themselves as Pilgrims. While some have suggested the name was invented in the 19th century, Bangs said the title of his book, Strangers and Pilgrims, comes from a quotation published by Robert Cushman in 1622.

Bangs also takes exception to the idea that the Mayflower Compact was a temporary expedient rather than the basis for a new form of democratic government.

He presents evidence that the Pilgrims were relatively tolerant in regard to their religion and advocated a separation of church and state. Though they viewed the Bible somewhat literally, the Pilgrims also saw the story of the fall of man as proof that everything human is imperfect and concluded their own understanding must be so as well.

“While they were hoping to be as right as possible, they didn’t assume they had it perfect enough to denounce others without reservation,” Bangs said. “That is such a modern point of view. No matter how right they might think they have it, they had to concede they might not. It’s an interesting position to run across in the 17th century.”

Bangs also restores Capt. Myles Standish’s standing within the church. Recent historians have viewed Standish simply as the leader of the company’s militia, not as a member of the church here.

But a closer inspection, Bangs said, reveals that Standish didn’t need to join the church because he was already a member of the congregation in Leiden. Further, church records were not recorded here until after Standish’s death.

Perhaps the most exciting news for Pilgrim-lovers lies in Bangs’ examination of the First Thanksgiving. Simply put, he puts the thanks back in Thanksgiving.

Many, including folks at Plimoth Plantation, have come to view the feast as a secular harvest celebration because none of the primary sources for the event mention the word thanksgiving.

Bangs argues that Winslow’s description of the 1621 harvest festival is replete with allusions to Bible verses that are about thanksgiving. People in the early 17th century would have recognized the allusion the way a young modern audience might know the message behind a hit pop song.

Further, no English harvest festival ever occurred without a giving of thanks.

Bangs said he has no stake in how the story plays out, but admits he is amused to see so many of the original notions about the Pilgrims have proven to be more or less accurate.

“I don’t have any bias toward one way or another. Luckily for me, since I spent so much time on it, it was something I was interested in,” Bangs said.

Bangs also acknowledges he is curious to see how his research might translate at the Plantation, where interpreters take pains to present the most authentic version of Pilgrim history possible.

Will Standish become a respected church member, for instance?

If nothing else, Bangs said, he hopes his narrative will at least make it apparent that Plymouth Colony is well worth studying. After being dismissed as hyperbole for decades, perhaps the time has come for a more exhaustive history of the new colony. Jeremy Bangs is already working on one version.

Strangers and Pilgrims is available at a cost of $55 at the Mayflower Society on North Street. The book is also available (plus shipping and handling) by mail from Mayflower Families, P.O Box 3297, Plymouth, MA 02361 or by calling 508-746-5058.