Quiz: How Well Do You Know the History of Thanksgiving?

Thanksgiving is almost upon us, and for history lovers, it’s not just a time to eat until bursting. The history of the Thanksgiving holiday has been diluted and romanticized to make it more palatable, but it is more than just a tale of a peaceful dinner between Pilgrims and Indigenous peoples. And some of the facts have been glossed over or completely misconstrued over the years.

Do you think you know the true story behind Thanksgiving, or is all your knowledge based on the glorified image of the holiday? Take the quiz below to find out!

So, how did you do? Was it harder than you thought? It really opens your eyes to how much of the story sometimes gets left out for school lessons. But maybe you already knew all the history of Thanksgiving due to your own research. If you’re still hungry for more trivia, be sure to check out our quiz section, and for more history, be sure to look at the history section here on Mental Floss!

What is the true history of Thanksgiving? Well, it’s more complicated than what we were taught in elementary school. The story of “The First Thanksgiving,” which has been found not to have actually been the first feast of thanks between European settlers and the Native Americans, was molded into what we know it as to spread the idea of “true American” characteristics.

Thanksgiving and Teaching American Values

When Abraham Lincoln made Thanksgiving a national holiday, he was not concerned with Pilgrims and Native Americans. In fact, he never even mentioned them in his Thanksgiving Proclamation. He was busy trying to use the holiday to unify a deeply divided nation. But thanks to Sarah Josepha Hale, who advocated for decades to make Thanksgiving a national holiday, we have the version of the story that tells of peace and harmony.

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Hale and other advocates for Thanksgiving wanted people to imagine the United States as an idyllic place. Sharing, cooperation, and brotherhood were characteristics that new immigrants were expected to exhibit to achieve the American dream, and the story of “The First Thanksgiving” taught exactly that. The only problem? The story that Hale and historians of the 19th century left out was that the settlers and the Wampanoag tribe did not maintain peaceful relations for long.

Thanksgiving Controversy

Many Indigenous people, of all different tribes, have come to see Thanksgiving as a mask. In removing the facts about the violence and inhumane treatment the Native American people endured, Thanksgiving became a shining example of whitewashing history.

Whether you celebrate Thanksgiving or not, it’s important to remember the real history of the United States and its holidays. While the real story is far from a fairy tale, we should give thanks for the privileges and blessings we have, and recognize the steps we still need to take to be better than those who came before us.