The Dangerous History of Thanksgiving
The holiday of Thanksgiving exists more as myth than as history for most Americans, and is doubtless even less understood abroad. Names like Squanto and Miles Standish belong now to a cartoon caricature rather than to human beings. Perhaps it's time to peel back the legends and explore what really happened.
The Dangerous History Podcast Episode 126 explores the history of Squanto from his early life among his Wampanoag tribe to his tragic death along with the trials and tribulations, personal ambitions, and conflicts he encountered.
What were the Pilgrims really like? They were a sect of Puritans, and as H.L. Mencken wrote, “Puritanism: The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.” What happens when Puritans confront people who live peacefully according to different principles the Puritans dislike? Well, Episode 42 of the Dangerous History Podcast explores what really happened at Merrymount colony when the Plymouth Pilgrims decided there was a problem.
Ben Stone of the Bad Quaker Podcast takes a somewhat more antagonistic approach to tearing apart the mythology of the Pilgrims due to the historical conflict between Quakers and Puritans, the latter routinely using violence against the former because the former wouldn't comply with the latter's authoritarianism. Bad Quaker Podcast Episode 55: Thanksgiving and Lying Thieving Pilgrim Commies can be heard here.
Edit: @badquakerdotcom has also posted this podcast episode here on Steemit. Go check it out there, too!
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Merrymount challenged the Puritans fur monopoly . That was the basic reason according to some historians.
Nice @jacobtothe. just loved your post. listening to podcast. very nice.
Could very well be the fur monopoly. That makes some sense. But the history of Puritans in Britain indicates they were also just a bunch of self-righteous bastards who couldn't tolerate the threat of a nearby free society too.
Or it could be combination of many factor.
Ben Stone is one hell of a guy. I've had the pleasure of being on a show with him as a guest, and I have to say it was one of the best shows I've done.
To the point about the Puritans: there really is just a general ignorance about the men and women who made landfall at Plymouth. I don't think it's willful; most simply don't care enough to dispel the myth. Good of you to bring attention to it. :D
Which episode were you on? I've probably heard it, since I think I heard his entire episode archive a few times while doing yard work, both when he was still producing it and after he retired.
good work @jacobtothe
restemid
Great post.....
A generic comment without substance is of less value than no comment at all. Repent, and the Steem Pope's blessing shall be yours.
Great History