 "The l anding of the Pilgrims at Plymouth Rock evokes familiar images for most people. Unfortunately, many of these popular ideas are untrue. The original destination of the Mayflower was not Massachusetts, where the ship actually landed. The charter of the Mayflower stipulated that its destination was to be Virginia. The exact reasons why the voyage terminated in New England are not known for certain. The Mayflower's journal recorded only that they were running out of 'victuals and beer', indicating that their provisions may have run low. The first landing of the Mayflower was not at Plymouth as is usually believed, but at Cape Cod harbor on November 21, 1620. The Mayflower remained anchored at that location for four weeks while an exploring party set out in a small boat in search of a permanent place to settle. Therefore, the historic landing at Plymouth was not made from the Mayflower as is usually depicted in paintings and sketches. When the small scouting party stepped ashore, it was done from the little open boat. They returned to the Mayflower and sailed into Plymouth harbor on the more well-known date of December 20, 1620. Contrary to popular belief, all aboard the Mayflower were not Pilgrims. Of the 102 passengers who left England, only about forty were the religious dissidents with whom we are familiar. The rest were along simply seeking adventure or financial gain, were servants accompanying their masters, or, as with Miles Standish, were paid military leaders to protect the group. The well known Mayflower Compact was not written at sea, was not an attempt to create democratic rule, and was not the first establishment of democracy in America. The compact was written two days after the landing in a desperate effort to quell the turmoil and dissension that threatened the group's survival. Also, representative democracy was established first at Jamestown, Virginia, in the House of Burgesses the year before the Mayflower Compact. The now-famous Plymouth Rock is never even mentioned in any of the Pilgrims' early chronicles. The name itself, and the entire story surrounding the the rock as the place where the Pilgrims first stepped ashore, was not ever heard until one hundred twenty years after the historical landing. In 1741, Elder John Faunce somehow identified the boulder as the original landing site. The legend started by Elder Faunce did not receive great popularity until it was revived eighty years later during the 1820 bicentennial celebration of the Pilgrims' landing when the story suddenly became widely believed. The symbol of the first permanent English settlement in New England, Plymouth Rock was removed from its original site near the shore in 1774, at which time it accidentally split in half. The two pieces were separated for over one hundred years, while one was used as a step for a building entrance. They were rejoined in 1880 at what was believed to be the rock's original location. The Pilgrims never did refer to themselves as Pilgrims. When leaving England, they called themselves Separatists, from the English Separatist Church to which they belonged. After landing at Plymouth, the name Old Comers was briefly used, but they later became commonly known as the Forefathers. The term Pilgrim first appeared two centuries later in an 1820 bicentennial ceremony by Governor William Bradford, who referred to them as 'saints' and as the 'Pilgrim Fathers.' The name Pilgrim was used again by Daniel Webster, and its popularity was thus established.'" ("Myth Information by J. Allen Varasdi)
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E-Bulletin for March 5th, 2020 
"Know Your Presidents - -Dwight David Eisenhower
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