How the English Pilgrims forefathers of 10 million living Americans got cancelled: This month's 400th anniversary of The Mayflower's arrival has been ignored because of 'charlatans' who want to make America's history all about slavery instead

Republican senator Tom Cotton has blasted the New York Times' 1619 project for trying to rewrite history following a lack of events to mark the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower's arrival. 

After a speech to the Senate on Wednesday where he attacked the project, he penned an essay published by Fox News Saturday doubling down on 'revisionist charlatans of the radical left'.

The 1619 project is a counter-narrative of America's origins which aims to 're-frame the country's history by placing the consequences of and the contributions of black Americans at the very center'. 

The title refers to the year the first ship arrived on American soil carrying the first enslaved Africans - notably one year before the Mayflower arrived.  

The project has been heavily criticized by many conservatives including President Trump who earlier this year announced plans to launch a counter-initiative dubbed the '1776 Commission'.  

And in his op-ed, Cotton accused the New York Times of perpetuating its own myth about America's origins by 'claiming the history of our nation is an unbroken tale of conflict, oppression and misery'. 

There are an estimated 10million living Americans and as many as 35million people worldwide who could be descended from the 102 English pilgrims who arrived in Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1619, according to the General Society of Mayflower Descendants.

Republican senator Tom Cotton has blasted the New York Times' 1619 project for trying to rewrite history following a lack of events to mark the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower's arrival. Pictured: The Mayflower II, a replica of the original Mayflower ship that brought the Pilgrims to America 400 year ago, sails into Plymouth in August as it returns home following extensive renovations

After a speech to the Senate on Wednesday where he attacked the project, he penned an essay published by Fox News Saturday doubling down on 'revisionist charlatans of the radical left' 

Cotton wrote: 'Regrettably, we haven't heard much about this year's anniversary because the Pilgrims have fallen out of fashion in elite circles. 

'Just this week, The New York Times food section published an article that called the Pilgrim story, including the First Thanksgiving, a "myth" and a "caricature." 

'In place of these so-called "myths," the liberal newspaper seeks to substitute its own, claiming the history of our nation is an unbroken tale of conflict, oppression and misery. 

'But that’s a lie about our country and its founders. No matter what the revisionist historians at the Times cook up, the truth about the Pilgrims is more remarkable than any story or holiday special. 

'This Thanksgiving, it's worth reflecting on why we celebrate the Pilgrims and their living legacy for our nation.'    

The voyage Mayflower is arguably one of the most important dates in American history, the day the first 102 Pilgrims arrived from England to what we now know as Plymouth, Massachusetts on November 21, 1620.  

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November 21, 2020 is the 400th anniversary of the day the Mayflower arrived at what we now know as Plymouth, Massachusetts

The traditional narrative depicting Pilgrims as rugged pioneers and adventurers have been rejected by critics who believe they were colonizers who took part in a slow-motion genocide of Native Americans

Republican senator Tom Cotton penned an op-ed for Fox News Saturday - four days after blasting the New York Times' 1619 Project on the Senate floor

WHAT IS THE 1619 PROJECT?  

The 1619 Project began as an essay published in a NYT Magazine special issue in August 2019.

The issue focused on the 400th anniversary of the first enslaved Africans being brought to the U.S. and slavery's enduring legacy.

Journalist and creator Nikole Hannah-Jones was awarded the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Commentary for the piece. 

The work later turned into a wider project re-examining America's roots. 

The project 'aims to re-frame the country's history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the very center of the national narrative', according to the website. 

Its claims have been criticized and challenged by historians and conservative politicians. 

 

Dozens of events had been planned by Plymouth 400, Inc, a nonprofit in charge of organizing celebratory programs, before being pushed back to 2021 earlier this year due to the pandemic.

The renovation and subsequent trans-Atlantic voyage of the Mayflower II, a replica of the 17th century ship, has been also delayed until next year. 

The vessel had returned to Plymouth in August following extensive renovations.

In his speech to the Senate he had said: 'There appear to be few commemorations, parades or festivals to celebrate the Pilgrims this year, perhaps in part because revisionist charlatans of the radical left have previously claimed the previous year as America’s true founding. 

'Maybe the politically correct editors of the debunked 1619 Project are now responsible for pumpkin pie recipes at the Times as well.' 

The longstanding narrative of how the pilgrims came to establish the original 13 Colonies and their conquest of the land's native people has been re-examined in recent years. 

Most American children grow up with the feel-good story of the Pilgrims: How Native Americans extended the hand of friendship to the English settlers, helping them survive their first winter on these shores, and later joining them for the first Thanksgiving feast.

