In September 1620, a small ship called the Mayflower left Plymouth, England, with 102 passengers – a collection of religious separatists seeking a new home where they could freely practice their faith, and other individuals lured by the promise of wealth and land ownership in the “New World.”
After a treacherous and uncomfortable crossing lasting 66 days, the anchor dropped near the tip of Cape Cod, well north of their intended destination at the mouth of the Hudson River. A month later, the Mayflower crossed Massachusetts Bay, where the Pilgrims, as they are now commonly known, began establishing a village at Plymouth.
The first Thanksgiving, as I mentioned before and as people understand it, occurred in 1621 between the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony and the Wampanoag tribe in what is now Massachusetts. While records show this celebration did occur, there are a few misconceptions we need to clear up. Due to the erasure (in words, removal, and exclusion) of Native American narratives from history, many of us have been taught that we have been left with an incomplete picture of what really happened. So here’s the full story.
*There is no evidence that the Wampanoag people were even invited. One report from the time states that 90 members of the Wampanoag tribe were present, and makes no mention of invitations. Some experts believe that these 90 men were an army sent by Wampanoag leader Quasemquin at gunpoint. (which turned out to be part of the celebration)
* When the pilgrims first encountered the Wampanoag people, they stole the tribe’s winter supplies – it was only later that Quasemquin formed an alliance between the groups. Even then, the alliance really only existed because the Wampanoag had been plagued by diseases brought by European colonizers in the years before. It was less about intercultural harmony than about survival (made necessary by the actions of these settlers).
*This first harvest was followed by deadly conflicts between colonizers and Native Americans, including (but definitely not limited to) the Wampanoags.
The Europeans repaid their native allies by conquering native lands and imprisoning, enslaving, and executing natives.
*Thanksgiving celebrations by European settlers were often followed by brutal victories over the Native Americans, such as the Pequet Massacre of 1636 or the beheading of the Wampanoag leader Metacom in 1676.
When did America first call for a national Thanksgiving?
America first called for a national Thanksgiving to celebrate the victory over the British at the Battle of Saratiga . In 1789, George Washington again called for a national day of thanksgiving on the last Thursday of November 1777 to commemorate the end of the Revolutionary War and the ratification of the Constitution. During the Civil War, both the Confederacy and the Union issued Thanksgiving proclamations after major victories.
