#Mourt'sRelation

[whencyclopedia]

The United States holiday of Thanksgiving is generally understood to be inspired by the harvest feast celebrated by the citizens of Plymouth Colony (later known as pilgrims) and the Native Americans of the Wampanoag Confederacy in the fall of 1621. Although there is evidence of earlier thanksgiving celebrations in the Americas by the Spanish in the 16th century and at the Jamestown Colony of Virginia in 1610, following what is known as the “starving times” of 1609, these are not recognized as the “First Thanksgiving”, a term coined by the editor Alexander Young in 1841 referring specifically to the account of the 1621 event as given by the Plymouth Colony's chroniclers William Bradford (l. 1590-1657) and Edward Winslow (l. 1595-1655) in Mourt's Relation (published 1622), the earliest work on the first year of the establishment of Plymouth Colony. Once the Plymouth Colony had successfully established itself, after struggling through their first year, Mourt's Relation was carried back to England and published by Robert Cushman (l. 1577-1625) who had negotiated the Mayflower voyage. The book seems to have been an initial success before going out of print and was only brought back to public notice in 1841. Bradford's work, Of Plymouth Plantation, which also references the 1621 event, was published in 1856 and the popular poem, The Courtship of Miles Standish by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (l. 1807-1882) came out in 1858 all further popularizing the story of the pilgrims. Sarah Josepha Hale (l. 1788-1879), the writer and editor of the popular periodical Godey's Lady's Book (published 1830-1878), campaigned for the national observance of Thanksgiving Day beginning in 1846. She wrote to each sitting president advocating the adoption of the holiday, but it was only acted upon in 1863 by President Abraham Lincoln (served 1861-1865) during the American Civil War (1861-1865) as a means of encouraging national unity. It is thought, however, that his decision was influenced by the popularity of the pilgrims' story through the above publications in concert with Hale's advocacy. The modern celebration of the holiday was formalized across the United States only as recently as 1963 under President John F. Kennedy (served 1961-1963), although it had been observed regionally for 100 years prior. Presently, it is one of the most popular celebrations in the United States most often observed by gatherings of friends, family, a large meal, and participating in or watching American football games; the pilgrims and their Native American guests serving mainly as backdrops and decorations for the event, but this version of the observance is fairly recent and often ignores the realities of the historical event which inspired it.