WRFH/Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM - History Off Script: Uncovering the Real Origins of Thanksgiving

Episode Date: November 25, 2025

We have all heard that classic story about the origins of Thanksgiving. Native Americans aid the desperate Pilgrims; the Pilgrims have a great harvest and invite the natives to the first Thanksgiving in gratitude. But did this really happen? Where does Thanksgiving actually come from? WRFH's James Joski investigates.

That's how history can often feel, mechanical, one event after the other. But what's in the fine print? What happens if we peel back the layers? What kind of hidden dramas may unfold? It's time we went beyond the textbook. This is history off-script. Here's your host, James Jocke. By the spring of 1621, the Pilgrims were in dire straits. A disaster. The disastrous winter had claimed nearly half of the colonists and food stores were depleted. It seemed that the days of the Plymouth colony were numbered. Yet by the fall of 1621, the pilgrims reaped a bountiful harvest with the help of their Native American allies

and invited them to the first Thanksgiving to celebrate. Ever since, the holiday has been observed to commemorate this moment. But, wait, is that even true? It's time to remove the fact from the fiction and find the real origins of Thanksgiving. Well, it is true that there was a harvest feast celebrated in 1621 by the pilgrims, they did not call it Thanksgiving. They did not even record the date, suggesting that they did not regard it with great significance. It is also true that the local Wampanog natives had an alliance with the pilgrims and taught them how to hunt and grow food.

But it is a misconception that the pilgrims invited them to Thanksgiving. In actuality, the natives arrived after responding to gumfire that had been part of a an arms demonstration during the celebration. Only then were they invited to join. In fact, this entire episode was largely forgotten until the idea of Thanksgiving as a holiday gained momentum in the mid-19th century. So where did Thanksgiving come from?

The origins of the holiday largely lie within New England. There, Thanksgiving was a day of religious observance, sometimes serving as an alternative to Christmas. It featured church services, large meals, and a variety of games, but its primary function was to get a day. of thanks to God. The roots of Thanksgiving also lie in decrees made by the first presidents of America that called for national days of prayer in Thanksgiving to God. These decrees were inconsistent, occurring only at the declaration of a present, and could be made on any day or

month. After the presidency of James Madison, they ceased to be made at all. This all changed after Abraham Lincoln made a Thanksgiving decree in 1863 to celebrate union victories in the Civil War. Subsequent presidents largely maintained this precedent, and in 1870, President Ulysses S. Grant signed an act making the day a yearly appointed federal holiday in Washington, D.C. In 1885, Congress extended that act to include all of America. This remained the status quo until in 1939, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt did the unthinkable. He appointed Thanksgiving to occur on the second to last Thursday of the month. Why? Rosevelt hoped that a longer shopping season between Thanksgiving and Christmas would help stimulate America's Depression-time economy.

What ensued was an unmitigated disaster. The nation split between states that observe the traditional Thanksgiving and states that observe the new Thanksgiving, or Franksgiving. Some states even observed both. Backlash against the decision persisted until in 1942 Roosevelt relented and cited into law a bill that permanently fixed Thanksgiving on the the final Thursday of November. But one question remains, how did this federal day of thanks fused with the Thanksgiving tradition

of New England? This development can be accredited to one woman, Sarah Hale. Hale was a New Englander and a prolific writer and social activist. From 1837 to 1877, she was the editor of Goody's Ladies' book, an immensely popular magazine

during the mid-19th century. Hale had grown concerned with the rising factionalism within America. Immigration and political tensions had greatly divided the nation, and Hale saw a patriotic holiday that could unify rather than divide. From her editorial position, Hale brought the New England tradition of Thanksgiving to the rest of America, and petitioned presidents to make the day official. After decades of campaigning, Hale succeeded with Abraham Lincoln's Thanksgiving proclamation. It is likely that without her, Thanksgiving, as we know it, would not exist.

Although the story of the first Thanksgiving may largely be a myth, it is what that myth says about us that is so important. It is a holiday founded on unity and a shared American identity, a holiday where all Americans are invited to the table of the American dream. This has been History Off Script with James Jasky on Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7. Have a happy Thanksgiving. Thank you.