Folklore of the United States memorialized on the shore of Plymouth Harbor in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The holiday of Thanksgiving is said to have begun with the Pilgrims in 1621. They had come to America to escape religious persecution, but then nearly starved to death. Some friendly Native Americans (including Squanto) helped the Pilgrims survive through the first winter. The perseverance of the Pilgrims is celebrated during the annual Thanksgiving festival. George Washington (February 22, 1732 – December 14, 1799), the country's first president, is often said to be the father of his country. Apocryphal stories about Washington's childhood include a claim that he skipped a
Fugitive slaves in the United States first free settlement of former slaves in the Americas was Santa Teresa de Mosé, near St. Augustine, Florida. This community disbanded when Florida became a British possession in 1763, most of the slaves withdrawing to Cuba with the Spanish troops defending the San Marcos fort in Saint Augustine. Florida became a Spanish colony again in 1783, and it again became a fugitive slave destination. Heavy U.S. pressure caused Spain to rescind its formal welcoming of slaves, but it had little effect. Runaway slaves from as far as Virginia and Tennessee continued to emigrate to Florida, and the Spaniards, whose control