Fall weather, football, and family, American classics represent our beloved holiday of ‘thanks.’ A tradition started by the founding fathers themselves is true depiction of the American Dream and its history overall.
Thanksgiving, as some were taught was started when the Plymouth colonists shared a meal with the Wampanoag Natives to celebrate the fruits of their labor that harvesting season. But this sunshine and rainbows story is fair denser than your grandma’s pumpkin pie.
The base of the story remains firm but there are far more details that they left out. The leader of the Wampanoag tribe, Patuxet was captured by the English in 1614 and brought to England as a slave. There he was taught English and came back to New England in 1621 to translate for the colonists. That same year the first Thanksgiving was held.
With this irregular mode of communication tensions between the two groups grew within the next generation. King’s Philip the son of the Wampanoag chief at the time embarked on a war against the English when his men were killed for the murder of an interpreter and Christian converter. Fights began in the New England colonies with the Natives raiding their camps. These small brawls eventually breed into major conflicts that involved all of the thirteen colonies. Areas such as Rhode Island who remained neutral on the beginning had its own battles with their own native groups.
The war exhausted the established settlements and population. Cities were burnt, people were butchered. The taste of the freshly corn was replaced with the taste of freshly vengeful blood. Later after the chaotic occurrence Thanksgiving became a time of triumphant victory over the defeat of the Native Americans. It was no longer a time to share and give thanks, but a moment of bloodlust and dominance (which explains our current love for football).
Rather than giving thanks to your neighbor on Thanksgiving, the colonists gave thanks that they survived their violent neighbors. Although this is the true history to our greatly celebrated holiday we can still give thanks to those around us. Acknowledging the past is necessary to enjoy the evening, but don’t ruffle your feathers over it, ruffle the turkey.