The Famous Thanksgiving and A Drought P1

Grateful for the blessings, the Pilgrims invited their Wampanaog neighbors to celebrate and give thanks to God with them. Chief Massasoit and some 90 of his men came and feasted with the remaining Pilgrims.

They also engaged in athletic competition, including running, wrestling, and shooting. Chief Massasoit enjoyed himself so much that he and his men stayed three days.

A common narrative today is that Indians hated colonists because of the land-grabbing practices and general racist disdain for natives. However, the first Thanksgiving shows this claim is both illogical and completely unfounded. After all, the 53 remaining Pilgrims were comprised of 4 women, 14 young boys and girls, 13 infants and young children, and only 22 men. On the other hand, the 90 Indians were all warriors. If there had been ill-will, the Indians could have eliminated the Pilgrims in a matter of minutes, but they did not; because they were friends.

Content sourced from The American Story, The Beginnings.  By: David Barton and Tim Barton