System unique among nations, a system that has led the United States to the pinnacle in wealth and world leadership. This series of programs is being presented to help all of us understand our advantages under our american way of life. For todays topic, lets join now a group of young people at the National Education Program Workshop in circe, arkansas. At the classroom lectern of a noted young historian. The american adventure is an unusual designation for a course in economics and clinical science. The american way of life is rather unusual, there is nothing quite like it in all of the world. All of us want to know more about our country. What makes it tick, why is it the best place on earth . Why is it worth understanding, why is it worth saving . Why have wars been fought to protect it . During the 13 weeks of this course in the american adventure, our general purpose will be to answer many questions about the american way of life, and explore the workings of the American Economic a
Second, comprehensive. In covering not just the voyage for the first few years, working philips war, all of which have recently been done, but in covering the entire story, allowing us, the readers, to enjoy the true benefits of history, which is the scope, to follow consequences of actions through generations. Narratives, because what nat does best is to tell a story. An adventure story, but in many ways, and unexpected adventure story. Look at the cover. I of course love it because it is our painting, the mayflower on her arrival in plymouth harbor. Thathat i really love is even though the book is entitled the mayflower, this cover doesnt put the mayflower front and center, it doesnt show a by waves. D that would be the expected adventure story. Instead, it focuses on this little group of pilgrims leaving the ship that has brought them through peril, headed off toward the shore on the verge of starting new lives. And it is there in the territory of these wideopen possibilities that t
President s it established and the legacies that left. There is a strong case to be made that november 11, the day that a battered square rigor called the mayflower made safe harbor in a place near what is today in massachusetts. That day should be one of the greatest moments in our national theory, comparable to fourth of july, independence day, and september 17, constitution day. But let me qualify that statement a little bit. As ourk of the pilgrims forebears and we are right to do so but it is important to remember they and the other new puritans that were selling new england at the time did not imagine they were settling establishing the United States of america. Nothing could have been further from their minds. They were doing something entirely different. They were about the business of establishing a place where they could enjoy a pure and uncorrupted church. The early settlers of virginia were motivated by material considerations they wanted, what the spaniards wanted from the
History. In 1620, the mayflower traveled from plymouth, england, to america. And the pilgrims settled the Plymouth Colony on the coast of massachusetts. We talked to robert stone about the virtual mayflower project, which uses Virtual Reality to recreate the ship and harbor from which it set sail, using avatars and 360degree images of the Virtual World, professor stone describes what life might have been like for the pilgrims and crew. Some historic features we will see in the virtual rendering are the 17thcentury report called the barbie can century port called the barbican, plymouth castle, and a ship that was set to sail with the mayflower to america but was deemed on seaworthy and returned to port. Prof. Stone virtual 1620 has been a labor of love, to use virtual to bring a part of , plymouth, in the west of the country, back to life. So people who live there can experience what is like for the pilgrims in their traumatic journey across the atlantic in 1620. What was the last thing
Narrator the time is september in the year 1620. The good ship mayflower is carrying pilgrims across the sea to america. But who were the pilgrims . Why did they leave their homes . The answer is in the history of plymouth plantation, written by william bradford, second governor of the colony. Bradfords history begins with religious problems in england , where a new ruler, james the first, became king in 1603. As king, james was also supreme head of the church of england, the official church. But some people objected to the rules andes rituals of the church of england. They withdrew from it, and were called separatists. The story of their religious persecution in england, how they became pilgrims, and how they eventually found religious freedom, was all recorded by william bradford. Many therefore of the lords free people joined themselves into a church or state. They were of towns and villages in england. But after they continued together for about a year and kept their meetings every