The colonizers of New England have been portrayed for more than 100 years as drab, glum and pleasure-hating. But scholars of that period of American history say the facts tell a different story, not only about the Pilgrims but the Puritans, a similar and larger religious group that settled a few years later in Massachusetts.

Looking to start a Thanksgiving dinner conversation that upends conventional historical wisdom about the beliefs and practices of the folks who started it all back in the 17th century?

Make the point that the Pilgrims and Puritans get a bum rap.

If that doesn’t work, point out that Puritans punished people for not having sex.

This should get Grandpa’s attention. And everyone else’s.

The colonizers of New England have been portrayed for more than 100 years as drab, glum and pleasure-hating. But scholars of that period of American history say the facts tell a different story, not only about the Pilgrims but the Puritans, a similar and larger religious group that settled a few years later in Massachusetts.

Should we mourn Thanksgiving?

Not only has the adjective “puritanical” become pejorative, but the traditional Thanksgiving story is increasingly questioned and criticized. “The Horrible History of Thanksgiving,” published in November 2019 in The New York Times, makes the case that there is nothing here to celebrate.

If this trend continues, future Thanksgivings could turn into a National Day of Mourning. As incredible as that may seem, the movement is already underway.

What’s at stake with our history.

What’s at stake is our nation’s origin story.

Puritans and Pilgrims are central characters in that story. How we perceive them affects how we see our country and our national character today.

What do leading academics say about the Pilgrims and Puritans? I interviewed several experts and their answers may surprise you.

Once held in high esteem.

Dissatisfied with the Church of England, Pilgrims famous arrived in Plymouth on the Mayflower in 1620. Puritans settled 10 years later in Boston and throughout New England.

Over time, Pilgrims and Puritans melded in the American consciousness, understandably so. These New England Protestants had the same set of core beliefs, based on the theology of French reformer John Calvin. They both agreed The Church of England had gone wayward. Puritans wanted to purify it. Pilgrims decided to leave it.

For the early part of American history, both groups were held in high esteem. They were widely credited with planting the seeds of core American values like faith, idealism, industriousness and the love of adventure.

“The Scarlett Letter”

What shifted public opinion? “The Scarlett Letter,” an 1850 novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne, had a huge impact.

The work of fiction is set in Puritan New England, where the main character must wear a scarlet “A” for “adulteress.” It was fiction, but the public accepted its portrayals as fact.

Disappointment with Puritans grew into full-blown disdain during the cultural upheaval of “the roaring ‘20s.” It was journalist H.L. Mencken who in 1928 famously defined “puritanism” as “the haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.”

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