Taking a Closer Look at Thanksgiving by Rebecca

Taking a Closer Look at Thanksgiving by Rebecca Winterson SUNY Cortland - ICC 523 November 13, 2008

Goals and Objectives h. Cultural Goal: To expose students to a more accurate history of Thanksgiving in the United States. g. SWBAT: Describe a the origins of the Thanksgiving holiday. h. Language Goal: To introduce vocabulary related to Thanksgiving. g. SWBAT: Name vocabulary words typically associated with Thanksgiving and describe what they mean.

Taking a Closer Look at Thanksgiving Table 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

The Origins of Thanksgiving Many people believe Thanksgiving began in the 1600’s 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…

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…

Click here to listen to the passage. The Origins of Thanksgiving The Library of Congress cites at least three other “First Thanksgivings” before the pilgrims had even arrived in North America! h. May, 1541 - Spanish explorer Francisco Vazquez de Coronado celebrates with 1, 500 men in Texas; h. June 30, 1564 - French colonists celebrate in Florida; h. Spring, 1610 - British colonists celebrate, after having nearly starved that winter, when supply ships finally arrived. Go on…

Click here to listen to the passage. The Origins of Thanksgiving 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 4 th Thursday in November to be the official day of Thanksgiving in the United States of America. Return to the Table of Contents

The Food Served at the Feast h. Choose the food items you think were served by the Pilgrims at their “First Thanksgiving” in the 1600’s. Pumpkin Pie Venison (Deer) Seafood Turkey Green Bean Casserole Return to the Table of Contents

Sorry, no Pumpkin Pie! h. 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

Yes! Venison was served! h. Venison is plentiful in the northeast of the United States. As such, this meat provided a large portion of the food served at the Pilgrim’s “first Thanksgiving”. Return to the Feast Quiz

Yes! Seafood was served! h. 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

Yes! Turkey was served, but there’s more…. h. 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

Sorry, no green bean casserole for the Pilgrims. h. 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

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 & Schuster: New York, NY. Who Celebrated the “First Thanksgiving? ” Accessed online at http: //www. loc. gov/wiseguide/nov 02/thanks-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 People’s History of the United States: 1492 - Present. Harper Perennial: New York, NY. Return to Table of Contents