Taking a Closer Look at
Thanksgiving
by
Rebecca Winterson
SUNY Cortland - ICC 523
November 13, 2008
Goals and Objectives
Cultural Goal: To expose students to a
more accurate history of Thanksgiving
in the United States.
SWBAT:Describe a the origins of the
Thanksgiving holiday.
Language Goal: To introduce vocabulary
related to Thanksgiving.
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!
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…
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 4th
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
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!
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!
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!
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….
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.
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/nov02/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