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 In is article "Here's Why We Should Still Celebrate the Pilgrims at Thanksgiving," Jarrett Stepman writes - "An editorial in Al Jazeera labeled Thanksgiving a 'thoroughly nauseating affair,' one that is 'saturated with disgrace.' Other articles have called the Pilgrims genocidal toward Native Americans, or argued that the original idea of a Thanksgiving feast is a 'myth.'" If it weren't for the true story of the Pilgrims, I wouldn't be here: I'm a direct descendant of Edward Doty, one of the Pilgrims. He boarded the Mayflower as a "white slave" - an indentured servant - but enroute to America the Pilgrims decided to outlaw slavery in the New World, so he was granted freedom and became one of the Pilgrims who signed the Mayflower Compact, the first government document for America. Having been a "white slave," he was a rough character: he and another former "white slave" fought the first duel in the New World. He was put in stocks a couple times for "brawling." But he eventually married, settled down and raised a family. One of his descendants, Roger Sherman, was the only person to sign all four of the founding documents of the United States: the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. Edeard Doty's descendants also include General Sherman and General Grant of Civil War fame, at least ten U.S. Presidents - my uncle FDR was in the White House when I was born and my cousin GWB was there when I retired, James Duane Doty, Territorial Governor of Wisconsin, after whom my brother and I are named, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, my great-grandfather Nicholas Richards who helped escaped slaves get to Canada by manning one of the last stations of the Underground Railroad, my great-aunt Susan B. Anthony, and tens of thousands of ordinary people like me who were and are proud to be Americans. Get the whole story: read the full article & get our free weekly newsletter: subscribe below! |