The Pilgrims at Plymouth Colony celebrated the autumn harvest with
a three-day feast. Governor William Bradford invited the chief of
the Wampanoag tribe, Massasoit, to join the fifty colonists who
had survived the harsh winter. The Native American leader brought
ninety of his tribesmen to the feast.
The celebration included athletic contests, a military review
led by Miles Standish, and a feast on foods such as wild turkeys,
duck, geese, venison, lobsters, clams, bass, corn, green vegetables,
and dried fruits. In 1841, Dr. Alexander Young contended that
this harvest celebration was the "first Thanksgiving," and the
origin of an American tradition. This interpretation gained such
widespread acceptance that other contenders for the distinction
faded into obscurity.
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