|
| |
You are in Thanksgiving - Topics include:
Thanksgiving Proclamations
|
 |
The Thanksgiving Story
|
|
|
|
 |
The Pilgrims who sailed to this country
aboard the Mayflower were originally members of the English
Separatist Church (a Puritan sect). They had earlier fled their home in
England and sailed to Holland (The Netherlands) to escape religious
persecution. There, they enjoyed more religious tolerance, but they
eventually became disenchanted with the Dutch way of life, thinking it
ungodly. Seeking a better life, the Separatists negotiated with a London
stock company to finance a pilgrimage to America. Most of those making
the trip aboard the Mayflower were non-Separatists, but were hired to
protect the company's interests. Only about one-third of the original
colonists were Separatists. |
| |
|
|
The Pilgrims set ground at
Plymouth Rock on December 11, 1620. Their first winter was devastating.
At the beginning of the following fall, they had lost 46 of the original
102 who sailed on the Mayflower. But the harvest of 1621 was a
bountiful one. And the remaining colonists decided to celebrate with a
feast -- including 91 Indians who had helped the Pilgrims survive their
first year. It is believed that the Pilgrims would not have made it
through the year without the help of the natives. The feast was more of
a traditional English harvest festival than a true "thanksgiving"
observance. It lasted three days. |
 |
| |
|
Governor William Bradford sent
"four men fowling" after wild ducks and geese. It is not certain that
wild turkey was part of their feast. However, it is certain that they
had venison. The term "turkey" was used by the Pilgrims to mean any sort
of wild fowl |
 |
|
 |
Another modern staple at almost every
Thanksgiving table is pumpkin pie. But it is unlikely that the first
feast included that treat. The supply of flour had been long diminished,
so there was no bread or pastries of any kind. However, they did eat
boiled pumpkin, and they produced a type of fried bread from their corn
crop. There was also no milk, cider, potatoes, or butter. There was no
domestic cattle for dairy products, and the newly-discovered potato was
still considered by many Europeans to be poisonous. But the feast did
include fish, berries, watercress, lobster, dried fruit, clams, venison,
and plums. |
| |
| This "thanksgiving" feast was
not repeated the following year. But in 1623, during a severe drought,
the pilgrims gathered in a prayer service, praying for rain. When a
long, steady rain followed the very next day, Governor Bradford
proclaimed another day of Thanksgiving, again inviting their Indian
friends. It wasn't until June of 1676 that another Day of Thanksgiving
was proclaimed
(proclamation). |
| |
| 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.
It is notable that this thanksgiving celebration probably did not
include the Indians, as the celebration was meant partly to be in
recognition of the colonists' recent victory over the "heathen natives." |
| |
| 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. |
| |
George Washington proclaimed a
National Day of Thanksgiving in 1789
(proclamation), 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.
|
|
 |
It 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. |
| |
| Thanksgiving was
proclaimed by every president after Lincoln
(proclamation). 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. |
Peace Treaty with Massasoit, 1621
| Massasoit was a chief of the Wampanoag tribe. Also known
as Ousamequin, or "yellow feather," he was born about 1590 in the
village of Pokanoket which was near the present-day Bristol, Rhode
Island.. The peace treaty which Massasoit and the Pilgrims signed on
March 22, 1621 was never broken. Because of this agreement, the
Wampanoag and Pilgrims lived in peaceful coexistence. Massasoit's
friendship with the colonists kept the Wampanoags neutral during the
Pequot War of 1636. Until his death in 1661, Massasoit remained a friend
an ally of the Pilgrims. |
 |
| That neither he nor any of his should injure or do hurt
to any of our people.
2. And if any of his did hurt to any of ours, he should send the
offender, that we might punish him.
3. That if any of our tools were taken away when our people were at
work, he should cause them to be restored; and if ours did any harm to
any of his, we would do the like to them.
4. If any did unjustly war against him, we would aid him; if any did
war against us, he should aid us.
5. He should send to his neighbor confederates, to certify them of
this, that they might not wrong us, but might be likewise comprised in
the conditions of peace.
6. That when their men came to us, they should leave their bows and
arrows behind them, as we should do our pieces when we came to them.
Lastly, that doing thus, King James would esteem of him as his friend
and ally. |
For More Information Contact:
Mayfield Electric & Water Systems
301 East Broadway, Mayfield, KY 42066
Tel: 270-247-4661
FAX: 270-247-0550
Internet: jcre@mayfieldews.com
Top of Page
|
