Welcome back to [indistinct chatter]! Host Aliza kicks off Episode 4 with gratitude for her listeners, nostalgic Thanksgiving memories (pickle binges and pumpkin pie murder!), & her tradition of crab legs instead of turkey. Then she asks: what's the REAL story behind Thanksgiving? Spoiler: It gets dark fast. IN THIS EPISODE: The Thanksgiving Myth vs. Reality: Why the romanticized story we learned as kids became popular during Manifest Destiny expansion in the 1840s-50s. What actually happened in 1621: Tisquantum (Squanto) was kidnapped, sold into slavery in Spain, rescued by monks, lived in England, & returned home in 1619 to find his entire village dead from disease. Strategic geopolitics, not friendship: Why Ousamequin (Massasoit) helped the struggling colonists & Tisquantum's complicated role. The Pequot War & Mystic Massacre (1637): Just 15 years after the feast, 400-700 Pequots killed. The Treaty of Hartford (1638) outlawed the Pequot name and sold survivors into slavery. King Philip's War (1675-1678): The bloodiest conflict per capita in US history—more deaths per capita than the Civil War or WWII & The Great Swamp Fight (December 19, 1675). Sarah Josepha Hale's 17-year campaign: Thousands of handwritten letters—all declined. Fun fact: she preferred chicken and oysters. How Lincoln made it official: September 28, 1863—Sarah wrote to Lincoln during the Civil War. He issued a proclamation October 3, 1863 declaring the last Thursday of November as Thanksgiving. FDR's "Franksgiving" disaster (1939): FDR moved Thanksgiving to the second-to-last Thursday for Christmas shopping. 16 states refused the new date. Americans celebrated on TWO different days for two years. Congress finally settled it December 26, 1941—permanently establishing the fourth Thursday of November. How turkey became THE bird: Sarah's 1827 novel Northwood featured roasted turkey "at the head of the table." Practical advantages: turkeys were plentiful, cheap, and could feed more people than chicken. Plus the nationalist angle—making turkey distinctly American cuisine to separate from England. By 1857 turkey was traditional, by 1885 it was "Turkey Day." Today: $1 billion spent on turkeys, 46 million consumed on Thanksgiving Day. Modern traditions: Turkey pardons, Macy's Parade since 1924, football traditions, Turkey Trots, Friendsgiving, volunteering, post-meal naps (tryptophan + sugar = eepy). Indigenous perspectives today: National Day of Mourning—50+ years of Wampanoag gathering at Massasoit's statue in Plymouth each Thanksgiving. November is Native American Heritage Month. The day after Thanksgiving is Native American Heritage Day. The Menu: 1621 meal: crops, fowl (probably ducks/geese, NOT turkey), five deer from Wampanoag, seafood—no potatoes, sweet potatoes, or pie Modern meal: turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, squash, corn, green beans, cranberry sauce, stuffing, pumpkin pie Regional variations: South (mac & cheese, pecan pie), Great Lakes (wild rice stuffing), West Coast (Dungeness crab—Aliza's tradition!) On My Screen: Stranger Things (new season dropping Thanksgiving Eve—will Cole let her binge on Thanksgiving?) Addams Family Values: The NOT Thanksgiving movie that "wokeified" Aliza's Thanksgiving views Thanksgiving, the 2023 Eli Roth film (horror movie for spooky girlies) TOPICS: Thanksgiving history, Manifest Destiny, Wampanoag, Tisquantum, Squanto, Pilgrims, Plymouth Colony, Ousamequin, Massasoit, Pequot War, Mystic Massacre, King Philip's War, Great Swamp Fight, genocide, Indigenous resistance, Sarah Josepha Hale, Abraham Lincoln, Civil War, FDR, Franksgiving, turkey tradition, William Bradford, Alexander Hamilton, turkey pardons, Macy's Parade, National Day of Mourning, Native American Heritage Month, colonial history, American holidays New episodes every Tuesday. Subscribe and follow for more history deep dives, real talk, and indistinct chatter! Happy Thanksgiving! 🦃