On this day in 1620, William Bradford and the Mayflower Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The Mayflower carried the first English Pilgrims to America had 102 passengers. When the Pilgrims left the Mayflower, they founded the Plymouth Colony. The Plymouth Colony, as well as the  Jamestown, Virginia Colony, was one of the earliest successful colonies to be founded by the English in North America.

The Colony became successful because of the help of Squanto, a Native American of the Patuxet people, and this co-operation between the Pilgrims and the Native Americans is what inspired the Thanksgiving tradition in America. But the Plymouth Colony did not last long and merged with the Massachusetts Bay Colony and others in 1691 to form the Province of Massachusetts Bay.

The Plymouth Colony has a large symbolic role in American history.  The Plymouth settlers were fleeing from religious persecution and searched for a place to worship freely. Their choice was to settle in America, which has become known as ‘The Land of the Free’.

http://americasbesthistory.com/abh-plymouthrock.html