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Homework Help: Social Studies: U.S. History: Pilgrims and Indians
by Tiffany Jones
When the Pilgrims first settled on Plymouth, Massachusetts they were seeking freedom of religion. The were sick of the English making them praise only a religion that the English accepted. They wanted to praise what they felt was right. When they got to Massachusetts, it was only by mistake. The Pilgrims were actually looking for Virginia, but a storm pushed them off course. Even though they did not intend to go to Massachusetts, they were happy they did.
The Pilgrims had already had good supplies, animals, food, and tools so they set out to work immediately. They built their homes, but didn‛t know how to harvest. But soon a Indian named Samoset helped them and persuaded the other Wampanoag Indians to like the Pilgrims by translating the Pilgrims‛ greetings to the Wampanoag.
The Wampanoag so became friends with the pilgrims and helped them become adjusted to the Indian way of life. The Wampanoag helped the Pilgrims fish, hunt, and harvest. The year then was in the 1620‛s. In 1627, the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag had finally had a successful harvest. It was so successful that the Pilgrims had enough food to last them their entire stay. They were so overwhelmed that in October, the Pilgrims celebrated by " giving thanks" to everyone who helped them create a village with lots of food and homes to go around. The Pilgrims invited the Wampanoag Indians to give thanks to them, too.
The Pilgrims and Wampanoag people celebrate for 3 days. The Indians showed the Pilgrims their way of entertainment and vice versa. They ate turkey, deer, corn, corn soup, corn bread, fish, beans, squash, and berries. This is what we call The First Thanksgiving. But no one celebrated this until over a decade later. That is when president Abraham Lincoln finally made Thanksgiving a national holiday. People celebrate this today by eating the traditional food of the Pilgrims and even adding food that they wanted to celebrate with. We eat stuffing, chicken, rice, collard greens, gravy, ham, potato salad, and macaroni and cheese; along with the foods the Pilgrims ate.
So when you think about why we celebrate Thanksgiving and who started it, remember what the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag did. Next time it is Thanksgiving, do not just eat, give thanks.
Homework Help: Social Studies: U.S. History
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