American History: The Origin of Thanksgiving—The Lucky Turkey and the Unfortunate Indians

American History: The Origin of Thanksgiving - Lucky Turkeys and Unlucky Indians

Trump’s Turkey Pardoning Ceremony

Thanksgiving Day) is an ancient festival created by the American people, and it is also a festival for American families to get together. The United States designates the fourth Thursday of November as "Thanksgiving" every year. The Thanksgiving holiday generally lasts from Thursday to Sunday. In the minds of Americans, Thanksgiving is second only to Christmas in importance. Traditionally, the president of the United States holds a turkey pardoning ceremony on the day before Thanksgiving, pardoning a pair of turkeys. However, there is a cruel history behind the joyful festival, and of course this history is for the Native Americans.

The Mayflower

The origin of Thanksgiving can be traced back to the beginning of American history. In the early 17th century, the Puritans in England were persecuted. A group of English Puritans could not bear the persecution of religion. In September 1620, they boarded the "Mayflower" sailing ship and sailed to the "New World" - America, which had just been discovered by Columbus. , arrived at the port of Plymouth in the United States on December 26. In the winter between 1620 and 1621, due to the lack of fresh fruits and vegetables, the prevalence of scurvy, and the cold and hunger, only 50 of the 102 Puritans survived. Of course, the reason why this voyage is famous in history is the signing of the Mayflower Compact. This convention is the first political contract document in American history and is called the American Birth Certificate.

"The First Thanksgiving, 1621" (The First Thanksgiving, 1621), by Jean Leon GeromeFerris

It was cold winter, and I came to a strange place, lacking food and clothing, and the harsh environment The environment is threatening their lives. At this critical moment, the local Wampanoag Indians generously took out the corn and potatoes stored for the winter, and gave away the wild ducks and turkeys they had hunted. The Indians also taught them to grow corn and pumpkins and raise turkeys. With the help of the Indians, these new immigrants began to adapt to life on this land. With the help of the Indians, the immigrants finally had a good harvest. According to religious traditions and customs, immigrants designated the harvest day as Thanksgiving and invited the aborigines to celebrate the festival together to thank them for their gifts. This is the origin of the original Thanksgiving.

Initially, there was no fixed date for Thanksgiving, which was decided temporarily by each state in the United States. In 1789, President Washington officially designated November 26 as a national celebration of Thanksgiving. However, for a long time, each state has stipulated the festival date according to its own situation. It was not until 1863, after American independence, that President Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday. In 1941, in order to extend the Christmas shopping season and stimulate the economy, President Roosevelt signed a congressional resolution declaring the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day.

In the first hundred years, the relationship between European immigrants and Indians was generally peaceful. The Europeans did not have enough numbers and strength to plunder the Indians, and the Indians never took the initiative to attack these groups. outsider. However, as the number of immigrants increases, the strength of the two sides becomes increasingly disparate, and peace no longer exists.

During the North American Revolutionary War, the vast majority of Indian tribes sided with the British. In July 1778, the suppression force, mainly Indians, brutally massacred nearly 400 white people who supported independence. This is the famous "Wyoming Massacre" in American history. The last land battle of the North American War of Independence actually took place between the Continental Army and the Indian tribes. In November 1782, General Clark defeated the brave Shawnee Indians and drove them west.

After the founding of the United States, Britain, France, and Spain realized that this was the first victory over colonialism in human history, and it would definitely affect colonialism. So the three colonial countries united to try to stem the tide of colonial independence, but it was the Indians who started the war on the colonists' behalf. The three countries provided weapons and money to the Indian tribes, allowing the Indians to continuously attack the new United States from the west.

In 1779, when George Washington directed General John Sullivan to attack the Iroquois, he said: If "garbage" (Indians) were placed near all settlements, the entire country would not only be flooded with Instead of causing disaster, it was completely destroyed. In the process of exterminating the Indians, Washington also instructed his generals: "No proposals for peace will be accepted until all Indian settlements have been effectively destroyed."

In 1783, Washington was comparing the Indians to the wolves. This anti-Indian sentiment was clearly exposed in comparison: "Both are predatory beasts, differing only in shape." Washington's extermination policy was implemented after his troops defeated the Indians again. Soldiers skinned the corpses of the Iroquois "from the buttocks down to make boots that were high or that could extend over the legs." Indians who survived the attack described the Founding Fathers as As the "Small Town Destroyer". Within five years, only two of the thirty cities of the Senka people remained.

In 1791, the Indian attack led to the "St. Clair Disastrous Defeat" of the US military. 637 US troops were killed and 263 wounded. In the "Logging War" in August 1794, the Indians were defeated and were forced to sign the "Treaty of Guerneville" the following year, ceding the vast land from New York to the Mississippi River to the United States.