But modern day revisions claim to show there is a darker side to that tale. 

Critics have dismissed the portrayal of pilgrims as rugged pioneers and say they were actually colonizers who took part in a slow-motion genocide of Native Americans. 

The story of how the Pilgrims came to establish the original 13 Colonies and their conquest of the land's native people has been reexamined in recent years.

Four centuries after white Europeans stepped off the Mayflower some descendants of the colonists are wrestling with the complicated legacy of their ancestors amid a racial reckoning

The counter-narrative of America's dark past is perhaps most prominently promoted in The New York Times' 1619 Project. 

Cotton concluded the op-ed by writing: 'The story of the Pilgrims is not a myth or a caricature — it's the living truth of history. 

What's more, the faith, bravery and wisdom of the Pilgrims places them in the American pantheon. 

Alongside the patriots of 1776, the Pilgrims of 1620 deserve the honor of America's founders.'

Cotton's remarks drew criticism by Democrats who accused him of perpetuating an elementary school narrative that does not exist.  

'When your sense of history doesn't go beyond your 3rd grade coloring books and actual history terrifies you,' Rep Ilhan Omar said on Twitter, in response to his speech.

'I see Tom Cotton and I had the same third grade teacher. 

'Somehow, between then and HARVARD, he managed to never get the rest of the story,' journalist Stephen Holder tweeted. 

Rep Ilhan Omar was among the Democrats who accused him of perpetuating an elementary school narrative that does not exist

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE MAYFLOWER AND THE ENGLISH PILGRIMS

The Mayflower story began when a small group of separatists fled England for Holland in 1608.

The group was a mix of those seeking to earn their fortunes in the fish and beaver trade and a small band of Puritans – Christians who had chosen to separate themselves from the Church of England.

They were known as Separatists whose beliefs put them at odds with the established church, led by James I.

Eventually, the group became disgusted by the ‘licentiousness’ of the Dutch city of Leiden and decided to settle in Virginia, as England’s American colony was known.

They arranged to sail on the ships Mayflower and Speedwell to the New World.

The Pilgrims' landing at Plymouth, Massachusetts and the subsequent interactions between the British and the Wampanoag tribe significantly shaped the building of America

The Mayflower was a three-masted ship, most likely between 90 and 110 feet long.

The ship was hired in London, and sailed from London to Southampton in July 1620 to begin loading food and supplies for the voyage--much of which was purchased at Southampton.

The Mayflower then left Holland on 31 July 1620, joining the Speedwell in Southampton, England, for the voyage to America.

The two ships sailed on 15 August but returned because of the leaky condition of the Speedwell.

The Speedwell was eventually abandoned, and on 16 September, 102 passengers and around 30 crew aboard the Mayflower finally sailed from England.

The voyage itself across the Atlantic Ocean took 66 days, from their departure on September 6, until Cape Cod was sighted on 9 November 1620.

Those on board would have slept on the floor in cramped conditions, amid the horrific odours of unwashed bodies, stale wine and vomit.

The arrival of the British Pilgrims all those centuries ago had a devastating impact on the Native Americans - the effects of which are still held today - who have inhabited Massachusetts for 12,000 years

Buckets were used for chamber pots in which passengers relieved themselves if the weather was too bad to go off the side of the ship.

The group’s diet consisted of salt beef or pork, oatmeal and rice and butter and cheese.

After more than two months at sea, the Mayflower dropped anchor near the tip of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, on November 21.

The travellers who disembarked were starving, exhausted and riven with disease.

A sailor boy was the only member of the group to die during the journey. However, 50 of the original Pilgrims died in that first winter and of the women, only five survived.

Upon arriving in America, the meeting between the Mayflower Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Tribe was an encounter that would go on to shape the history of the U.S.

The Wampanoag people inhabited the land known as Patuxet, now known as Plymouth, for more than 12,000 years.

They had a form of sovereign governance, which influenced the structure of the modern U.S. government, and a network of 69 villages across what is now Massachusetts.

The Pilgrims arrival in Plymouth began years of coexistence when the Wampanoag people assisted them in planting, hunting and protection. The Pilgrims allied with the Wampanoag to protect against opposing tribes.

It was a three-day festival, to celebrate the harvest after the first winter, that became the basis for the American Thanksgiving holiday.

Historically, the agreement they had for more than a half century was the only evidence of an alliance between colonists and Native people on record.

This agreement disintegrated as more and more colonists arrived and imposed English law and acquired their land.

After this period, the fate of Native Americans became a tragic chapter in history and the effects are still felt today.