Part 1.

I personally feel that the first reading, “The Pilgrims and America’s First Thanksgiving” accurately represents how I was originally taught about thanksgiving in elementary school. We were taught that everything that happened between the two different groups were peaceful and that the Indians and the white men shared among each other.  “First  Thanksgiving” has the closest resemblance to how think of what Thanksgiving is. My parents explained to me, long before school ever did, that the way we were taught about Thanksgiving doesn’t mean it’s the truth. They also taught me though was that the peace didn’t last very long and soon after it became an incredibly down hill slippery slope for the Native Americans and it cost them their land and lives.  In school they teach it a lot more happy and that everything was fine between both groups of people, though that wasn’t the case. My understanding of Thanksgiving has changed because the public education system sometimes feeds the masses corrupt information that doesn’t necessarily include the whole truth. I think about the age of thirteen I realized that a lot of what I’m being taught in school has another side of the story, not just what I’m being told.

Part 2.

I do think that the different approaches to Thanksgiving are a little intriguing. I could tell from some of the “part 1” articles that some people might focus on the idea that everyone was lazy and didn’t want to work. I’m not saying that isn’t how it went, I’m just saying that people like to focus on what they want to see rather than what might have caused that to happen. I don’t find any of them that make a compelling case enough for me to change my opinions on Thanksgiving all together. Everything has a bias, and it’s really hard to find a reliable source that doesn’t have a hand in it, no matter if it’s a conscious decision or not. I think Rush Limbaugh is an idiot, who right along side trump, should close their mouths for the sake of the Republican party. I have not read the books he did, so I can’t argue with his statements in his article, but I personally do have the belief that Native Americans have been constantly taken advantage of and run out of their land. I do not believe that they have been given a fair shake, as he claims. I don’t think that even knowing who the authors were influenced how I viewed the articles, I think that since it’s easy to see the author’s voice in the articles they write, it’s fairly easy to make a judgement on who they are. I think once you are able to see the biased in an article it already makes it unreliable, even if it’s the truth.

Part 3.

I do find these articles much more interesting than in part 2. I think that they offer many different views, not just the economic stand point, or the views that a lot of my peers have. When a party presents different information it’s a lot more interesting. I think that looking at it from a teacher’s perspective, or a Native American, or even a historian adds something to the discussion. It isn’t just focused on one sides belief system and debating that over and over. I do find them compelling, but I don’t think any one in particular changed my mind. I think that every article brings something else to the table, I can agree the most with the teacher. My Grandpa is from a reservation, and he’s told me stories about how rough it was growing up coming from a place of nothing. I’ve heard countless stories, and it amazes me that the general public doesn’t recognize the atrocities that have occurred prior, and are continuing to occur. One of the authors is obviously a teacher, I couldn’t find his name. Another author is a Native American who passed here recently, who basically was a scholar on when the English came to America. The New York times article was written by a conservative hating journalist. I do not think knowing any of these authors influences how their piece reach their audience. I think that since we were able to read them first, and evaluate what is included, it has helped us take a step away from the authors.

Part 4.

I think a historian would make sense of the “First Thanksgiving” by not adding any opinion to their conclusion. I think that in order to come to a logical conclusion they must be passionate about the work that they are doing and dive completely into their work. I think that the steps that need to be taken in order to find the answer would to look at everyone’s viewpoint and maybe write about it from different perspectives. I don’t think there is ever going to be a point where we agree that the people who came to America were horrible and doing the wrong thing, nor were the Native Americans. I think that the truth has many different meanings, and especially for different people. I think that the whole idea behind Thanksgiving needs to be evaluated, and we need to maybe focus less on doing things because it’s “Tradition” and more because it’s right or not. I think that a person 18-30 should be mature enough to have open discussions with their friends, family, loved ones, people on the internet. I don’t think they need to come to a conclusion, but I do think that they at least need to acknowledge the different information and the different places it’s coming from in the articles. I think people determine what is most compelling by what they don’t know. If something has just been introduced to them, and it makes them look at a situation in a whole different light, I think that’s how most people determine if it’s most compelling. I think the first place I would look for a reliable source would probably be in the BSU Library database, and I would do the CRAAP test to determine if it was worthy of me looking at it or not.

 

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.

Part One: Common Tales

1. The reading that comes closest to my childhood understanding of the first Thanksgiving would be the article called “The First Thanksgiving” by Nora Smith. Her version is told in a story-telling type of way in a form that young children might understand and enjoy. She talks very generally about the events, not giving any specific dates or names of the Native tribes involved. It talks about how the Pilgrims went in search of “other white people” which just seems to be an elementary way of explaining things like that. The reading focuses on how the children were effected by everything, and how they felt scared when they saw the Indians for the first time. That just seems to resonate with the version I grew up hearing, how the Natives were made out to be savages that were meant to be feared. After gathering more information, we know that the Natives were welcoming, and actually way more important than we initially think they are.
2. The article that comes closest to my current understanding of Thanksgiving would be the reading titled “The Pilgrims and America’s First Thanksgiving” from holiday.net. This article goes much more into depth about the events that took place leading up to the first Thanksgiving, and the events that took place after that made Thanksgiving a National yearly holiday by Lincoln in1863. It talks about the Merchant Adventurers who invested in the journey to the New World. The article overall does a much better job at being more specific and informative about when things took place.
3. My understanding of the first Thanksgiving has changed drastically over the years since I was a young kid. It started to really change once I took history classes that taught about Christopher Columbus and how awful some of the travelers were to the Natives. For some reason, we are taught about Columbus in a way that leaves out all of his flaws and idolizes him to be some great explorer. Once I learned about the discrimination of the Natives, it changed my perspective on how all of the early conflicts in the New World started.

