Thanksgiving History | AMAC

Looking back 50 years…

Growing up, our grade school held an annual Thanksgiving Day celebration. Out of a hat, we picked who we would represent. It was predetermined; half the students would be “Pilgrims” and the other half “Indians” to reenact the first Thanksgiving. Wearing a stuffy hat, dark clothes, and Mary Jane’s bearing taped-on gold glitter buckles, I stared across the table at other classmates donning feathers and warpaint. We stuffed our faces with roast turkey, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie – all the comforts of a modern-day Thanksgiving that our parent’s cooked and contributed. We were joyfully celebrating the harmonious relationship between the Pilgrims and Indians, for we were taught that Indians kindly greeted the new settlers and taught them how to harvest vegetables and live prosperously. In turn, the Pilgrims sought to thank them by sharing their overabundance of food. And they lived happily ever after. Misconceptions such as these continued through our education. Our textbooks taught us that the Pilgrims were the first settlers in the region. We all believed that “Indians” lived in teepees, wore massive feathery headdresses, and often behaved wildly. Record scratch – what we learned was full of historical fallacies and outright inaccuracies. Let’s springboard into history to learn truths about Thanksgiving.

The hard truth: It wasn’t a bed of roses

The Pilgrims were English Puritan Separatists who traveled to the New World to find greater economic opportunities and create a model Christian Society. The Wampanoag were the original natives of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The truth is that their relationship was complex. The land that the English settlers came to and claimed was land that was originally occupied by the Wampanoag people. In fact, the area Plymouth Colony was established was part of Wampanoag territory centuries before the Pilgrims came. Additionally, prior to the arrival of the Mayflower, the Wampanoag had already experienced contact with Europeans that involved slave raiding, mistreatment of indigenous people, and bloodshed. They also were exposed to illnesses likely spread by Europeans. Many Pilgrims also died from disease, scurvy, and exposure. Life was hard. In fact, approximately half of the 102 passengers on the Mayflower died during the first winter in Plymouth Colony, likely due to lack of shelter upon arrival in November 1620 and harsh winter conditions.

An alliance?

Per Smithsonian Magazine, “In truth, massacres, disease and American Indian tribal politics are what shaped the Pilgrim-Indian alliance at the root of the holiday.”  Hit hard by epidemic, Wampanoag leader Ousamequin (Massasoit) formed an alliance with the English at Plymouth Colony. It was done in their best interest to fend off other tribes and for protection against other encroaching colonizers. It was also hoped that the alliance, which was not favored by all Wampanoag due to past grievances, would also help them with trade. Ultimately, the two agreed to not harm one another and come to each other’s aid. The Wampanoag are credited with helping the Pilgrims survive the long, harsh winter. Squanto, a member of the Patuxet Tribe of the Wampanoags, spoke English and is credited with teaching the new settlers how to survive.  The “first” Thanksgiving in 1621 was more than neighbors hanging out and sharing food. There were deeper motivations between the indigenous people and colonizers, marked by periods of cooperation and conflict. What’s more, the Smithsonian Magazine describes the disturbing reality, “The Thanksgiving myth doesn’t address the deterioration of this relationship culminating in one of the most horrific colonial Indian wars on record, King Philip’s War, and also doesn’t address Wampanoag survival and adaptation over the centuries, which is why they’re still here despite the odds.”

The first Thanksgiving?

English people had been celebrating religious forms of Thanksgiving for a long time, typically involving fasting and prayer. Per the National Museum of the American Indian, “The Wampanoag practiced daily and seasonal traditions of giving thanks long before the encounter with English settlers and the formation of Thanksgiving as a national holiday.” Therefore, each had established forms of “Thanksgiving” ahead of the 1621 feast. So, they weren’t the first groups to do so.

Hot topics

There is much discussion amongst historians about when the feast took place (some say 1622), how long the communal feast lasted (most say three days), and even how it really began. Stories involve Wampanoag men hearing celebratory gunfire and investigating. Some say that Wampanoag leader Massasoit visited the settlement and prompted celebration. Others maintain that the feast was organized by William Bradford to celebrate a successful corn harvestand thank God for His blessings. Regardless of when, why, and how long the event was, it was a time of unity. Historians can surely agree that the two groups uniquely possessed different skills and ways of life and were vulnerable. Yet, they knew they could help one another – hence the value of their alliance.

The real picture

Despite some contradictory details of the “First Thanksgiving,” many artistic renditions depicting the feast are considered highly inaccurate. For instance, the Pilgrims typically wore colorful clothes on weekdays and did not have buckles on their shoes. Likewise, the Wampanoag did not commonly wear large, feathery headdresses nor did they live in pointed Tepees. Also, during the Thanksgiving feast, the Pilgrims and Native Americans probably did not eat turkey, commonly portrayed as the main dish of American Thanksgiving meals. Historians conclude that the feast likely included local game like wildfowl (goose or duck) and deer, perhaps made into a stew, plus harvested crops which might have included pumpkin (but not pie). History demonstrates that the alliance formed during the feast held for nearly five decades, however, it would slowly collapse in the early 1670’s ahead of King Philip’s War in 1675, the bloodiest war per capita in US history.

