Answers to Discussion Questions

1. I believe that the Pilgrims wanted to isolate themselves from England and start this tight-knit community of Puritan believers. They did not want to go looking for treasure and things of that nature, but they would need the Indians help to survive in this new environment. The Pilgrims were expected to be loyal to each other and work together as well. They believed that God would show them the way into becoming a working society. This means that there relationship with the Indians must be a lasting one because the Indians were the key to the New Englanders survival.

3. I believe that America wants to forget all of the suffering that happened to get to Plymouth Rock and the First Thanksgiving. So many people died in the first few years. Americans tend to shy away from the idea of suffering and death and open up to the idea of happiness and celebration.

4. The New Englanders were, in essence, buying the Pokanoket's land until there would be no more Pokanoket land to buy. The New Englanders were using every possible excuse to get the Native American land for much less that it was worth. If they mights have left the Pokanoket's land alone and stop executing Native Americans unjustly, then maybe there might have been a chance to stop the war. However, the New Englanders were greedy and wanted to rid the Indians of their own land. These unjust actions sparked unwanted reactions with the younger Indians of the region and the older Pokanokets had a war on their hands that they did not even want to have.

5. Squanto must have been a very intelligent man. He almost brought an end to the Native Americans/ New Englanders alliance. He would have had ally turning on ally and Native Americans fighting each other. He wanted the supreme sachem of the region, Massasoit, dead so that he would be the next in line. However, he left too many loopholes and minor gaps and his plan was unfolded. He was assumed very trustworthy by the English but he cleverness got the better of him. He may have strengthened the Native Americans and New Englanders relationship if anything.

6. I believe that the second generation deserved this title because instead of trying to keep an everlasting peace with the Native Americans, they kept wanting to expand their land and this brought anger. The New Englanders were pushing the Native Americans out of their land unjustly and did not even car. Their greed consumed their minds and they sacrificed a very important alliance for land.

8. In Hollywood movies like The Last of the Mochicans, I see the natives always fighting someone. I see the white men trying to push the Natives out of their land or kill them off. The movie Pocahontas, the New Englanders make peace with the Indians and then turn on them. The Native Americans today are able to live on reservations like in the past. This is what I think of Native Americans today...or I also think of the movie AVATAR because this correlates with the idea of the Natives being pushed out of their land.

9. Benjamin Church comes out as a hero in my mind because first of all he captured around 700 Indians in King Phillip's War. This is a very impressive feat that he accomplished and he also let the Indians live if they would fight for him. In the book, the author explains how torture played a role in the war greatly. However, the author does not say that Church ever tortured his captives. This is also a hero trait because torture is not needed to end a war. The only fault I can see in him is that he grew really fat. How unexpected was that?

10. The New Englanders believed that all Native Americans except some of the well known allies including the Mohegans and Uncas, were savages and should be burned. The Narragansetts, who did not want to be brought into the war were attacked viciously by the English and therefore had no choice. They retaliated with hate and slaughtered many New Englanders. They burned villages and massacred countless numbers of people. However, they were slaughtered as well and lost a great number of their own. This complicated peace negotiations between Indians and the English.

11. I think that the Indians made the right choice in siding with the Indians. It brought the war to a closer end. If I were a Native though, I would have sided with the Indians because the newcomers had no reason bringing their problems with them to our world. They destroyed any peace that might have been between the Indians before they fought against each other in King Philip's War. I would have fought for my own land and not let the English take that away from me. The Indians made a mistake in letting the English get to friendly with their sachems. Unfortunately the English had guns which changed everything.

12. I do not believe any side could take moral superiority. Well actually, I believe that the Native Americans can because they did not want new comers much less to go to war with them. The Native Americans may have tortured and mutilated people but may be only because they were angry at the New Englanders for bringing this destruction to their land. The English only brought behind their old problems., if they knew it or not.

15. I do not believe that Nathaniel Philbrick took any sides. He explained each side of the journey and war equally. The Indians passed their stories down using oral tradition while the New Englanders had hard copies of their history. However, I believe that Philbrick did an excellent job at explaining that both the New Englanders and the Native Americans both had problems. I believe that the book explains equally how captives were tortured and that no side had moral superiority over the other, regardless of what I said in the last answer.