In 1773 the Old Colony Club was dissolved, in consequence of the conflicting opinions of its members on the great political questions then agitated.  Notwithstanding this event, the anniversary celebrations of the 22d of December continued without interruption till 1780, when they were suspended.  After an interval of fourteen years, a public discourse was again delivered by the Rev. Dr. Robbins.  Private celebrations took place the four following years, and from that time till the year 1819, with one or two exceptions, the day was annually commemorated, and public addresses were delivered by distinguished clergymen and laymen of Massachusetts.

In 1820 the “Pilgrim Society” was formed by the citizens of Plymouth and the descendants of the Pilgrims in other places, desirous of uniting “to commemorate the landing, and to honor the memory of the intrepid men who first set foot on Plymouth rock.”  The foundation of this society gave a new impulse to the anniversary celebrations of this great event.  The Hon. Daniel Webster was requested to deliver the public address on the 22d of December of that year, and the following discourse was pronounced by him on the ever-memorable occasion.  Great public expectation was awakened by the fame of the orator; an immense concourse assembled at Plymouth to unite in the celebration; and it may be safely anticipated, that some portion of the powerful effect of the following address on the minds of those who were so fortunate as to hear it, will be perpetuated by the press to the latest posterity.

From 1820 to the present day, with occasional interruptions, the 22d of December has been celebrated by the Pilgrim Society.  A list of all those by whom anniversary discourses have been delivered since the first organization of the Old Colony Club, in 1769, may be found in Mr. Russell’s work.

Nor has the notice of the day been confined to New England.  Public celebrations of the landing of the Pilgrims have been frequent in other parts of the country, particularly in New York.  The New England Society of that city has rarely permitted the day to pass without appropriate honors.  Similar societies have been formed at Philadelphia, Charleston, S.C., and Cincinnati, and the day has been publicly commemorated in several other parts of the country.]

Let us rejoice that we behold this day.  Let us be thankful that we have lived to see the bright and happy breaking of the auspicious morn, which commences the third century of the history of New England.  Auspicious, indeed,—­bringing a happiness beyond the common allotment of Providence to men,—­full of present joy, and gilding with bright beams the prospect of futurity, is the dawn that awakens us to the commemoration of the landing of the Pilgrims.

Living at an epoch which naturally marks the progress of the history of our native land, we have come hither to celebrate the great event with which that history commenced.  For ever honored be this, the place of our fathers’ refuge!  For ever remembered the day which saw them, weary and distressed, broken in every thing but spirit, poor in all but faith and courage, at last secure from the dangers of wintry seas, and impressing this shore with the first footsteps of civilized man!