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The Pilgrims, who celebrated the first thanksgiving in America, were
fleeing religious prosecution in their native England. In 1609 a group of Pilgrims left
England for the religious freedom in Holland where they lived and prospered. After a few
years their children were speaking Dutch and had become attached to the dutch way of life.
This worried the Pilgrims. They considered the Dutch frivolous and their ideas a threat to
their children's education and morality. |
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So they decided to leave Holland and travel to the New World. Their trip was
financed by a group of English investors, the Merchant Adventurers. It was agreed that the
Pilgrims would be given passage and supplies in exchange for their working for their
backers for 7 years. |
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On Sept. 6, 1620 the Pilgrims set sail for the New World on a ship
called the Mayflower. They sailed from Plymouth, England and aboard were 44 Pilgrims, who
called themselves the "Saints", and 66 others ,whom the Pilgrims called the
"Strangers." |
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The long trip led to many disagreements between the "Saints" and the
"Strangers". After land was sighted a meeting was held and an agreement was
worked out, called the Mayflower Compact, which guaranteed equality and unified the two
groups. They joined together and named themselves the "Pilgrims." |
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Although they had first sighted land off Cape Cod they did not
settle until they arrived at Plymouth, which had been named by Captain John Smith in 1614.
It was there that the Pilgrims decide to settle. Plymouth offered an excellent harbor. A
large brook offered a resource for fish. The Pilgrims biggest concern was attack by the
local Native American Indians. But the Patuxets were a peaceful group and did not prove to
be a threat. |
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The first winter was devastating to the Pilgrims. The cold, snow and
sleet was exceptionally heavy, interfering with the workers as they tried to construct
their settlement. March brought warmer weather and the health of the Pilgrims improved,
but many had died during the long winter. Of the 110 Pilgrims and crew who left England,
less that 50 survived the first winter. |
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On March 16, 1621 , what was to become an important event took
place, an Indian brave walked into the Plymouth settlement. The Pilgrims were frightened
until the Indian called out "Welcome" (in English!). |
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His name was Samoset and he was an Abnaki Indian. He had learned
English from the captains of fishing boats that had sailed off the coast. After staying
the night Samoset left the next day. He soon returned with another Indian named Squanto
who spoke better English than Samoset. Squanto told the Pilgrims of his voyages across the
ocean and his visits to England and Spain. It was in England where he had learned English. |
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Squanto's importance to the Pilgrims was enormous and it can be said
that they would not have survived without his help. It was Squanto who taught the Pilgrims
how to tap the maple trees for sap. He taught them which plants were poisonous and which
had medicinal powers. He taught them how to plant the Indian corn by heaping the earth
into low mounds with several seeds and fish in each mound. The decaying fish fertilized
the corn. He also taught them to plant other crops with the corn. |
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The harvest in October was very successful and the Pilgrims found
themselves with enough food to put away for the winter. There was corn, fruits and
vegetables, fish to be packed in salt, and meat to be cured over smoky fires. |
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The Pilgrims had much to celebrate, they had built homes in the wilderness, they
had raised enough crops to keep them alive during the long coming winter, they were at
peace with their Indian neighbors. They had beaten the odds and it was time to celebrate. |
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The Pilgrim Governor William Bradford proclaimed a day of
thanksgiving to be shared by all the colonists and the neighboring Native Americans. They
invited Squanto and the other Indians to join them in their celebration. Their chief,
Massasoit, and 90 braves came to the celebration which lasted for 3 days. They played
games, ran races, marched and played drums. The Indians demonstrated their skills with the
bow and arrow and the Pilgrims demonstrated their musket skills. Exactly when the festival
took place is uncertain, but it is believed the celebration took place in mid-October. |
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The following year the Pilgrims harvest was not as bountiful, as
they were still unused to growing the corn. During the year they had also shared their
stored food with newcomers and the Pilgrims ran short of food. |
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The 3rd year brought a spring and summer that was hot and dry with the crops dying
in the fields. Governor Bradford ordered a day of fasting and prayer, and it was soon
thereafter that the rain came. To celebrate - November 29th of that year was proclaimed a
Day of Thanksgiving. This date is believed to be the real true beginning of the present
day Thanksgiving Day. |
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On June 20, 1676, the governing council of Charlestown, Massachusetts, held a meeting to
determine how best to express thanks for the good fortune that had seen their community
securely established. By unanimous vote they instructed Edward Rawson, the clerk, to
proclaim June 29 as a day of thanksgiving. |
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October of 1777 marked the first time that all 13 colonies joined in a thanksgiving
celebration. It also commemorated the patriotic victory over the British at Saratoga. But
it was a one-time affair. |
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George Washington proclaimed a National Day of Thanksgiving in 1789, although some were
opposed to it. There was discord among the colonies, many feeling the hardships of a few
Pilgrims did not warrant a national holiday. And later, President Thomas Jefferson scoffed
at the idea of having a day of thanksgiving. |
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In 1817 New York State had adopted Thanksgiving Day as an annual
custom. By the middle of the 19th century many other states also celebrated a Thanksgiving
Day. |
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was Sarah Josepha Hale, a magazine editor, whose efforts eventually led to what we
recognize as Thanksgiving. Hale wrote many editorials championing her cause in her Boston
Ladies' Magazine, and later, in Godey's Lady's Book. Finally, after a 40-year campaign of
writing editorials and letters to governors and presidents, Hale's obsession became a
reality when, in 1863, President Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday in November as a
national day of Thanksgiving. |
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The date was changed a couple of times, most recently by Franklin Roosevelt,
who set it up one week to the next-to-last Thursday in order to create a longer Christmas
shopping season. Public uproar against this decision caused the president to move
Thanksgiving back to its original date two years later. And in 1941, Thanksgiving was
finally sanctioned by Congress as a legal holiday, as the fourth Thursday in
November. |
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Thanks to the following sites for their wonderful information about the history of
Thanksgiving: |
Thanksgiving on the Net |
Thanksgiving
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