Social Studies Name:

Directions: Use the following information to complete the related activities.

Pilgrims and Puritans were both groups of people that fled England and came to settle in the colonies of
early America. Both groups were part of Puritanism, which was a religious reform movement within the
Church of England in the 1500s. Puritanism sought to purify the Church of England of any influence by
the Catholic Church. As well, Puritans advocated strict discipline towards religious morals and rituals.

The Pilgrims (who were known as ‘Separatists’) fled England in

1607 and first settled in the Netherlands, where they remained
for over a decade, before travelling to the New World. In 1620,
the Pilgrims crossed the Atlantic Ocean aboard the Mayflower,
with the intention of settling in the New World colony of
Virginia. Their voyage to the New World was sponsored by the
Virginia Company of London, England. During this time, the
Pilgrims were led by William Bradford who was just a teenager
when the
Separatist group fled England for the Netherlands. Aboard the Mayflower was approximately 100
Separatists and others not related to the Pilgrims that were referred to as ‘strangers’. After a dangerous
and difficult journey across the Atlantic Ocean, the Mayflower landed on Cape Cod and the Pilgrims,
who were generally working class people, established the Plymouth Colony of which Bradford was
elected the first governor. The government of the Pilgrims was based on the basis of the Mayflower
Compact which was the first written framework of
government in what is today the United States. It was
signed by 41 of the settlers on November 11 th, 1620 and
was created with the intention of preventing conflict
between the Pilgrims and other settlers. Upon settling and
establishing the Plymouth Colony, the Pilgrims worked to
establish positive relations with the local native people.
For example, soon after arriving the Pilgrims came into
contact with a

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Native American named Squanto who would go on to teach the settlers how to survive in the region. He
taught them how to grow corn, and where to fish and hunt. In 1621, the Pilgrims famously held the first
Thanksgiving meal with the local native people, which would serve as the inspiration for the modern-day
holiday. Eventually in 1692, the Plymouth Colony joined the larger Massachusetts Colony.

The Puritans refers to a larger group of English settlers than the Pilgrims who came to the New World
approximately a decade after the Pilgrims. While the Pilgrims fled England to separate from the Church
of England, the Puritans instead sought to ‘purify’ the
church from the influence of the Roman Catholic
Church. This was a clear difference between the two, as
the Pilgrims often referred to themselves as Separatists
because they sought to separate from the church, while
the Puritans were not Separatists. The Puritans were led
by John Winthrop and arrived in the New World in 1629
and founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony as well as
the city of Boston which was just north of the Pilgrims
Plymouth Colony. They arrived aboard a fleet of 11
ships, with the lead ship being the
Arbella. Over the next two decades approximately
20,000 Puritans arrived in the Massachusetts Bay
Colony after fleeing religious persecution in England.
This mass movement of Puritans to the New World is
often referred to as the ‘Great Migration’.
Soon, an elected legislature was created to allow for self-governance. However, while ministers were not
allowed to hold political office, many of the most important decisions were made by the clergy.
Therefore, many laws were based on the bible and the principles of Puritanism. In contrast to the
Pilgrims, these Puritans were well educated and more economically successful. As well, while the
Pilgrims established strong relations with the native (Above) John Winthrop, who led the Puritans.
peoples, the Puritans struggled to create similar positive relationships. The Puritans instead viewed the
native people as ‘the work of the devil’ and believed they needed to be overtaken by the Puritans.
Eventually, in 1691, the Massachusetts Bay Colony absorbed the smaller Plymouth Colony and the two
groups merged.

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Social Studies Name: _______________________________

1. In the chart below, record the similarities and difference of the Puritans and the Pilgrims based
on the information in the reading.

PILGRIMS SIMILARITIES PURITANS

They were separatists,
because they wanted to sepate
from the Church.
They established friendly
relations with the american
natives.
They were composed by
working class people.
Both were parts of They weren’t separatists;
Puritanism. they wanted to “purify”
Both fled England to settle English Church from
in the New World Catholic Church influences.
They considered American
native as “the work of the
devil” and they thought
nativess had to work for
them.
They were more educated
than Pilgrims

2. In the space below, explain how the Pilgrims and the Puritans have impacted the history of
America.

They went to America trying to bring their religion and their culture. They created festivities, laws and
ways to rule that still exist today. For example the Thanksgiving Day or the Mayflower compact that is
at the base of the American government of today.

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