Part Two: Challengers

1. I find these interpretations to be very interesting, because a few of the show pretty drastic variations in the belief of what truly happened with the first Thanksgiving. It is perhaps most interesting of all that we never learn or hear of these views in school especially as children. We only hear the sugar-coated “official story”.
2. I find one article in particular to be pretty compelling and believable enough to question my knowledge, and that reading is called “The Real Story of Thanksgiving” by rushlimnaugh.com. Now just from looking around the website, it does not seem the most credible. But the alternative story he gives us makes a lot of sense. He talks about how the Pilgrims were collectivists, and were under agreement that all of their advancements, including food, was to go into a common store and every family would receive a common share. The Pilgrims suffered in hunger for so many years because the work was indeed very difficult, but there was lack of motivation for anyone to excel in their work. No one saw a purpose in trying to rise to the top or be the source of new advancements or to solve any problems, because there was no motivation for personal gain. Everyone was entitled to all of the same things no matter what. That concept seems to make the most sense.
3. Richard J Maybury- A writer, author and journalist. He has written several entry level books on United States economics, law, and history from alibertarian

Rushlimbaugh.com- Rush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American entertainer, radio talk show host, writer, and conservative political commentator

Thetruthencounter.com- Dave’s gift in the body of Christ is as a pastor-teacher.  His life goal is to communicate God’s truth through the power of the Spirit in practical and skillful ways.

Aier.org- The American Institute for Economic Research. The mission of AIER is to conduct independent, scientific, economic research to educate individuals, thereby advancing their personal interests and those of their nation

4. Knowing the background of the authors definitely changed my perspective of the credibility of their articles. It seems that The American Institute for Economic Research would prove the most credible. I did not know what they were about before, so their article was much less compelling at first.

 

Part Three: Even More Challengers

 

1. I personally found these interpretations to be a bit less interesting than in part two. That is because these interpretations are much more mellow and a bit less outrageous. They lack as many harsh differences in their stories and tend to offer up for subtle explanations for what truly happened.
2. I found one article to be quite compelling, which is called “True, Grim Story of the First Thanksgiving” posted by npr.org. The audio session talks about how the official story we teach children was designed with specific value and purpose behind it. The official story isn’t wrong, there are just many points that are left out. The true story is difficult to teach to children because it is so grim. For example, the Plymouth colony area was leveled out already because it was previously the Wampanoag settlement, but everyone died there of an epidemic. They say we need to understand that Americans are attached to the official story that we all know and love, but we need to practice a more honest history if we intend to truly protect democracy.
3. Kate Zernike NYTimes- is a national correspondent forThe New York Times. She has covered education, criminal justice, Hurricane Katrina, Congress, and national elections. She is the author of Boiling Mad: Inside Tea Party America (2010), on the Tea Party movement. The Christian Science Monitor in 2010 remarked that “probably no other journalist in the United States has devoted as much time to covering the tea party movement”.

Npr.org- National Public Radio is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States.

Educationworld.com– 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. The site offers carefully curated news briefs on topics that matter to educators, lesson plans, printables, worksheets and thousands of other classroom-ready resources, EdTech tips and ideas as well as reviews of apps, websites and tech products, and a huge library of professional development articles and columns.

Internet archive “Way Back Machine” web.archive.org- The Internet Archive is a nonprofit digital library with the mission of “universal access to all knowledge“.  It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including web sites, software applications/games, music, movies/videos, moving images, and nearly three million public-domain books

Teaching Tolerance- 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.

4. After looking into the authors of all the readings. My perspective changes a bit. From skimming the articles, they already seemed more informative than part two’s articles. It has proved true that each of the authors/organizations are highly credible and they all have similarly compelling interpretations to consider.

 

 

Part Four: Reflection

1. A historian would research from several different areas and consider various interpretations of the story to try and make sense of the truth. One step they would surely take to make sure their interpretation is accurate is to do a bit of background reading on the sources they are pulling from. The credibility of the source makes a big difference.
2. An average young adult may not do a great job at deciphering trustworthy information if they weren’t trained on how to do so. They might take the information for what it says and not think to really question the information being presented and the value of it.
3. I would look for primary sources in a library maybe in a biography section, or a museum.
4. I would look for reliable secondary sources in a library as well, sources written by historians or documentaries.