Question

What are two misconceptions about the Pilgrims that many

Answer 1

Hi, you've asked an incomplete question. It seems you are likely referring to the online article, The complicated legacy of the Pilgrims by Peter C. Mancall, Andrew W. Mellon Professor of the Humanities, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences on the actively learn website.

Explanation:

1. The first misconception occurs when we are told that even though many American students have been taught to believe that the Compact signed by the pilgrims was "a stepping stone toward self-government, a defining feature of American constitutional democracy. " it isn't actually the case, the article explains why, "After all, self-governing communities existed across Indigenous New England long before European migrants arrived...So American self-government, however one defines it, was not born in Plymouth."

2. Another misconception was that the Pilgrims showed kindness and love towards the indigenous people they met, For example, we are told that in 1802, "the future President John Quincy Adams" referring to the pilgrims said, "shown “kindness and equity toward the savages.” However, William Bradford another observer said about the land, “a hideous and desolate wilderness, full of wild beasts and wild men.”

Moreover, the article further says, "...colonists slaughtered Indigenous people on the banks of the Mystic River." This alludes to the fact that there was a very little period of kindness amongst the Pilgrims and the indigenous people they met.