Thanksgiving is a holiday that has been long celebrated over the years but is has had its roots in a cultural and religious perspective. There are many myths that surround the origin of thanksgiving but the most known one is that it was a feast to celebrate the successful fall harvest. The pilgrims celebrated it as they made through the winter and with the great assistance of the Wampanoag tribe, they got a bounty harvest to sustain them to the next winter season (Smith 79-85). The feast took place for three days, usually between September and November, though there is no exact date of the celebration. The celebration was hosted by the pilgrims and they invited about 90 Wampanoag Indians from the nearby village and among them was Squanto, a young man who was highly fluent in English (Smith 79-85). Thanksgiving has seen numerous variations over the years, and it was set to be a national holiday in 1777. An interesting fact is that, today, thanksgiving is substantially associated with Turkey as part of the meal, yet its origin had nothing to do with turkeys. The basis of this article is drawn towards the origin of Thanksgiving and how two individuals, William Bradford and Squanto, contribute to it. William and Squanto were individuals from different walks of life; for instance, William was a colonist yet Squanto was an Indian; they have different stories, and they contributed differently to the first Thanksgiving feast.
William Bradford led Plymouth Colony as the governor for about 30 years. He was born in 1590 in Yorkshire England (Murdock and Smith 426). As a teenager, he became religious hence he was part of the protestant church. He later migrated to Holland in search of better religious life. While there, he was not satisfied with the unavailability of economic opportunity. This factor became a basis of the organization of an expedition of numerous pilgrims to a better place called the ‘New world’ (Murdock and Smith 426). The passengers of the expedition boarded the Mayflower. William was also a vital part of framing the Mayflower Compact, which became an essential component of the Plymouth government. He unanimously became governor of the New World and more interestingly, he was reelected 30 times up to 1656. In 1957, he got sick and died (Murdock and Smith 426).
Squanto also known as Tisquantum was a born in 1580 among Patuxet people (Ceci 40-44). As a young man, he is believed to have been captured by Captain George Weymouth. Squanto, together with other Indians, was taken to England where he was taught English by Ferdinando Gorges. When he was proficient enough, Squanto was hired as an interpreter and a guide. In 1614, Squanto returned home with John Smith, an explorer. Unfortunately, he got captured again by Thomas Hunt, a British explorer and was later sold to slavery in Spain (Ceci 40-44). He then managed to escape in 1619, only to find the whole of the Patuxet tribe dead as a result of smallpox. Squanto later decided to live with the Wampanoags. In 1621, he became an interpreter between their leader, Chief Massasoit and the Pilgrims (Ceci 40-44).
William Bradford contributed significantly to the first thanksgiving. The most important impact he made was creating an account of the first thanksgiving, which has served a great deal in providing information to many people today. Were it not for his account of the events and activities of Plymouth plantation then the turkey could as well be seen as part of the origin of thanksgiving. William was also a leader and still very religious at that time; for instance, they administered prayer when they landed at Plymouth. After a hard time, they finally found land to cultivate. He then saw the need of having Thanksgiving feast for the first bounty harvest. It was also vital to have the feast to thank God for keeping them, especially after 45 of the pilgrims had lost their lives (Murdock and Smith 426). William also held a meeting with Chief Massasoit to invite them to celebrate the feast together. He had done well in living in peace with the Native Americans, hence they were also part of the first thanksgiving (Murdock and Smith 426). In essence, William Bradford made a significant impact on the first Thanksgiving.
Squanto in his capacity also contributed to the first Thanksgiving. It was after his enslavement that he came to live with the Wampanoag community, and he later became an integral part of the community, and it is to his knowledge that the community owed their survival. Squanto became a significantly valuable member of the society. The greatest impact he made to the first Thanksgiving was his fluency in English since he was able to communicate to the pilgrims (Ceci 40-44). The feast can be indirectly be attributed to him since he taught the pilgrims how to survive in the New World. Squanto taught them how to farm correctly in the harsh climate; for instance, he taught them how to put manure on the farm. He also taught them how to catch eels (Ceci 40-44). His exposure served lots of good to the community. Therefore, it was with the help of Squanto that the Thanksgiving feast was even there in the first place since the bounty harvest was as a result of his knowledge and contribute to the community.
In conclusion, both William and Squanto had entirely different contributions to the first Thanksgiving, but their contributions still made a huge impact at the end of the day. However, it is clear that Squanto made a slightly more substantial impact than William. Firstly, he had a tough life before he came to Plymouth, though his enslavement and capture gave him exposure that helped save the pilgrims and the native Indians. Were it not for his knowledge and teaching to the community, then there would not exist a Thanksgiving in the first place. All in all, it is vital to acknowledge the importance of Thanksgiving and most importantly the individuals who made the first Thanksgiving possible. For that reason, many owe it to them.
Works Cited
Ceci, Lynn. "Squanto and the Pilgrims." Society 27.4 (1990): 40-44. Web.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/bf02698672
Murdock, Kenneth B. and Bradford Smith. "Bradford of Plymouth." The William and Mary
Quarterly 9.3 (1952): 426. Web. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1916990
Smith, Andrew F. "The First Thanksgiving". Gastronomica 3.4 (2003): 79-85. Web.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1525/gfc.2003.3.4.79
