The First Thanksgiving

American History Hit

History Hit

America, History

4.5 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 24 November 2022

⏱️ 47 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In the fall of 1621, a year after the pilgrim ship the Mayflower landed on the coast of New England, the settlers of the Plymouth Colony celebrated their first successful harvest. Joining them at the three day feast were the Wampanoag people, Native Americans who had to taught the settlers how to grow corn, ensuring the community would survive the coming winter. Richard Pickering tells Don about the difficulties faced by the pilgrims as they made their way from Europe and how the first Thanksgiving forged diplomatic relations with the Wampanoag people. Creating the foundations for the national holiday now celebrated every year in America.

Produced and mixed by Benjie Guy. Senior Producer: Charlotte Long.

For more History Hit content, subscribe to our newsletters here.

If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts, and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today!

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	It is the 11th of December, 1621, and we are in Plymouth Colony on Cape Cod in New England.
0:09.0	Edward Winslow, one of the pilgrims who arrived on the Mayflower a year earlier is scribbling a letter to a friend back in England.
0:17.0	Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fouling,
0:22.0	so that we might after a special manner rejoice together
0:25.0	after it gathered the fruit of our labors.
0:27.0	They, for and one day, killed as much fowl as with a little help aside,
0:31.0	served the company almost a week, at which time, among other
0:34.9	recreations, we exercised our arms.
0:37.9	Many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest king, Massasoait with some 90 men, whom for three days we entertained
0:46.3	and feasted, and they went out and killed five deer, which they brought to the plantation
0:51.2	and bestowed upon our governor and upon the captain and others.
0:55.2	And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness
1:00.4	of God we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our plenty.
1:07.0	Winslow, who would go on to become a governor of the Plymouth colony, is writing the only known
1:11.4	description of a feast that will become known as the first Thanksgiving,
1:15.0	a foundation for the National Holiday now celebrated every year in America. Well, hello and greetings. Welcome to a special holiday edition of American History
1:35.1	hit. I'm Don Wilden. Happy Thanksgiving all. I'll say my first thanks to you, our
1:39.8	audience. Grateful indeed that you've chosen to join us as you prepare for another glorious day of feasting wherever. Great about afterwards on the couch. Turkey having been carved,
1:53.1	cranberry sauce doled out a serious dose of trippedophan
1:56.5	coursing through your system.
1:58.2	Wherever and whenever you've done so,
2:00.3	Thanksgiving indeed from all of us to you.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from History Hit, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of History Hit and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.