Thanksgiving is essential to the traditional American ethos. Its customs and culinary staples are intimately linked with our national identity. Thanksgiving symbols are so pervasive in American culture that the president even pardons a turkey in a formal ceremony each year.
Our understanding of the holiday has evolved with time. There’s no proof that the storied Pilgrims even had turkey for the first Thanksgiving in 1621. Even the Thanksgiving origin story of a shared meal between 17th-century English settlers and the local Wampanoag tribe is a largely one-sided retelling.
With Thanksgiving around the corner, K-12 educators can illuminate the facts, imbuing some much-needed historical accuracy alongside the family football skirmishes and Macy’s parade. Using Gale In Context: Biography, you and your students can explore the real people behind the holiday’s lore.
Gale In Context: Biography is easy to use for all ages and features individualized learning tools to meet student needs. Each biographical portal includes an organized summary page and related supplemental resources for deeper study. The content is diverse, yet its consistent structure makes it accessible; educators can easily tailor material to specific grade levels. Students will develop their research skills while learning the fascinating backgrounds behind some of our nation’s early historical figures.
This November, we’re highlighting six individuals pivotal to the original Thanksgiving story. These biographies present diverse perspectives from colonial settlers and Native American leaders to help your students think critically about history.
William Bradford
The lauded governor of the Plymouth Colony was hardly destined for leadership. Born in England to a family of farmers, William Bradford was only moderately educated and very poor. A nearby tight-knit group of religious nonconformists attracted Bradford with their sense of community, and he joined their voyage across the sea to escape religious persecution. Bradford was one of the Mayflower’s 102 passengers, known as Pilgrims, who arrived on Cape Cod in 1620 and eventually settled in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
When the group’s leader, John Carver, died, Bradford stepped into the governorship and was continuously re-elected for the role until his death in 1657. Under Bradford’s guidance, the colony survived the harsh New England climate. Regardless of his initial prejudice against the local indigenous peoples, Bradford welcomed their survival skills and honored a peace treaty with the Wampanoag throughout his tenure as governor. Bradford believed in tolerance and self-improvement, and his memoirs provide a critical primary source for the colonial experience.
Massasoit
The colonial settlers would never have survived without the guidance of the region’s indigenous population. Massasoit, a leader among the Wampanoag people who inhabited Plymouth and the surrounding area, was fundamental to establishing a relationship between the two cultures.
In 1620, due to an epidemic brought by settling Europeans, his tribal population had decreased significantly, leaving the Wampanoags vulnerable to enemy tribes. He established himself as an essential ally by creating a peace treaty with the Pilgrims. Much of what we know of the New England chief comes from the perspectives of white settlers, but historians largely agree that Massasoit was a thoughtful and strategic leader.
Decades before the Pilgrims’ arrival, earlier Europeans had imposed violence. Most Native Americans, understandably, considered white settlers to be cruel and unwelcome. While Massasoit’s motivations to befriend the Pilgrims were likely based on survival tactics, his eventual friendship with the Plymouth settlement is no less remarkable. To this day, he is considered one of the great peacemakers in American history.
Squanto
Squanto is one of the most widely recognized Native Americans in U.S. history—and for good reason. Without his interpretation skills and confidence in engaging the Plymouth settlers, the Pilgrims would have likely died during their first New England winter.
In 1614, early English explorer Thomas Hunt kidnapped Squanto and several of his companions, eventually selling them into slavery in Spain. With the help of Spanish friars, Squanto escaped to England and was soon engaged in expeditions back to his homeland in the New World. Ironically, because of his captivity, he was absent during a plague that wiped out his tribe, and he eventually resettled among Massasoit’s Wampanoag people.
His familiarity with English customs and language made Squanto the perfect emissary for Massasoit. The Pilgrims believed Squanto’s guidance was an act of God, and he was essential in the peace treaty and eventual friendship between the two communities. Centuries later, historians continue to debate the circumstances of Squanto’s expeditions, his relationship with the Wampanoag people, and his influence on the Pilgrims. Controversy and interpretation aside, Squanto’s fateful presence amidst the Plymouth settlers was indispensable.
Samoset
Samoset was a chief of the Abenaki people from present-day Maine. In the early 17th century before the Pilgrims arrived, the Abenaki tribe frequently interacted with European fishermen and traders throughout Maine and Nova Scotia. These relationships were tense, however, and the settlers carried illnesses that wiped out local communities. By 1621, Samoset was living with the Wampanoag tribe in Massachusetts. Due to his familiarity with the English language, he was a valuable conduit for intercultural communication.
Famously, Samoset was the first Native American to approach the Pilgrims and bravely welcome them. The next day, he returned alongside Wampanoag emissary Squanto with items to trade, thus initiating a peaceful relationship that would last for decades. Historians argue that Samoset and other New England chiefs deserve more credit for their enterprising efforts to maintain Native American sovereignty in the face of European colonization. Researchers even refer to Samoset as “the most-traveled diplomat of his generation.”
William Brewster
The prominent religious leader among the Pilgrims, William Brewster, is a crucial figure in American history. In 1580, Brewster attended Cambridge University where he would develop his separatist religious ideals. Brewster believed there should be a church separate from the established Church of England (though this was illegal). He was well-connected and spent his early years in the court of Queen Elizabeth I. However, he would return home to Scrooby, England, following his father’s death in 1590. In Scrooby, Brewster began assembling a community of nonconformist followers; these individuals would ultimately become the Pilgrims who arrived at Plymouth in 1620.
Initially, Brewster was the only church leader in Plymouth and held services for the struggling colony. History notes that he was cheerful and friendly. He was curious, thoughtful, and known to collect books throughout his life. Without much entertainment, Brewster’s services were likely vital to community morale and perseverance.
John Carver
John Carver was the first governor of the Plymouth settlement. Despite his significant role in leading his community through the harsh New England winter and forming the initial peace treaty with Massasoit, historians know little of his early life. Most agree that he found business success in London but would eventually join the Pilgrims in their quest for religious freedom. He was considered a stern, pious man and quickly became a natural leader within the group.
Because of his fortune, Carver helped finance their religious congregation and served as an officer of the church. His business connections were vital to funding the Pilgrim expedition, and Carver himself hired the Mayflower. After playing a fundamental role in the settlement’s survival, Carver died of illness in the spring of 1621.
Learn Through Biography
The Pilgrims’ story and the associated Thanksgiving traditions are primarily products of the English colonists’ perspective. Encourage students to reconsider what they have learned about the holiday from an indigenous point of view. In some retellings, the Native American people are represented through demeaning stereotypes. In truth, they were highly skilled and strategic—the real heroes of the story. Have students reflect on the ways in which bias can change stories as we pass them between generations.
Learning through biography gives us the real and sometimes uncomfortable details behind famous historical events. Students will encounter the nuance of primary sources and think critically about their own understanding of our country’s early settlements. Gale In Context: Biography provides a platform for your students to explore often underrepresented Native American perspectives and reconcile those captivating stories with modern-day Thanksgiving traditions.
Through biography, your class can meet the actual cast of characters behind the Thanksgiving story. If your institution isn’t a Gale in Context: Biography subscriber, learn more or request a trial today.