thanksgiving day is the most truly american of the national holidays in theunited states and is most closely connected with the earliest history of thecountry. in 1620, the settlers, or pilgrims, they sailed to america on the mayflower, seeking a place where they could have freedom of worship. after atempestuous two-month voyage they landed at in icy november, what is nowplymouth, massachusetts. during their first winter, over half of the settlersdied of[1] starvation or epidemics. those who survived began sowing in the firstspring.