Part I
Which of these readings was closest to your childhood understanding of the first Thanksgiving?

I thought that the second article probably related to my childhood. The reason is because out of the all them, this one seemed more elementary level education, with all the pilgrims getting along with the Native Americans.

Which article comes closest to your current understanding of that event?

The first article told more truth about the pilgrim and native american relationship. For instance, the peace only lasted for a generation before they were betrayed. Also it told about how modern Thanksgiving is celebrated, just for “general blessings.”

How has your understanding of the event and celebrations of the holiday changed over your lifetime, and why?

I’ve moved from the childhood idea of every Native American and pilgrims getting along to the more historically accurate pretty early in my life. I think it’s mostly because most of my family is European so i don’t have a lot of them celebrating Thanksgiving till I was around 8.

Part II
Do you find these interpretations interesting? Explain.

Yes I do. I liked the Socialism article as it was kinda different to what I think about thanksgiving. It stated that everyone working hard shall find the so called “blessing” we can be thankful of. Basically it was a article telling us the consequences of not working and the obvious benefits of working.

Do you find these interpretations compelling—that is, are they reasonable or accurate enough to change your previous understanding of Pilgrims or the first Thanksgiving? Again, explain.

Not really, I’ve known for a while that the settlements in America were corrupt and the everything during that time wasn’t a cake walk.

Google the authors of each piece and/or explore their websites. Who are they? Briefly summarize what you learned about them.

Richard J. Maybury writes about law and economics. In his article he explains how modern thanksgiving came to be using the science of economics. He states that socialism was created during this time but was soon removed for the replacement of a free market. This in turn resolved the famine issue they had, as people were not getting enough to make it through the harsh winter with such little amount of food. He said that the free market allowed families to own land and either take in the crops themselves or trade them of other goods that might be more better at the time.

Does knowing more about the authors change how you view their interpretations of the Pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving? Explain why your perception of their interpretations did or did not change.

It did change because now i see how some them teach and/or try to get their point across in the articles.

Part III
Do you find these interpretations more or less interesting than the readings in Step Two? Explain.

I was a bit neutral on these articles. They were different to the articles before, but I didn’t seem that interested in these any more or any less. A lot of these articles talk about how thanksgiving is wrong in some areas or about socialism, which i felt like we didn’t need this many articles about that.

Do you find these interpretations compelling—that is, are they reasonable or accurate enough to change your previous understanding of Pilgrims or the first Thanksgiving? Again, explain.

I thought the one with the Native American teacher telling us about the myths was a bit interesting. He told an example of how the real thanksgiving should be celebrated using historic facts to the scenario.

Google the authors of each piece and/or explore their websites. Who are they? Briefly summarize what you learned about them.

In “Are you teaching the real story of the ‘first Thanksgiving’?”, I’ve learned some teaching tips about Thanksgiving and how, from a Native American’s perspective, should be taught to children. From what I can interpenetrate, the author feels like the Native’s are getting stereotyped and he wishes to enlighten people of how it really should be.

Does knowing more about the authors change how you view their interpretations of the Pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving? Explain why your perception of their interpretations did or did not change.

Yes. I think we shouldn’t really stereotype about what happened in the first thanksgiving.

Part IV
How do you think an historian would make sense of the event known as the first Thanksgiving? What steps would he or she take to make sure her narrative and interpretation are as objective and accurate as possible?

I think having interviews with other fellow historians that researched certain events can give credible amount of information, especially if the person that is interviewed has a good reputation.

How would the average 18- to 30-year-old American go about making sense of these competing articles? How do you suppose he or she would determine which interpretation is most compelling?

I think the most compelling articles are the ones that give inspiration to us to be better workers and to be grateful for the things we have earned. Having that sense of independence is good for a young adult and will shape a good character.

If I were to ask you to find primary sources related to the first Thanksgiving, where would you look?

LibraryofCongress.gov

If I were to ask you to find reliable secondary sources on the first Thanksgiving, where would you look?

I’d probably look within the history section of a library.