How Did William Bradford Lead To Progress

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William Bradford was the second governor of Plymouth and served for 30 or more years. During those years Bradford did what was thought to be best for Plymouth. William Bradford started off by living in England but made it to the New World. Once getting to the New World, Bradford had to make decisions that would help the people of Plymouth and not cause any damage or harm. William Bradford made choices that led to the progress of Plymouth. William Bradford lived for 67 years from March 01, 1590 to May 09, 1657. Bradford was born in Austerfield, Yorkshire England to a wealthy father named William Bradford and a mother named Alice. William was the third child and only son, and being the only son made William inherit his father’s money in …show more content…

As the Pilgrims arrived, the Pilgrims did not own the land. So Bradford and the Pilgrims signed the Mayflower compact, “a document that claimed ownership of the area...the agreement also set out to guarantee security against dissension (discord or quarreling) with the rest of the passengers...The agreement also provided for a government as well as a new religious society” (Saari and Carnagie 15-16). The Mayflower Compact set the rules for the oncoming people going onto Plymouth. Bradford being one of the people to sign this shows how Bradford was thinking of the people and how the people were going to live. In spite of the people signing the Mayflower Compact, the Pilgrims were not ready for the winter …show more content…

The Wampanoags helped the Pilgrims because of Native American Squanto. Squanto could speak English because of spending time in England. As a result, Squanto could translate for the Native Americans and Pilgrims, allowing Chief Massasoit to teach the Pilgrims how to plant crops. Even though there was not enough food Bradford still allowed Nonconformists from Europe to come to Plymouth, “Therefore, despite extreme food shortages, he invited more Nonconformists to move to Plymouth from Leiden” (Saari and Carnagie 18). Granting for all these Nonconformists to come to Plymouth made the colony larger. This allowed for more Nonconformists that did not like Leiden to come to a place that was just for them because the Pilgrims were Nonconformists and had the same beliefs. As all this was happening Bradford was also documenting