The Origins of Thanksgiving

Written by Josh Higgins & Matt Gill

On November 26, 1789, George Washington issued a proclamation claiming November 26th as the holiday Thanksgiving. The holiday was meant to mimic the earliest “Thanksgiving” from November 25, 1621, in Plymouth Massachusetts. Even though the holiday was announced in 1789, it didn't become very popular until on October 3, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of Thanksgiving on November 26. After President Lincoln's proclamation of the holiday, all presidents after him repeated an annual proclamation of Thanksgiving. Over time it was decided the holiday would occur on the last Thursday of November. Since then, once a year, countries like the U.S, Canada, Grenada, and Liberia celebrate this holiday annually.

The first Thanksgiving came about due to what some may argue were unprepared European settlers and a challenging winter. These settlers who came from Europe to America were called pilgrims, and they came to the continent on a now famous ship called the Mayflower. Around 100 pilgrims came to America on the Mayflower seeking religious freedom and land in the New World. Once they found land and docked at Plymouth harbor, they started to settle and colonize the new world. The settlers were not prepared for the freezing winter that hit Massachusetts and only about half of the Englishmen survived the freeze.

According to History.com, the Natives of the land were the Wampanoag people. These people had been living in Plymouth for some time before the Europeans arrived. The natives were very important to the pilgrims' survival. The natives helped the pilgrims acclimate to the weather they had been living in for thousands of years. The most important thing the natives taught the pilgrims was how to farm, and grow food. Their little knowledge of farming helped the pilgrims survive. A bit of time passed before the pilgrims ran into Squanto, an English speaking Native American who was a member of the Patuxet tribe. He was previously taken into slavery by explorer John Smith’s men, but escaped captivity and returned to his native land, only to find out that most of his tribe died to disease and plague. He became an interpreter for the settlers and the Native Chief of the Wampanoags, which helped the two tribes communicate with each other. In addition, he also taught the Pilgrims how to plant crops, fish, and hunt. Squanto became a vital part of their survival and is one of the reasons why we know these things today.

As a result of the natives' hospitality, the Pilgrims decided to host a feast with their companions. The first Thanksgiving likely didn’t have any turkey or mashed potatoes, because at that point in time those products were just making their way from South America to Europe. The feast likely included deer, fish, eels, vegetables, fruits, pumpkin, and beer. In the Englishmens’ free time they would shoot guns, run races, and drink a lot of liquor according to Brittanica. The two groups of people had a treaty that lasted more than 50 years but ended when King Philip's War broke out from 1675-1676. The war only lasted about a year but still ended up in the thousands of deaths from the natives, and the hundreds of deaths between the Englishmen.

However, the Wampanoag people and the colonists' peace didn't last forever. Although Thanksgiving is portrayed as a peaceful gathering, it was actually a blood bath according to Insider.com. Because of disagreements between the colonists and the Wampanoag’s chief, King Phillips, wars erupted in Plymouth and throughout Massachusetts. Wars broke out and it was a massacre, “Springfield Massachusetts was burned to the ground” because of flared tensions. Because of war, colonists were eventually forced to move to more fortified areas, and the Wampanoag people had to completely flee their villages. The colonists ultimately resulted in teaming with other tribes like the Mohegans and the Pequots. While King Phillips (Leader of the Wampanoags who took his name to honor the relations between the colonists and his father) was trying to recruit other tribes, he was attacked and eventually killed. King Phillips was killed by a Native ordered by the English. King Phillip's head was then put on a stake and openly displayed in Plymouth for the next 25 years.

The celebration of Thanksgiving has often been a mix of positive ideology and negative historical context. This is clearly seen by some of the other countries who celebrate Thanksgiving. There is the positive of Grenada, where it commemorates the Anniversary of a U.S led invasion of Grenada. This invasion was called Operation Urgent Fury, and was responsible for the restoration of political stability. In general, it's a celebration and widely held as a worthwhile holiday. In contrast, within Liberia, it's viewed as a remembrance of slaverybecause Liberia was held as a safe haven for slaves to be returned back to Africa as free peoples.

Nowadays, this feast is still celebrated, but it looks different than how it did in its early stages. The turkey didn’t become stapled into Thanksgiving until the mid 1900’s when pardoning of turkeys became an annual tradition. Today, the most popular items to compliment the turkey, are mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, corn, stuffing, and cranberry sauce. Another new tradition is watching the NFL game. This didn’t start until 1934, when the Detroit Lions took on the Chicago Bears. Even the Macy’s Day Parade didn’t start until 1926, and now it’s a giant part of this holiday.

Times have changed, and so has Thanksgiving. We still celebrate the core beliefs and ideas that started it, and can enjoy some amazing food along the way.