Introduction

As part of this lesson, you will explore the online site about Plymouth Colony. The site offers a generous overview of many kinds of sources available to piece together the story of how people lived at Plymouth.

Many, though not all, of the people who settled Plymouth left England in order to establish a community separated from the Church of England. They were “Pilgrims” because they wandered about in their search for a good place to raise their families and worship as they thought they should. They were much like the people of faith described in Hebrews 11, who “confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth” (11:13). They risked much, and many people lost their lives. Their determination reminds us of Daniel, who did not leave his home willingly but who did “purpose in his heart that he would not defile himself” (Daniel 1:8).

Objectives

After completing this lesson, you will be able to

identify the sources historians use.
explain the challenges that different sources pose for historians.

Key Questions

What kinds of sources other than written records do historians use?
How are the different kinds of sources interconnected?

Reading

Explore the site The Plymouth Colony Archive Project. http://www.histarch.illinois.edu/plymouth/ You should read the first few pages (numbered 92-95) that are about architectural history (you may read more, of course). Also look at the page on material culture.

Lecture