Part I
I felt like all of the articles were very similar, but the one that was closest to what I learned in elementary school was “The Pilgrims and and America’s First Thanksgiving” on holiday.net.  The article that is closer to my understanding of Thanksgiving now is from National Geographic, the article went on to debunk any myths that I had learned growing up and it spoke about how the peace between the two groups of people had ended.  I now know that there was ton of animosity between the settlers and the natives.  Growing up I had always seen the first Thanksgiving as complete happiness and it set the tone for good relations throughout history.  I now know that is not the case and there was turmoil between the two groups.  Instead of the holiday being about fun crafts, good food, and getting time off of school I know see it as a time to gather with my family and reflect on those who I am grateful to have.

Part II
I enjoyed reading their interpretations of the first Thanksgiving.  I don’t think they completely discredited my views of Thanksgiving but gave me a more of an understanding of what the migrants could have been feeling.  Most of the articles spoke about how collectivism was not working, and having to raise food for your own family to survive caused the people to work harder.  After having to deal with the frustration of doing work, while someone else did not do the same it would make sense that this is a reason that they wanted to show their thanks for what they had because it took awhile to get to that point.
When reading what Rush Limbaugh had said on his radio show it was apparent that he was dramatic with the way he presented what he had to say.  Upon further research of him it was obvious that he speaks about his viewpoints in a very controversial manner.  In Del Tackett’s article on the same subject, he was the only one to actually quote the Bible.  This does not steer me away from his ideas anymore than I would have been.  On Tackett’s website he speaks about God often, so it makes sense why he would be leaning towards the religious aspect of their decisions.  I think both men come up with great ideas, and as long as the reader doesn’t bindingly believe everything that has been written down then I think the articles given are very helpful.

Part II
I don’t know if I would say this set of articles were more interesting than the last set, but they were more impacting.  The articles came from a place where it spoke about how modern day Thanksgiving depiction can kind of suppress the current culture of Native Americans.  These interpretations are enough for me to reevaluate how I had celebrated the holiday in the past.  I had always known that the single depiction of Native Americans was inaccurate but I never thought about it as limiting.  By showing these large diverse group of people in one single way with one single culture is wrong and offensive to the people apart of these groups.  Knowing that the authors aren’t coming from a disrespectful sense makes me respect the writer.  The man who was asked to speak at the Thanksgiving celebration touched me the most, he had seen the many ways this generalization of his people can do to hold people back.  It didn’t completely change my thoughts on the holiday but made me step back and think about how these actions effected people.

Part IV
If a historian were trying to make sense of the first Thanksgiving I think they would try to learn about the event from all different sides of the story, not just one group of people’s accounts.  In this current time, I think it would be very important for the historian to do their research and make sure to not get stuck into any stereotype.
In order for an 18 to 30 year old to decide which interpretation of the first Thanksgiving was the most compelling would be the store they are likely to not have heard before or a story that aligns with their personal beliefs.  Personally, I find it really compelling to see a different side of a story, rather than one that I had heard many times.  But on the contrary it can lead to it being a harder time to stay interested when it is not easy to follow where the story is going.
To find primary and secondary sources on this topic I would take to the Albertson’s Library page to begin my search.  If I were not find the specific information I was needing, this would be a good starting point to gather some keywords and ideas to help me continue my search on Google or GoogleScholar.

https://www.engineeringthepast.com/731-2/

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.