Thanksgiving Essays

We have been studying about Thanksgiving and the truthful side of this wonderful holiday. Each child has his or her own thoughts and they each wrote an essay.

Here is Mitchell's.......

Travel to the New World...The First Thanksgiving

A Stormy Voyage

The Separatist wanted to be able to worship freely because King James I of England wanted the Pilgrims to worship his way. So, they left on the Mayflower to get to the New World. They had to borrow money, because it cost a lot of money to sail. They left September 6th. It also took seven weeks to get there! It was so sad, because many of the Pilgrims got sea sick. They left at the worst time of the year for travel on the sea. Some of them died on the Mayflower. Another sad thing was the only things they had to eat. They were boiled beans, dried peas, salt pork and hard tack, which is hard bread.

They were not allowed to go on deck, because a wave could wash them away. There was a man who went on deck, he was swept from his feet and was never to be seen again.

When they could see the New World, they knelt down on the deck to thank God for a safe journey across the Atlantic Ocean.

Arrival in the New World

When the Pilgrims got close to shore, they sent sixteen men to get into a smaller boat and row to shore. It was too shallow for the Mayflower to dock there. When the men got to shore they built shelters for themselves. It was might cold! It was the end of November. Then men settled at Plymouth. The women and children were restless, they wanted to get off that old boat, the Mayflower!

Much Work To Do

The men and older boys made rough primitive houses. For four months the women and children stayed on the Mayflower. The men and older boys cut trees for lumber to build houses. There were no stores, no cities, no towns, no roads and they couldn't buy food. Food was scarce. The wilderness and forests were very plentiful.The Pilgrims did not know if the Indians were hostile (dangerous). The Pilgrims called the Indians, Native Americans. The Pilgrims had to wait to plant a crop until the next spring. Half of the Pilgrims died from a bad sickness. They did not leave, because they wanted to worship our heavenly Father, freely, in America!

Squanto's Help and Friendship

One day two Native American Indians visited the little Pilgrim village. Chief Samoset and Squanto came. Chief Samoset wanted to warn the Pilgrims that Chief Massasoit and his sixty of his warriors were going to kill them if they didn't show the Indians they weren't wanting to harm them. Chief Samoset didn't know English very well, but Squanto knew every word! When Squanto was a young man he was taken away by some white men and sold as a slave in Africa. Then Squanto escaped from slavery and fled to England. He worked there for a rich merchant. Then he finally went back to his people.

The Indians didn't know if the Pilgrims would be friendly, so they signed a peace treaty. The Pilgrims gave Chief Massasoit, knives, jewelry, biscuits and butter as gifts. The Indians took Edward Winslow captive until they knew the Pilgrims wouldn't harm them. Squanto didn't go back with his people, he helped the Pilgrims. He helped them to plant corn and also he taught them how to make bows and arrows, how to trap fish. The fish they trapped were called Herring. He taught them how to fertilize their corn, by putting fish in the soil. He said to keep guard at night, because wolves knew how to dig up the fish. I believe God sent Squanto to the Pilgrims for a very special purpose.

Preparing For the Feast

The Pilgrims were very thankful that God had cared for them. There were now eleven buildings in their settlement, after one year. They stored the corn, they got the tiny seeds from the Indians. They dried bass, they hunted deer, turkey and duck. They also dried cod.

Governor Bradford said they needed to have a celebration for the year they had been in America. They baked corn bread and also roasted nuts and vegetables. Governor Bradford invited Chief Massasoit to the Thanksgiving feast! The Pilgrims were thankful that God had protected them in this New World, America.

First Thanksgiving

When Chief Massasoit came, the Pilgrims were very surprised because he brought ninety of his warriors! The women gasped in dismay! They didn't have enough food to feed all of the people! Chief Massasoit sent his warriors to hunt five deer. The Thanksgiving party lasted for three days! The Pilgrims thanked God for health, crops, food and friendship. The men and boys played games and shoot contests with the Indians. The women watched the men and boys play games. The women cooked and prepared food for the hungry people. The Pilgrims were surprised when the Indians popped popcorn on the fire! The women made popcorn balls! The children loved that! Dessert was cornmeal pudding with dried berries. The celebration was so wonderful!

Making Thanksgiving a National Holiday

In the early American colonies, Thanksgiving was celebrated for many year on different days. Sarah Hale wrote hundreds of letters to government people and presidents. She wanted to make Thanksgiving a national holiday. It took seventeen years to make it a national holiday. President Abe Lincoln made it a national holiday. Every president since then has agreed.

Let's name some things that we are thankful for today.

I am very thankful for my family and that God allowed our family to have a new brother from Ethiopia.

I also am thankful for friends, church, school, choir, violin and piano lessons.

The End

By: Mitchell G. Morgan