Take a Look at America's Amazing Little Known Monument to Our Forefathers

Take a Look at America's Amazing Little Known Monument to Our Forefathers

By Paul S. Gardiner

 

During a recent visit to Plymouth, Massachusetts, I viewed the National Monument to the Forefathers, completed in 1889 and sitting on a relatively remote site in the town due to ensuing housing developments and other factors.  It is a safe bet that most Americans, especially the youth of today, have never heard about this special national monument honoring and symbolizing the labors, sacrifices, and sufferings of America's 102 forefathers (Pilgrim men, women, and children), who landed at Plymouth in 1620.  Unlike their fellow Englishmen who landed at Jamestown, Virginia in 1607 with an economic motivation, the Pilgrims came to the New World for civil and religious liberty.  History tells us that nearly half of these people died from sickness and exposure during their first year in the New World.
The National Monument to the Forefathers is the largest solid granite monument in the United States, standing 81 feet in total height.  By studying the monument, much can be learned by young and old alike about the principles and virtues of the Pilgrim settlers.  These principles and virtues were ultimately carried over into the writing of America's Declaration of Independence and Constitution.
Due to the tremendous political divide in America today, I believe that America needs a resurgence of these early principles and virtues to enable the nation to continue as a thriving constitutional republic.  To help enable this resurgence, a program is suggested to allow Americans of all ages living in each of the 50 states to view, study, and learn from suitable replicas of this important national monument.

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Dedicated in 1889, the National Monument to the Forefathers in Plymouth, Massachusetts (hereinafter referred to as "the monument") is truly one of America's most beautiful and meaningful monuments.  The below photograph showing people viewing the monument indicates the size and general appearance:

In 1974, the monument was added to the National Register of Historic Places by the National Park Service as having "exceptional value in commemorating and illustrating the history of the United States."  The monument is maintained by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation with additional funding provided by Friends of the Forefathers, a 501(c)(3) non-profit public charity.  Due to its relatively remote location in Plymouth, literature describing the monument states that it is "Plymouth's best kept secret" and that "everyone visits Plymouth Rock, but most people miss the statue erected in honor of those 102 brave souls who boarded the Mayflower with hopes for a better life in the New World."
The five virtues symbolized on the monument that were highly valued and practiced by the early Pilgrim settlers can serve as a strategy or roadmap for modern-day Americans to preserve a vibrant constitutional republic.  Consequently, exposure to and study of the monument are highly recommended.
The basic message symbolized by the monument is that the ultimate success of the Pilgrims' settlement was mainly due to their unwavering, deep Christian faith in God and His provision for them.  Thus, the tallest figure on the monument (see below photograph) is the personification of faith.  The right arm and hand of the faith figure are pointing upward toward God, and the left hand holds an open Christian Bible:

Surrounding and located below the faith figure are figures personifying four additional Pilgrim virtues that all stem from their overarching virtue of faith: morality, law, education of youth, and civil and religious liberty.  The virtue of liberty, for example, is personified by a sitting figure of a warrior (see below photograph) who has overcome the tyrant king of England, who persecuted the Pilgrims for their deep religious beliefs.

The virtue of morality is personified as a woman holding a tablet of the Ten Commandments in her left hand and the scroll of Revelation in her right.  The virtue of law is personified by a seated draped male figure holding a book (the Bible) with his chair supported by justice and mercy.  The virtue of education is personified by a seated draped female figure pointing to a book (the Bible) in her lap with her chair supported by wisdom and youth.
In 2012, actor Kirk Cameron produced and released a 90-minute documentary entitled Monumental, describing the hardships and faith of the early Pilgrim settlers both in Europe and at Plymouth.  Additionally, the documentary describes the monument in detail, including the five Pilgrim virtues.  (See here for a short 15-minute video about the monument.)  Cameron then discusses how emulation of these virtues can enable Americans today to return to the successful "virtue strategy" of the early Pilgrims.  Such a course of action is deemed essential to the survival of the American republic.
To enable millions of Americans, especially school-age children and young adults, to view and learn from the symbols of Pilgrim virtues depicted on the National Monument to the Forefathers, it is suggested that state governments or private organizations in each of the 50 states develop plans to fund and build suitable replicas of the monument.  Replicas might be half the scale, for example, of the original monument and made of materials other than granite stone.  Descriptive literature about the monument and each of the five important Pilgrim virtues also needs to be made available to the viewing public, especially schoolchildren.  Funding from the federal government for this important and edifying project should also be pursued.