Part 1:

All three of the stories mostly encompass what I remember hearing as a child. “First Thanksgiving” was the only story that mentioned the tribe hearing the gunshots of from the pilgrims and thinking that they were going to war and then finding that they were just about to celebrate. That is something I remember as a child. Also the second story “The First Thanksgiving” mentioned a child named Oceanus which I don’t ever remember hearing about. The last story seemed to mention more on the voyage over and the troubles they had during the voyage which is also another part of the story I remember from childhood.

I think the last story “The Pilgrims and America’s First Thanksgiving” is closest to what I know now. The second story seems really fictional and sort of strange. The first story just lacking as much detail as the last.

Honestly I don’t think that my understanding of Thanksgiving has changed all that much. Obviously it has changed from what I was taught as a child, with the generic stories and all. Thanksgiving as a child in school was about the pilgrims and being in America. As I got older I think anything about the first Thanksgiving faded away and it became about being thankful for what we have as a family and coming together as a family, on every single thanksgiving. Other then being a child and talking about it because we were currently learning about it in school, we never talk about the “first thanksgiving” on Thanksgiving day.

Part 2:

The colonies getting here and attempting the promise of collectivism honestly is not something I really knew about. Not in the stories I remember as a child nor history classes that came after elementary school. I think its really interesting that it didn’t take starving colonies long to turn towards capitalism.

All four of the stories seem compelling enough to change what I know about the colonies and the first thanksgiving. It would make sense that coming for a new life collectivism is most enticing but wouldn’t end up working.

Richard J Maybury- Author of many entry level books on history, economics and law from a libertarian stand point.

Rush Limbaugh- Conservative political narrator. Knowing a little about Rush, he is an entertainer an author and talk show host which I think goes with being an entertainer.

Del Tackett- Former president of Focus on the Family, seemed like his teaching and books are focused around Christianity.

Aier.org- Mission statement on website “American Institute for Economic Research (AIER) conducts independent, scientific, economic research to educate individuals, thereby advancing their personal interests and those of the Nation”. Aier seemed like the only article that wasn’t influenced by a political stand point or religious stand point.

I don’t think knowing more about the authors changed my views on the articles because they all pretty much said the same thing in the sense of the “true story”.

Part 3:

I found the articles in step 2 more interesting because to me these articles and the NPR seem aggressive and talking about the obvious discrepancies in the stories we hear as children and what the truth of the first Thanksgiving is. I think it is obvious to most, or I hope it would be obvious to most that much of what we are taught in school throughout all of the grades is the sheltered edited version of the truth.

I think they are compelling as to change what I thought of the story when I was a child. We all now it wasn’t rainbows and cupcakes, it was colonizing and new and dangerous. There is always more to the story then what we are told.

Kate Zernike- national correspondant for the NY times. Covers education, congress, criminal justice, hurricane Katrina,  and national elections.

NPR- national and public radio both privately and publicly funded.

Education World- From the about page on the website “Education World is a complete online resource that teachers, administrators and school staff can visit each day to find high-quality and in-depth original content”

Internet Archive- non profit digital library.

teaching tolerance- From the website about us “Founded in 1991 by the Southern Poverty Law Center, Teaching Tolerance is dedicated to reducing prejudice, improving intergroup relations and supporting equitable school experiences for our nation’s children”

Compared to step 3 I think these authors and websites have more credibility because they don’t seem to have politics or religion guiding them.

Part 4:

To make interpretations are accurate I think that one would need to make sure they are looking at the source and the back ground of the source.

I think any one should look at again the author and where they are getting the information from. I think this is the basis whenever some one is looking for facts or information on anything.

I would look at databases for the most accurate information.

I honestly am not sure where i would look for seoncday sources.