The First Thanksgiving

By Todd Akin

The celebration of Thanksgiving became quite popular in the New England Colonies in the decades following the first celebration of 1621. In 1789, President Washington declared the first national Thanksgiving to thank God for our new Constitution. In 1863, President Lincoln fixed the date for the holiday as the last Thursday in November. But let’s take a moment to recall the first Thanksgiving, and what it was our forefathers believed.

For seven weeks the Pilgrims had been packed into the dark, stinking, wet, ‘tween-decks, as the Mayflower pitched from crest to trough through the storm tossed North Atlantic. Seasickness, crying children, and fear of sinking had been their constant companions. Now, the Mayflower lay anchored in the natural harbor at Provincetown Cape Cod. With the November wind whistling through the rigging, God’s little band of separatists, “Saints,” mixed with a group recruited by the merchant adventurers, “Strangers,” were gathered to sign a document made necessary by the storms which had forced them north of their Virginia destination.

Because their charter didn’t apply to the new location, some of the “strangers” threatened to go their own way. To pre-empt anarchy, the Saints drew up the Mayflower Compact. It began, “In the name of God, amen....for the glory of God and the advancement of the Christian faith... (We) covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic....” God’s covenant people had landed, and for the first time in recorded history, free and equal men had covenanted to create their own civil government.

But the trials of this covenant people were far from over. As they struggled to make a beach-head in Plymouth, constant exposure and inadequate food took their toll, and people started to die. As the winter continued, the sick dragged their dead to shallow graves scratched at night in the frozen ground. They were afraid the Indians would learn of their weakness. When spring finally broke, 47 of 102 were dead, 13 of the 18 wives died; only 3 families remained unbroken. The children fared the best because of the sacrifices of the parents. Of the 7 daughters, none died; and only 3 of the 13 sons died.

The arrival of March seemed to be a turning point for the Pilgrims. One chilly day, a tall Indian by the name of Samoset, clad only in a loincloth, strode into their midst. Breaking the silence, he boomed out “welcome.” As the startled Pilgrims stammered a reply, Samoset fixed them with a piercing stare, “Have you got any beer?” he asked. The Pilgrims found that they had settled in the only place for many miles where the Indians were friendly.

In the days that followed, God’s providence became increasingly obvious, as Squanto, another friendly Indian and the sole survivor of the warlike Pautuxet tribe, attached himself to the Pilgrims. William Bradford (soon to be elected Governor) wrote that Squanto “was a special instrument sent of God for their good beyond their expectation,” and among his new friends, he also became a “child of the covenant.”

Just as things started to look up, and the April corn was being planted according to Squanto’s instruction, Governor Carver suddenly died. Shortly thereafter, despite the fact that the ship’s supplies were exhausted and half the crew was dead, Captain Jones urged the Pilgrims to return with him to England.

On April 21, a gusty overcast day, the Mayflower sailed out of sight and the solitude closed in, but not one Pilgrim decided to return for they knew in Whom they had believed. How easy it would have been to question whether God ever intended them to plant a colony!

As the spring and summer progressed, God blessed the Pilgrims with an abundant harvest, and with a successful trading expedition up the coast. Much work was also completed on building houses. With a deep sense of gratitude to God, newly-elected Governor Bradford declared a day of public thanksgiving to be held in October. Massasoit, chief of the neighboring Wampanoags, was invited. To the Pilgrims’ surprise and alarm he arrived one day early with ninety braves! Fortunately, the Pilgrims’ guests brought a number of deer and wild turkeys. The Indians showed the Pilgrims how to make puddings out of corn meal and maple syrup, and how to pop corn. The Pilgrims provided many vegetables as well as some precious flour to make pies from dried fruits. Between meals, the young men competed in wrestling and foot races. Because of the festivities (and Massasoit making no move to leave) the celebration continued for three days. America had just celebrated its first Thanksgiving!

The Pilgrims felt that God was calling them to build a new Christian civilization based on their covenantal relation with a holy God, and their covenantal commitment to one another. It was a civilization to be built on a new set of principles, the principles of Holy Scripture. God did not disappoint their plans.

Todd Akin is a US Congressman representing the people of the Second Congressional District of the State of Missouri and contributing writer to the St. Louis MetroVoice.