-
Essay / Understanding the History of the First Thanksgiving
During my elementary school, I was not able to fully understand the history of the first Thanksgiving. I was a foreigner with little skills in reading, writing, listening and understanding English. However, I remember reading a book about it in Korean in third grade. The book described early thanksgiving as a blessing following failure. The English colonists of the Mayflower left England for the New World to free themselves from religious oppression present within the Anglican Church. While they were bringing many supplies, winter came. Unprepared for the unfamiliar climate, the pilgrims suffered in winter. Much of their food was spoiled and many settlers had died of disease. Due to their lack of knowledge of the land, they did not know what crops could grow in this climate and they were too afraid of the warring bloodthirsty Native Americans to ask them for help. Just when they were about to starve, a friendly tribe saw the pilgrims suffering and rescued them. They gave them corn, taught them different farming methods and showed them hunting grounds. In return, the pilgrims threw a big party and invited the tribe to honor and thank them. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why violent video games should not be banned"? Get an original essay In the article "First 'National Day of Mourning' Held in Plymouth" on Mass Moments, the author focuses on the he story of the first Thanksgiving through the perspective of a third person observing both the Indians and the Mayflower Pilgrims. Unlike the traditional Thanksgiving story, this article focuses more on the "truth" of the actual event that occurred. The article aims to find the flaws in the traditional Thanksgiving story and presents the "real facts" as seen by historians. Additionally, the article presents the perspective of Native Indians, speaking of tribes who "regarded all nature as a sacred gift from the Creator" and held thanksgiving celebrations before the arrival of the Pilgrims in North America . To support his point of view, the author includes facts supported by dates and very descriptive images. This makes it seem like the author has a very deep understanding of Thanksgiving and has a lot of information and research. Additionally, the author cites quotes and sources from settlers, researchers, and historians, thereby increasing the credibility of the information presented in the article. This makes the story easier to interpret by showing the different views of Thanksgiving and shows the flaws in the traditional Thanksgiving story..