Each Thanksgiving, the storybook “First Thanksgiving” narrative is told and retold (often accompanied by images of a turkey dinner and the Mayflower). But what really happened during the Pilgrims’ first year in the New World?
Tom Ashbrook writes, “The true, deep story of the Pilgrims is more harrowing and challenging than we generally acknowledge. Their suffering. Their radicalism. Their resorting to bloodletting to survive. And then, how they took center stage in our history.”
Ric Burns’ new documentary, “The Pilgrims,” aims to highlight the true story behind America’s earliest beginnings and the events that took place here in Patuxet/Plymouth Colony in 1620. The film brings to life the writings of Governor William Bradford and others who documented Plymouth Colony’s early years and will change the way you see the traditional Thanksgiving story.
As Richard Pickering, Associate Director of Plimoth Plantation, said last week while giving us a sneak peek of “The Pilgrims”; the history of Plymouth Colony and the interaction between the Wampanoag and the English “tells us to much about what it means to be an American.”
Tune into AMERICAN EXPERIENCE on PBS on Tuesday, November 24 at 8:00 PM EST, and again on Thanksgiving Day at 9:30 PM EST to catch this breathtaking new documentary. We’ll certainly be watching (and learning)! Join in the conversation on social media using #PILGRIMSPBS
Check out the trailer:
