Taking a Closer Look at Thanksgiving

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Taking a Closer Look atThanksgiving

• by
• Rebecca Winterson
• SUNY Cortland - ICC 523
• November 13, 2008

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Goals and Objectives

• Cultural Goal To expose students to a more
  accurate history of Thanksgiving in the United
  States.
• SWBATDescribe a the origins of the Thanksgiving
  holiday.
• Language Goal To introduce vocabulary related to
  Thanksgiving.
• SWBATName vocabulary words typically associated
  with Thanksgiving and describe what they mean.

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Taking a Closer Look atThanksgivingTable of
Contents

• Click on the links below to learn more about the
  subject.

The Origins of Thanksgiving
The Food Served at the Feast
Click Here to View the Bibliography
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The Origins of Thanksgiving

• Many people believe Thanksgiving began in the
  1600s in (what was then) the colony of
  Massachussettes. The traditional Thanksgiving
  myth tells of a large and happy feast held by the
  pilgrims with their guests, the Wampanoag Native
  Americans. However, this story is not entirely
  accurate.

Click here to listen to the passage.
Go on
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The Origins of Thanksgiving

• While it is true that at one point the pilgrims
  and Wampanoags did enjoy a feast for several
  days, they did not name this event Thanksgiving.
  Furthermore, there were others who enjoyed their
  own Thanksgiving Feast long before the pilgrims
  had arrived on North America.

Click here to listen to the passage.
Go on
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The Origins of Thanksgiving
Click here to listen to the passage.

• The Library of Congress cites at least three
  other First Thanksgivings before the pilgrims
  had even arrived in North America!
• May, 1541 - Spanish explorer Francisco Vazquez de
  Coronado celebrates with 1,500 men in Texas
• June 30, 1564 - French colonists celebrate in
  Florida
• Spring, 1610 - British colonists celebrate, after
  having nearly starved that winter, when supply
  ships finally arrived.

Go on
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The Origins of Thanksgiving
Click here to listen to the passage.

• During the Civil War, in the year 1863, President
  Abraham Lincoln finally declared a national day
  of Thanksgiving. Still, it was not until December
  of 1941 that Congress passed a law declaring the
  4th Thursday in November to be the official day
  of Thanksgiving in the United States of America.

Return to the Table of Contents
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The Food Served at the Feast

• Choose the food items you think were served by
  the Pilgrims at their First Thanksgiving in the
  1600s.

Pumpkin Pie
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Venison (Deer)
Seafood
Turkey
Green Bean Casserole
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Sorry, no Pumpkin Pie!

• The Pilgrims did not have pumpkin pie at their
  first Thanksgiving. There was very little sugar
  available to make any sweets for the feast.
  However, the Pilgrims would have served plain
  roasted pumpkin and squash at the meal.

Return to the Feast Quiz
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Yes! Venison was served!

• Venison is plentiful in the northeast of the
  United States. As such, this meat provided a
  large portion of the food served at the Pilgrims
  first Thanksgiving.

Return to the Feast Quiz
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Yes! Seafood was served!

• The colony of Massachussettes is right on the
  Atlantic Ocean, and Cape Cod (where the Pilgrims
  lived) sticks out into the water. The Pilgrims
  would have served several different kinds of
  seafood including cod, eel, clams, lobster, and
  seal!

Return to the Feast Quiz
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Yes! Turkey was served, but theres more.

• The turkey that the Pilgrims would have eaten was
  not raised on a farm like the turkeys we eat
  today. Instead, the Pilgrims would have hunted
  for wild turkeys and other wild fowl including
  goose, duck, partridge, swan, and eagle.

Return to the Feast Quiz
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Sorry, no green bean casserole for the Pilgrims.

• The Pilgrim diet consisted of more meat than we
  would typically eat at a meal today. Vegetables
  were not as important in the meal, but were also
  not plentiful and therefore harder to come by.

Return to the Feast Quiz
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Bibliography

• History of Thanksgiving, The. Accessed online at
  http//www.history.com/minisites/thanksgiving on
  10/30/08.
• Loewen, James W. (1995). Lies My Teacher Told Me
  Everything Your American History Textbook Got
  Wrong. Simon SchusterNew York, NY.
• Who Celebrated the First Thanksgiving? Accessed
  online at http//www.loc.gov/wiseguide/nov02/thank
  s-early.html on 10/30/08.
• Year We Had Two Thanksgivings, The. Accessed
  online at http//www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/thanksg
  .html on 10/30/08.
• Zinn, Howard. (2003). A Peoples History of the
  United States 1492 - Present. Harper
  PerennialNew York, NY.

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