There were no Americans at the first Thanksgiving. The newer set of immigrants, recently arrived from England, considered themselves thoroughly English.
And so they remained. Almost two decades after the feast, in describing the Pequot War, William Bradford lamented an Indian attack "upon the English at Connecticut."
The Pilgrims perceived their errand into the American wilderness not as an immigrant's desperate lunge for something better but as a travel itinerary from God.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.