Portrait of Tecumseh

In the Anglo-American War of 1812-1815, most Indian tribes still sided with the British. Tecumseh, the most outstanding military leader in North American Indian history, shined in this war. In 1812, he led his army to cooperate with the British army to capture Detroit and captured 2,500 American soldiers. In 1813, he led his troops to fight with the British Army, repelled many U.S. counterattacks on Detroit, and wiped out a U.S. brigade. The British army handed over 900 American prisoners of war to the Indians. The Indians massacred them all and brutally "scalped" some of the prisoners. In 1815, the U.S. Army launched a counterattack after completing its reorganization. Tecumseh withdrew from Detroit along with the British army. He was pursued by the U.S. Army in Moravian Town and was ultimately defeated and killed.

The actions of the Indians in several wars changed Americans' impression of the Indians and justified the United States' revenge. Since then, the policy towards the Indians has undergone a drastic reversal, from "assimilation" to "expulsion", in order to drive the Indians away from their homeland.

Schematic diagram of the Westward Expansion

In 1830, the U.S. Congress passed the "Indian Removal Act" and was approved by President Andrew Jackson. Congress then allocated funds for federal negotiations with the tribes to move them west. The tribes in the South faced dual pressure from the state and federal governments. Most of the tribes were unable to resist, so they had to cede their land, receive some symbolic compensation, and then set off for the West.

Trail of Tears

As the westward expansion progressed, a large number of Indians were massacred, and the survivors were forcibly driven to more desolate "reservations." The forced migration path of Indians is also known as the "Trail of Tears" of Indians. As one of the major human races, Indians have been basically exterminated as a whole. It is estimated that when Columbus arrived in the New World, there were more than 10 million Indians. By 1900, the population of the United States was about 76 million, but there were only about 200,000 Indians left. Harvard University professor Elliott Morison wrote about the history of the Americas: "It was Columbus who initiated this cruel policy, and those who came after him inherited his methods, and the result was genocide."

Map of American Indian reservations

It was not until 1924 that the U.S. Congress passed the Indian Citizenship Act, declaring that everyone born in the United States was a U.S. citizen. In 1934, the United States passed the Indian Reorganization Act in accordance with President Roosevelt's "New Deal", allowing Indians to establish their own governments, no longer allocate land in reservations, and stop the policy of forcing Indians to give up their traditional culture and religion. The human condition has improved.

Turkey is the traditional main dish of Thanksgiving because the original colonists ate turkey. According to a survey by the National Turkey Federation, approximately 88% of Americans eat turkey on Thanksgiving.

According to tradition, the President of the United States pardons a turkey at the White House every year on the day before Thanksgiving, saving it from becoming a Thanksgiving dinner. The president would have only had to pardon one turkey, with the second turkey being a backup in case the first one was unable to fulfill its duties. Of course, the pardoned turkey also became the luckiest turkey among the more than 20 billion chickens in the world.

The first documented turkey pardon was initiated by President Lincoln after his son Tad asked him not to eat the turkey given to the president, but it was not until more modern times that This became a tradition.

The gift of turkeys to the President of the United States dates back to the 1970s, when Rhode Island poultry trader Horace Vose sent some well-fed turkeys to the White House every Thanksgiving. chicken. The first family doesn't always entertain guests, but the move put the poultry trader and his farm on the map, becoming an institution that feeds directly to the White House. It was not until the businessman's death in 1913 that this era came to an end.

In 1920, due to the rapid increase in turkey numbers, then-President Coolidge discouraged people from sending turkeys to the White House. Although Coolidge eventually restored the tradition, people sent not just turkeys, but ducks, geese, rabbits, deer and a raccoon, according to a report in the New York Times at the time. Later, Coolidge kept the raccoon as a family pet.

In December 1948, President Truman pardoned two turkeys, but said they would appear at Christmas dinner. Clearly, this means there are no plans for the two turkeys to receive actual pardons. During the latter years of President Nixon's life, Patricia Nixon accepted the turkey on behalf of the President and delivered the pardoned turkey to the Oxon Hill Children's Farm in 1973. The turkeys pardoned by President Carter in 1978 were also sent to a small zoo on a farm.

Although the debate over who was the first president to pardon a turkey has never stopped, many experts still believe that the tradition of officially pardoning turkeys began during the tenure of President George H.W. Bush. The White House Historical Society says the ritual of pardoning a turkey was fixed in 1989. Then-President George H.W. Bush said at the pardon ceremony, "I promise you, this turkey will not be anyone's meal - it was granted a presidential pardon and allowed to live out the rest of its life on a nearby children's farm." "

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