The First Thanksgiving wasn’t a cheerful myth—it was born from starvation, epidemic, and uneasy diplomacybetween the Wampanoag and the Pilgrims at Plymouth in 1620–1621.
In this Terrifying & True deep-dive, we peel back comforting legend to confront the Great Dying, the stark winter that followed the Mayflower landfall, and the fragile accord brokered through Samoset, Squanto, and Massasoit. We unpack the mutual-defense treaty, the practical lifelines of corn, fish, and eels, the political subtext of the harvest feast, and the violence that erupted at Wessagusset—shattering illusions of lasting peace and exposing the cost paid by the people who were already here.
Inside this episode:
- Before the feast: The Great Dying, empty villages, and a winter of hunger.
- First contact: Samoset’s greeting, Squanto’s lifesaving know-how, and Massasoit’s calculus.
- Terms of survival: The treaty, visits, disarmament, and why both sides accepted the risk.
- The three-day “thanksgiving”: Hunting, politics, and grief at the same table.
- Wessagusset turns deadly: Tension, betrayal, and brutal spectacle on a palisade.
- Myth vs. memory: How a story of survival became a national legend—and what it leaves out.
If you want true history—uncomfortable, meticulously told, and eerily human—this is the real story behind the holiday. We’re telling that story tonight.
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Executive Producers: Rob Fields, Bobbletopia.com
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Produced by: Daniel Wilder
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