Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims
Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims
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Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of religious discrimination, bullying, and illness or death.
The Roots of American Exceptionalism
In Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims, author Rush Limbaugh presents the United States as a nation with a unique place in history, a concept he describes as “American Exceptionalism.” The book argues that this special status results from the country’s founding on the principles of individual liberty, religious freedom, and faith in divine providence. The Pilgrims’ journey is depicted as the beginning of this national identity, portraying them as people guided by their religious faith who risked everything to establish a society where personal dreams and freedom could flourish, forming the foundation for a nation that, according to the book, is guided by God’s providence.
The author establishes this thesis directly in “A Note from the Author,” which introduces the political ideas that shape the story. Limbaugh defines American Exceptionalism by contrasting the United States with the rest of the world’s history, which he characterizes as marked by widespread oppression where citizens were “servants to their kings, leaders, and government” (x). He asserts that America is special because it was “the first country ever to be founded on the principle that all human beings are created as free people” (x). Through this framework, Limbaugh presents America as a historically unique nation founded on individual liberty and religious freedom, contrasting it with what he describes as the oppressive traditions of much of human history.
The narrative reinforces this idea by framing the Pilgrims’ motivations as a religious journey in search of freedom. William Bradford explains that the Pilgrims left both England and Holland to escape religious persecution under King James, worship freely, and protect their families from influences they believed would weaken their faith. Their journey is presented as an act of faith, with Bradford expressing confidence that “God will bring us to the New World” (25). This portrayal suggests that their migration unfolds according to God’s plan, connecting America’s origins to the Pilgrims’ faith and their belief in divine guidance.
The book consistently links its portrayal of divine guidance to moments that the characters interpret as miraculous. When a young man, John Howland, is swept overboard during a violent storm, his unlikely survival by clinging to a rope is described as a “miraculous sign” that the Pilgrims interpret as evidence of God’s protection. Similarly, when the Mayflower approaches dangerous shoals, a favorable wind appears at the last moment to steer the ship to safety. This pattern culminates in the final chapters, where William Bradford stands on Plymouth Rock and tells Rush Revere that he knows America will “prosper and become a great nation” (197) as long as it remains “one nation under God” (197). Through this lens, the book argues that American Exceptionalism grows out of the Pilgrims’ legacy of faith, liberty, and their trust in God’s guidance.
The Failures of Communal Living
Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims presents a critique of communal economic systems, portraying them as discouraging individual effort and contributing to hardship at Plymouth Plantation. The narrative uses the Pilgrims’ initial struggles to argue that the “common store” system reduced individual incentive. The book links the colony’s eventual prosperity and the celebration of the first Thanksgiving to the adoption of private property and individual ownership. Through this historical retelling, the book argues that individual economic freedom provides the strongest foundation for a successful society.
The narrative presents the Pilgrims’ original economic arrangement as a major cause of their troubles. William Bradford explains to Rush Revere that the system, in which all harvests and profits go into a common pool from which each person receives an equal share, has created “much confusion and discontent” (163). He notes that hardworking individuals grow resentful of those who do little, knowing their efforts will be redistributed to others who choose not to work. The book presents the common store as a flawed system because it rewards people equally regardless of their individual effort. Through Bradford’s explanation, the narrative argues that shared economic arrangements reduce motivation and create resentment among those who work harder.
The narrative introduces a proposed solution to the colony’s economic difficulties through the modern-day character Tommy, who proposes a model based on individual competition and reward. He describes a “county fair,” where people compete to grow the best crops or make the best pies, with the winner receiving “a cash prize like profits and a cool blue ribbon” (164). This simple analogy based on competition and individual rewards inspires William Bradford, who sees it as a way to motivate people to work harder and be more creative. By introducing this idea through a modern character, the book suggests that rewarding individual effort encourages people to work harder and be more creative.
The narrative presents the colony’s shift to private property the key turning point in its account of the colony’s recovery. Bradford reports that once every family was assigned its own plot of land and allowed to keep its harvest, productivity increased. He tells Revere that “Men and women worked harder and much more corn was planted than otherwise would have been” (194). The book links this increase in productivity to a surplus of food, enabling the Pilgrims to survive, prosper, and host the harvest festival. By linking the abundance of the first Thanksgiving to the abandonment of the communal store, the book argues that the colony’s prosperity grew from a system that rewarded private property and individual effort.
The Courage of Independent Thought
In Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims, the book presents liberty as requiring the courage to think for oneself and resist authority that the narrative portrays as oppressive. The narrative portrays the Pilgrims as people who demonstrate this courage through their religious beliefs and their decision to defy the state-controlled Church of England and later help establish their own system of self-government. This emphasis on independent thought and principled defiance is presented as a foundational American value, which the book connects to the revolutionary spirit of 1776. The book argues that freedom is achieved by individuals who remain committed to their convictions despite powerful opposition.
The story frames the Pilgrims’ departure from England as an act of defiance against what the narrative portrays as an oppressive government. William Bradford explains that King James’s regime “forced us to choose between following our faith and following the law” (23), punishing those whose beliefs differed from the state-sanctioned religion. The talking horse, Liberty, further illustrates this oppression with a story of a family thrown into prison simply for choosing to believe differently. This context presents the Pilgrims as dissidents who prioritized their religious convictions over the demands of King James’s rule. Through this portrayal, the book suggests that the pursuit of freedom begins with the courage to remain faithful to one’s beliefs despite government opposition.
This theme of self-determination is further developed during the crisis aboard the Mayflower that leads to the creation of the Mayflower Compact. When the “Strangers” on board threaten to break away and live without laws, claiming “none have the power to command us” (103), the Pilgrim leaders do not impose their own rule by force. Instead, William Bradford proposes a written agreement to form a “Civil Body Politick” and enact “just and equal laws” by “common consent” (104, 106). This moment is portrayed as an example of independent thought, as the passengers choose to establish a system of self-government through mutual agreement. Rush Revere presents this as a foundational event in American history, which the book connects to the later development of the Constitution.
The importance of independent thinking is also reinforced on a personal level through character interactions. Liberty the horse supports this principle when he rebukes Rush Revere for being too controlling, arguing that forcing someone to conform is “not what freedom is about” (30) and comparing Revere’s behavior to that of King James. Later, Myles Standish praises Tommy for internalizing his mother’s advice to “think for myself and not just follow the crowd,” (88) declaring that such an attitude fits “perfectly with our mission.” (88) These moments connect the broader theme of independent thought to individual character, suggesting that the courage to think independently is an important quality throughout the narrative.
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