Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving day

Thanksgiving day isn't the happy celebration of peace Amercians claim it is to be. It is a violent, horrifying massacre of hundreds of Native Indians that were slaughtered or abducted from their homes to become slaves for the English. On top of that, the English took all their land

 English explorers sailed to England with a ship full of Patuxet Indians bound for slavery. They left behind smallpox which wiped out those who had escaped.  By the time the Pilgrims arrived in Massachusetts Bay they found only one living Patuxet Indian, a man named Squanto who had survived slavery in England and knew their language.  He taught them to grow corn and to fish, and negotiated a peace treaty between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Nation. At the end of their first year, the Pilgrims held a great feast honoring Squanto and the Wampanoags. 

But as word spread in England about the paradise to be found in the new world, religious Puritans began arriving by the boat load. Finding no fences around the land, they considered it to be in the public domain. Joined by other British settlers, they seized land, capturing young Natives for slaves and killing the rest.  But the Pequot Nation had not agreed to the peace treaty Squanto had negotiated and they fought back. The Pequot War was one of the bloodiest Indian wars ever fought.  

In 1637 near present day  Groton, Connecticut, over 700 men, women and children of the Pequot Tribe had gathered for their annual Green Corn Festival which is our Thanksgiving celebration. the sleeping Indians were surrounded by English and Dutch mercenaries who ordered them to come outside. Those who came out were shot or clubbed to death while the terrified women and children who huddled inside the longhouse were burned alive. The next day the governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony declared "A Day Of Thanksgiving" because 700 unarmed men, women and children had been murdered.

Cheered by their "victory", the brave colonists and their Indian allies attacked village after village. Women and children over 14 were sold into slavery while the rest were murdered.  Boats loaded with as much as 500 slaves .Following an especially successful raid against the Pequot in what is now  Stamford, Connecticut, the churches announced a second day of "thanksgiving" to celebrate victory over the heathen savages.  During the feasting, the hacked off heads of Natives were kicked through the streets like soccer balls.  Even the  Wampanoag did not escape the madness. Their chief was beheaded, and his head impaled on a pole in Plymouth, Massachusett where it remained on display for 24 years.  

Reflection: Even though I truly believe the true reason why we celebrate Thanksgiving is a complete obomination. I still think it is a great holiday for the people that dont really know the true reason why we celebrate it. 

I dont celebrate thankgiving for the victory on the English murderers but because of the people im grateful for. 

I am thankful for... 

My amazing parents 

My family 

Having people there to support me 

The people that dedicate their lives to help other people

People that care about our planet and strive to making it a better place 

Having amazing friends 

Everyone i care about being healthy 

Having a home to live in 

Having food everyday

Being healthy 

Having opportunities