It's a little embarrassing to admit that I visited Plymouth Rock for the first time in my life on Indigenous People's Day this year. It's not a federally recognized holiday, of course; the second Monday of October still is better known as Columbus Day. And the timing was absolutely inadvertent. My husband, younger daughter, and I returned yesterday from a fantastic week enjoying New England's iconic seaside scenery.
It also was a great refresher course on the birthplace of our shared American history, and, at the same time, a reckoning of sorts regarding the stories that we Americans tell ourselves and future generations.
Foremost is the fact that Columbus "discovered" America in October 1492. And how we've spent the past two decades trying to unlearn this story passed down to us in our history books for generations. As our daughter asked, "Why did it take so long for them to tell us what really happened?"
Then there is that great story about how the Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth Rock in November of 1620, laying the groundwork for this beautiful harbor village's tourist economy. But, fun fact: the first documented claim that Plymouth Rock was the Pilgrims' landing place wasn't made until 1741. In fact, the 102 Mayflower passengers were headed to the Colony of Virginia, when dangerous shoals caused them to land in Provincetown. Within five weeks, following a skirmish between Myles Standish and the Wamanoags, they relocated inland to Plymouth, arriving on December 18, 1620. By 1621, only 53 of the original 102 survived.
In Plymouth, we saw this 81-foot tall granite statue called the Forefather's Monument erected in 1899 by the Pilgrim Society. It pays homage to morality, law, education and liberty as the prerequisites of a free and prosperous nation. It's a prominent reminder that only half of the Mayflower's passengers were Pilgrims, and that the Mayflower Compact was an uneasy agreement among incompatible folks regarding their future governance. And as for that dinner the Pilgrims shared with the native Americans? Well, spoiler's alert, there wasn't any turkey. But the exhibit at the Provincetown Pilgrim Museum, revised in 2020, now reflects the Wampanoags' view of the Pilgrims' landing.
In Providence, I learned that sometimes when history gets it wrong, Americans have successfully persevered to get it right. Consider story of Roger Williams, and how he was kicked out of England, and told never to return. He also was expelled from the Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony in the 1630s because of his passion for religious freedom. He founded the city of Providence, Rhode Island to acknowledge God's divine providence. Williams was one of the most influential figures in Colonial America. But when he died at age 80 in 1683, he was buried in his backyard in an unmarked grave.
Fast forward 200 years, and historians went looking for his remains. In 1939, he was re-buried in Prospect Terrace Park, beneath this wonderful statue overlooking the city and the Providence River. After all, Williams laid the cornerstone for our First Amendment: the separation between church and state.
Just a Minute, Man!
Surely, by 1775, the United States could have been more painstaking in recording its history. If you ask Robert Burke, a Providence, Rhode Island restaurateur and local historian, he'd like to correct the record, most notably concerning the H.M.S. Gaspee. Sent by King George III to intercept the profits of smuggled sugar and molasses cargo, the ship ran aground six miles south of Providence. On June 9, 1772, 55 men in eight long boats, supplied with ample gun powder, boarded the Gaspee, captured its crew, and burned the ship. This was the first major armed act of rebellion against the British, and played a prominent role in the lead-up to the Revolutionary War. "It was an act of war," Burke says. Shots were fired at Concord later on April 19, 1775. "Just a Minute, Man," Burke protests. "Now, who took the first shot in the American Revolution?" (www.justaminuteman.com) Little Rhode Island was the last of the 13 colonies to join the union; but the first to declare war on England. But it's overshadowed in historical accounts by its larger, noisier neighbor. "I think the reason this happened is because they wrote the history books at Harvard instead of Brown," Burke says.
This brings to mind the stories we Americans tell ourselves about slavery as a southern institution. "Most of us learned that the South wanted to keep slavery," Burke says. "We were told that New Englanders were morally against it."