Fast forward  

In the United States, Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November each year. Today, it serves as a time to reflect on our blessings and spend time with those we love to bond over a bountiful feast. So, how did it jump from 1621 to now? It’s important to note that days of Thanksgiving were sometimes suggested by political and religious leaders for various reasons. For instance, John Hancock, serving as President of the Continental Congress, presided over a day of fasting on March 16, 1776, orchestrated by New Jersey delegate William Livingston.

“In times of impending calamity and distress; when the liberties of America are imminently endangered by the secret machinations and open assaults of an insidious and vindictive administration, it becomes the indispensable duty of these hitherto free and happy colonies, with true penitence of heart, and the most reverent devotion, publicly to acknowledge the over ruing providence of God; to confess and deplore our offences against him; and to supplicate his interposition for averting the threatened danger, and prospering our strenuous effort in the cause of freedom, virtue, and posterity.”  

Washington’s role

Similarly, in 1789, the first National Day of Thanksgiving in the United States was declared by George Washington. Though the modern-day tradition is frequently associated with the Pilgrim-Wampanoag feast, Washington did not connect this day to the 1621 event, nor did he call for an annual occurrence. Rather, he proclaimed Thursday, November 26, 1789, as “a day of public thanksgiving and prayer” to wholeheartedly support of the establishment of “constitutions of government for our safety and happiness,” the “civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed,” and called for citizens to acknowledge God’s providence.

“Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and to humbly implore his protection and favor—and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.”

Lincoln steps up

Per Mountvernon.org, “Not ignoring the authority of the state governments, Washington distributed his proclamation to the governors, requesting that they announce and observe the day within their state.” In honor, Washington attended services at St. Paul’s Chapel in New York City and donated beer and food to imprisoned debtors of the city. However, it would take some time for the annual Thanksgiving holiday to become a federal holiday. In fact, other presidents, including John Adams and James Madison, declared days of Thanksgiving. It would ultimately be President Lincoln who initiated a regular observance of Thanksgiving Day in the United States with his October 3,1863 Thanksgiving Proclamation to unify the nation amidst the brutality of Civil War, establishing the last Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day.

“I do, therefore invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a Day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in Heavens.”

Deserving of credit

Having a Thanksgiving holiday was important to Sarah Josepha Hale, author and editor of Godey’s Lady’s Book. She wrote to five presidents (Taylor, Fillmore, Pierce, Buchanan and Lincoln) to establish a national Thanksgiving Holiday. Her 36-year long campaign became a success when Thanksgiving was established by President Lincoln. She urged him to issue a national proclamation to help unite the country during the Civil War. She believed that it could indeed become a fixed and permanent American custom and that based on the president’s actions, state governments would be inspired to join in. Per History.com, “Whether Lincoln was predisposed to issue such a proclamation before receiving Hale’s letter of September 28 remains unclear. What is certain is that within a week, Seward had drafted Lincoln’s official proclamation fixing the national observation of Thanksgiving on the final Thursday in November, a move the two men hoped would help ‘heal the wounds of the nation.’” What joy she must have felt when Lincoln’s proclamation came to fruition.

Franklin’s unpopular decision

In 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt switched Thanksgiving Day, moving it to the second-to-last Thursday in November, one week ahead of its traditional observance. The last Thursday that year fell on the last day of the month. The purpose of the change was to extend the holiday shopping season as an economic boost. However, this change caused public outcry. 32 states issued similar proclamations and followed the new date, while 16 others refused to honor the calendar shift. Ultimately, part of the nation celebrated it on the second to last Thursday in November while others celebrated it the following week. In some states, two Thanksgivings were celebrated. People mockingly nicknamed the holiday “Franksgiving,” a term coined by Charles D. White, mayor of Atlantic City. Congress eventually intervened in late 1941 by establishing the fourth Thursday in November as the official and permanent holiday date – via joint resolution and signed by Roosevelt.

The value of Thanksgiving

America’s Thanksgiving celebration is a significant holiday, for it walks us back in history to recognize the strength and bravery of the indigenous people and the atrocities they endured throughout history, the fortitude of the Pilgrims who sought a better way of life, and the valuable contributions of politicians like President Washington, Lincoln, F.D. Roosevelt who united citizens through gratitude toward God and appreciation of country. Though scholars will still debate holiday details and myths will still surround the “First Thanksgiving” between the Puritans and Wampanoag, unveiling truths even in small bits causes us to pause, reflect, and value Thanksgiving in a deeper capacity. We are fortunate that our nation continues to come together for ceremonies, parades, and gatherings of family and friends – for that we can all be thankful.

Disclosure: This article is purely informational and is not intended as a historical reference.