Cody Bonds

Discover the true story behind an event that started an enduring national holiday. But don’t expect the Pilgrims and Native Americans to look like what you see in post cards. This the real story of the first Thanksgiving.

The First Thanksgiving: What Really Happened

Uncivil History: Click Here to view Video

This video is meant to give a non-bias account of the events which unfolded in the years leading up to the First Thanksgiving, and the several years following the feast (roughly 1614-1622). I apologize for any pronunciation errors with Native American names; I have a deep respect for the native peoples of America, but I am ignorant on speaking their languages. I hope I have not offended anyone!

To keep the video below 7 minutes, many details were negated, so everything inside my video is what I consider essential to receiving a well-rounded view and understanding of this very interesting event.

For instance, we still don’t know what the epidemic of the Great Dying of 1616-1619 was, despite numerous theories. Squanto died in 1622, never admitting any involvement in a plot to overthrow Massasoit. The events that happened after 1622 could fill several more videos!

There is no political agenda behind this video. I am a student of history and I have tried to give an account of the first Thanksgiving that is as close as we can possibly get to the truth.

Sources:

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Bradford, William. Of Plymouth Plantation, ed. Charles Deane. Boston: Privately printed, 1856.

Bragdon, Kathleen J. Native Peoples of Southern New England, 1500-1650. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1996.

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D’Argenio, Joseph Ronald. “Building a Pilgrim Utopia; Identity, Security and the Contradiction of Cross-cultural Affairs at New Plymouth, 1620-1640.” Master of Arts, Lehigh University, 2004.

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The War on Thanksgiving

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