A total of 60% of slave trading voyages were launched from North America, and in some years, more than 90% launched from Rhode Island. The first enslaved Africans arrived there sometime after 1638, and slavery endured there for about 200 years. Newport, a beautiful seaside port, is characterized by genteel homes and picturesque sail boats on its harbor. Yet the streets of this city literally were paved by duties on slave imports
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Rhode Island was one corner of what was known as the triangle trade: sugar and molasses grown and harvested by slaves in the Caribbean were carried to Rhode Island, and distilled into rum, which was taken to West Africa and exchanged for captives, to produce more sugar, more rum, and more slaves. Rhode Island enacted a law abolishing African slavery in 1652, and the legislature banned further importation in 1659 – all to no avail. The Gradual Abolition Act, freeing every person born there after March of 1784, was the beginning of the end of this discouraging era. By its close, Rhode Island had launched at least 1,000 slave voyages, transporting more than 100,000 Africans into this country-- more than any other in the U.S. "That's the real story," Burke says.
In the early 1800s, Rhode Island, nicknamed Rogue Island, was the home of pirates and smugglers. With its rugged coastline and remote beaches, it was a bootleggers' paradise The year that Brown University was founded, Rhode Island was home to 30 rum distilleries, including 22 in Newport.
Speaking of Brown University, this high-minded Ivy League bastion of learning was founded in 1764 as the College of Rhode Island. It was eventually moved to Providence and re-named, thanks to a generous donation by John Brown. The four Brown brothers made a fortune in the slave trade, and an estimated 30 members of the steering committee of Brown owned or captained slave ships. (Later on, the Brown brothers would split over the question of slavery.)
History Teaches Critical Thinking
The history of the U.S. isn't always pristine or morally uplifting. Many mistakes were made. Many men throughout history made money off the backs of the less privileged, and only on their deathbeds developed a conscience, donating millions to charity. Shipping and railroad tycoon, Cornelius "Commodore" Vanderbilt was described as "fiercely competitive and ruthless". He donated $1 million to build and endow Vanderbilt University in Nashville. Today, think the Sacklers, opiods, and their multitude of named art galleries and wings.
Burke says he raises these topics because the SemiquinCentennial, America's 250th celebration of its Declaration of Independence, is coming up in less than 3 years. Exploring the dark underbelly of this country's history shouldn't overshadow its 250 years of democratic striving.
And yet, there is cause for concern. A Providence friend of over 40 years told me that she and her husband were traveling to Italy, where she planned to finalize her application for dual citizenry. "It's more for our children," she explained. " We're worried about the future of our democracy."
Who writes our history? In David Grann's blockbuster book The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder, survivors write dueling accounts of what happened aboard the H.M. S. Wager and after its shipwreck off Cape Horn in the 18th century. Three castaways who landed in Chile argue that the men who landed in Brazil "were not heroes; they were mutineers."
Sadly, for many millennials, Forrest Gump is the historical point of reference for events ranging from John F. Kennedy's assassination, the Vietnam War, the fall of Saigon, to Nixon's resignation. Â In fact a new version of JFK's assassination emerged a few weeks ago.
That's why the issue of history textbooks is so critical. Recently conservatives in Texas campaigned for "more patriotic history" books published by a dominant market that dictates the majority of U.S. schools. Nor is Florida's effort to whitewash topics of slavery and social justice in schools and reconstruct higher education the path forward. Education, and especially history, requires study of the nuances. Students need to learn to unpack the past, look at problematic leaders, trends, and movements, and identify counter narratives. They can be critical of our country's past without being unpatriotic.
"Empires preserve their power with the stories that they tell, but just as critical are the stories they don't  – the dark silences they impose, the pages they tear out,"  Gramm concludes.
Journalists write the rough draft of history, and that's why the survival of a free, and critical press is so vital to our country's future.
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Thank you, Cheryl. I learned something new about our country's history when I read your story this morning. That is a great way to start the day!
Thanks, John. I’m glad it resonated!