The First Thanksgiving - Fact or Myth
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As you sit down to family and friends and consume too much Turkey and mashed potatoes this Thanksgiving weekend, you might be wondering what started this American Holiday tradition. We at PSI TECH thought it would make a fun remote viewing "Target a the Week" assignment, and to find out how Thanksgiving was really started and the reason behind this holiday of celebration.
I fondly remember playing the part of Squanto in my third grade class play and that great meal scene the Pilgrims and Indians shared, marking the first Thanksgiving day in the new world. If only it were that simple. Please consider this a disclaimer for those Thanksgiving dinners which may never be the same after reading this article. At the risk of loosing your appetite, stop now! For the real evolution of the Thanksgiving Holiday appears to be a bit more involved.
The TRV data our students got is filled with the ideas of violence and war, and several got the idea of "militia". What's that got to do with pilgrims sharing Turkey and pumpkin pie?
The history books tell us the pilgrims--later called Puritans--were a group who immigrated to America to escape religious persecution. The Mayflower arrived at Cape Cod on November 19, 1620 with 102 passengers. The first winter was difficult and many died. That Spring, Squanto was hunting when he stumbled upon the Puritan settlers. Seeing they were in dire need of help, he volunteered to stay with the settlers for a few months to teach them how to survive. He taught them how to grow vegetables and build Indian-style homes. He taught them about plants -- those that were poisonous and those that could be used as medicine, as well as other skills they needed to prosper in their new home. By fall, the Pilgrims had enough food to survive another winter and were living comfortably. This good fortune was the premise for the thanksgiving feast the Puritans decided to host. They viewed it as a celebration for their success and peace with their neighbors -- a one-time celebration.
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Though there was data in the TRV sessions of harvest and celebration, the reason behind this celebration was not as the traditional history books reveal. The idea of war and bloodshed was the principle theme throughout the sessions. After doing a little research it seems that the remote viewing data is probably right on.
Here is the true Thanksgiving story that is confirmed by the TRV data:
The Puritans were not just simple religious conservatives persecuted by the Church of England. They were outcasts and fugitives who came to the new world to establish a "Holy Kingdom". And they came to America in at least 100 ships. Their plan was to take the land from the native people to build their own country. They were the "chosen ones," or so they thought, in a holy war against Satan. Here is what Thomas Mather, the leader of the Puritans, was reported to have said on Thanksgiving day;
| "In a Thanksgiving sermon delivered at Plymouth in 1623, Thomas Mather, an elder, gave special thanks to God for the devastating plague that wiped out most of the native Wampanoag Indians. Mather added in his sermon that he praised God for destroying chiefly the young men and the children, whom he described as the "very seeds of increase, thus clearing the forests to make way for a better growth." |
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As the Pilgrims gained military strength, they rejected friendship. One night in 1637, without provocation, Gov. Bradford, the commander of the colony, sent his militia against his Indian neighbors. The soldiers conducted a surprise assault and while the village slept, every man, woman and child were killed. Bradford used these words to describe his night of fire and death:
| "It was a fearful sight to see them frying in the fire and the streams of blood quenching the same and horrible was the stink and stench thereof. But the victory seemed a sweet sacrifice and they [the Massachusetts militiamen] gave praise thereof to God." Afterward he called on his congregation to give thanks to God for the attack "that on this day we have sent 600 heathen souls to hell." |
A decade later, most of the New England Indians were either exterminated or fled to Canada. Others were sold into slavery. It was the success of selling Indians into slavery that prompted the Puritan ship-owners to go to Africa for black slaves, bringing them to America and selling them to colonies of the South. The first ship deployed for this purpose was the Mayflower.
Upon learning this it was a sad revelation about this special holiday. The TRV sessions were conducted in the blind and do tend to confirm the historical record of Thanksgiving as a bloody and terrible episode in American history. Certainly, not what we were all taught to believe growing up. But after thinking about it, though the history we have learned may be in error, it doesn't take away the intent of millions of Americans who on this day raise a glass and toast family and friends celebrating and giving thanks for their love and bounty.
It is also comforting to know that we have access to the truth. Even though it might be painful or not be the truth we want, at least it is the truth. And knowing the truth is always better than honoring a lie.
We really do have so much to be thankful for. In our hurry-worry world we take too much for granted, and so perhaps that is what this day is really intended to be. To take time out to celebrate what is really important. That is how I wish to think of this day.
For those of your reading this Thanksgiving Day message, from all of us in the PSI TECH family, we wish you and yours, great love and bounty from this day forward.
