1. The reading that was closest t my childhood image would probably be the first article because it was the only article that, in my eyes, was more fact based and talked about how the pilgrims and the indians became partners and how they feasted together in celebration. The article that is most relevant to my current understanding of Thanksgiving would still be the first article because it was straight forward and easy for me to follow along with previous knowledge. Honestly learning more about Thanksgiving over the course of my life hasn’t changed the celebration of the holiday for me. When the day comes around I do not think about the Natives and the Pilgrims feasting together. I think about spending quality time with my family.
2. I don’t find these interpretations interesting at all because they are more about economy and socialism which is just a way for the richer to become more rich and the poor to remain poor. These articles do tell me about how the pilgrims didn’t fully thrive until Bradford, their governor, divided up property. When I googled the author Richard Maybury it showed that he is a publisher and writes about economics, law and history from a librarian viewpoint.When I googled Rush Limbaugh, he is an American entertainer, talk show host and writer so he is very outspoken and you can tell from his interview/ article. Knowing more about the authors doesn’t change my view of their Thanksgiving stories. Everyone is entitled to their ow way of thinking.
3. I feel like the more I read these articles the more repetitive it all becomes which I know they are telling the same story but none are really attention grabbing or stick out to me. The authors of these articles are the same as the others. Again knowing more about the authors does not change my view of their version of the first Thanksgiving.
4. A historian would probably make sense of the first thanksgiving by relating all other events that occurred at the time. They would try to make it as accurate as possible by reading and comparing articles like we didnt today and then writing a more fact based article. An average adult would most likely make sense of the competing articles by comparing the knowledge behind each authors articles. They would probably like an article like Rush’s the most because is is more entertaining to read or listen to. Primary sources related to the first Thanksgiving would be history books or history websites. A secondary source of knowledge would be something like wikipedia because it has many facts and is cited

Part I
Which of these readings was closest to your childhood understanding of the first Thanksgiving?

I thought that the second article probably related to my childhood. The reason is because out of the all them, this one seemed more elementary level education, with all the pilgrims getting along with the Native Americans.

Which article comes closest to your current understanding of that event?

The first article told more truth about the pilgrim and native american relationship. For instance, the peace only lasted for a generation before they were betrayed. Also it told about how modern Thanksgiving is celebrated, just for “general blessings.”

How has your understanding of the event and celebrations of the holiday changed over your lifetime, and why?

I’ve moved from the childhood idea of every Native American and pilgrims getting along to the more historically accurate pretty early in my life. I think it’s mostly because most of my family is European so i don’t have a lot of them celebrating Thanksgiving till I was around 8.

Part II
Do you find these interpretations interesting? Explain.

Yes I do. I liked the Socialism article as it was kinda different to what I think about thanksgiving. It stated that everyone working hard shall find the so called “blessing” we can be thankful of. Basically it was a article telling us the consequences of not working and the obvious benefits of working.

Do you find these interpretations compelling—that is, are they reasonable or accurate enough to change your previous understanding of Pilgrims or the first Thanksgiving? Again, explain.

Not really, I’ve known for a while that the settlements in America were corrupt and the everything during that time wasn’t a cake walk.

Google the authors of each piece and/or explore their websites. Who are they? Briefly summarize what you learned about them.

Richard J. Maybury writes about law and economics. In his article he explains how modern thanksgiving came to be using the science of economics. He states that socialism was created during this time but was soon removed for the replacement of a free market. This in turn resolved the famine issue they had, as people were not getting enough to make it through the harsh winter with such little amount of food. He said that the free market allowed families to own land and either take in the crops themselves or trade them of other goods that might be more better at the time.

Does knowing more about the authors change how you view their interpretations of the Pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving? Explain why your perception of their interpretations did or did not change.

It did change because now i see how some them teach and/or try to get their point across in the articles.

Part III
Do you find these interpretations more or less interesting than the readings in Step Two? Explain.

I was a bit neutral on these articles. They were different to the articles before, but I didn’t seem that interested in these any more or any less. A lot of these articles talk about how thanksgiving is wrong in some areas or about socialism, which i felt like we didn’t need this many articles about that.

Do you find these interpretations compelling—that is, are they reasonable or accurate enough to change your previous understanding of Pilgrims or the first Thanksgiving? Again, explain.

I thought the one with the Native American teacher telling us about the myths was a bit interesting. He told an example of how the real thanksgiving should be celebrated using historic facts to the scenario.

Google the authors of each piece and/or explore their websites. Who are they? Briefly summarize what you learned about them.

In “Are you teaching the real story of the ‘first Thanksgiving’?”, I’ve learned some teaching tips about Thanksgiving and how, from a Native American’s perspective, should be taught to children. From what I can interpenetrate, the author feels like the Native’s are getting stereotyped and he wishes to enlighten people of how it really should be.

Does knowing more about the authors change how you view their interpretations of the Pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving? Explain why your perception of their interpretations did or did not change.

Yes. I think we shouldn’t really stereotype about what happened in the first thanksgiving.

Part IV
How do you think an historian would make sense of the event known as the first Thanksgiving? What steps would he or she take to make sure her narrative and interpretation are as objective and accurate as possible?

I think having interviews with other fellow historians that researched certain events can give credible amount of information, especially if the person that is interviewed has a good reputation.

How would the average 18- to 30-year-old American go about making sense of these competing articles? How do you suppose he or she would determine which interpretation is most compelling?

I think the most compelling articles are the ones that give inspiration to us to be better workers and to be grateful for the things we have earned. Having that sense of independence is good for a young adult and will shape a good character.

If I were to ask you to find primary sources related to the first Thanksgiving, where would you look?

LibraryofCongress.gov

If I were to ask you to find reliable secondary sources on the first Thanksgiving, where would you look?

I’d probably look within the history section of a library.