Episode Two examines the famous sixteen twenty-one Plymouth harvest feast and its aftermath, revealing the reality behind the Thanksgiving myth. Claire Delish explores what actually happened during that three-day gathering between fifty colonists and ninety Wampanoag people, including the authentic foods served like venison, wildfowl, and corn, while debunking myths about pumpkin pie and cranberry sauce. The episode traces how this single event was not called Thanksgiving and was never repeated annually, then follows the development of actual colonial thanksgiving traditions throughout the seventeenth century. These were solemn religious observances proclaimed irregularly by Puritan leaders for prayer and fasting, not festive meals. The episode also addresses the deteriorating relationship between colonists and Indigenous peoples, culminating in King Philip's War, and examines how different colonies established their own varied thanksgiving practices during this formative century.
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