The story of Thanksgiving, with its costumed Pilgrims, turkeys, and pumpkin pie, zigzags through American history, with some surprising twists. At the iconic Thanksgiving feast of 1621, no pumpkin pie or cranberry sauce was served, and that event was wiped from the history books for 200 years! In the 19th Century, some southern states thought Thanksgiving was an abolitionist plot and refused to celebrate it. Thanksgiving didn't become a annual national holiday until World War II! What started as a somber Puritan day of prayer is now about football and food. How did we get there? Join us as we serve up the Real Story of Thanksgiving.

Most of the people whom we now know as "the Pilgrims" made their way from England to the city of Leiden, Holland, a place of religious tolerance. They found religious freedom, but faced extreme financial hardship. A bold decision is made to move to America. In the late summer of 1620, the Mayflower sets sails carrying 102 English settlers. Over the next four months, about half of the settlers and sailors die of scurvy and weather-related illness. An English speaking Indian, Samoset, visits the settlers, and his visit leads to the signing of a peace treaty. By the Fall of 1621, the English decide to celebrate their harvest with a feast which is attended by at least 90 Wampanoags. That peace will last 40 years. This show features elaborate dramatic reenactments from original source material written by eyewitnesses and participants in the actual events.

Reveals the epic history behind the creation of America, exploring how and why our ancestors came to this country. From the Dutch living in New Amsterdam seeking the wealth offered by the fur trade, through the English Quakers who fled persecution and helped shape the American Constitution, to the German soldiers who helped the North defeat the South, this episode uses expert historians, DNA evidence, and census records to explore our cultural origins through the different groups who travelled to America seeking freedom from early Colonial times through the end of the Civil War.

Sparked by the Industrial Revolution, a wave of migrants flood the United States. One-third of the entire population of Norway and Sweden migrate to America, transforming the Pacific Northwest; opened by the transcontinental railroad, Mennonite farmers from Ukraine turn Kansas into the breadbasket of the country; in 1908, more Italians were living in New York City than Rome. Spanning the 1900s through the 1970s, this episode reveals how our ancestors, coming from America's own Southern states, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Asia, change America's cityscapes forever, and directly influence the map of modern America.

The story of Thanksgiving, with its costumed Pilgrims, turkeys, and pumpkin pie, zigzags through American history, with some surprising twists. At the iconic Thanksgiving feast of 1621, no pumpkin pie or cranberry sauce was served, and that event was wiped from the history books for 200 years! In the 19th Century, some southern states thought Thanksgiving was an abolitionist plot and refused to celebrate it. Thanksgiving didn't become a annual national holiday until World War II! What started as a somber Puritan day of prayer is now about football and food. How did we get there? Join us as we serve up the Real Story of Thanksgiving.

Most of the people whom we now know as "the Pilgrims" made their way from England to the city of Leiden, Holland, a place of religious tolerance. They found religious freedom, but faced extreme financial hardship. A bold decision is made to move to America. In the late summer of 1620, the Mayflower sets sails carrying 102 English settlers. Over the next four months, about half of the settlers and sailors die of scurvy and weather-related illness. An English speaking Indian, Samoset, visits the settlers, and his visit leads to the signing of a peace treaty. By the Fall of 1621, the English decide to celebrate their harvest with a feast which is attended by at least 90 Wampanoags. That peace will last 40 years. This show features elaborate dramatic reenactments from original source material written by eyewitnesses and participants in the actual events.

Reveals the epic history behind the creation of America, exploring how and why our ancestors came to this country. From the Dutch living in New Amsterdam seeking the wealth offered by the fur trade, through the English Quakers who fled persecution and helped shape the American Constitution, to the German soldiers who helped the North defeat the South, this episode uses expert historians, DNA evidence, and census records to explore our cultural origins through the different groups who travelled to America seeking freedom from early Colonial times through the end of the Civil War.

Sparked by the Industrial Revolution, a wave of migrants flood the United States. One-third of the entire population of Norway and Sweden migrate to America, transforming the Pacific Northwest; opened by the transcontinental railroad, Mennonite farmers from Ukraine turn Kansas into the breadbasket of the country; in 1908, more Italians were living in New York City than Rome. Spanning the 1900s through the 1970s, this episode reveals how our ancestors, coming from America's own Southern states, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Asia, change America's cityscapes forever, and directly influence the map of modern America.

The story of Thanksgiving, with its costumed Pilgrims, turkeys, and pumpkin pie, zigzags through American history, with some surprising twists. At the iconic Thanksgiving feast of 1621, no pumpkin pie or cranberry sauce was served, and that event was wiped from the history books for 200 years! In the 19th Century, some southern states thought Thanksgiving was an abolitionist plot and refused to celebrate it. Thanksgiving didn't become a annual national holiday until World War II! What started as a somber Puritan day of prayer is now about football and food. How did we get there? Join us as we serve up the Real Story of Thanksgiving.

Most of the people whom we now know as "the Pilgrims" made their way from England to the city of Leiden, Holland, a place of religious tolerance. They found religious freedom, but faced extreme financial hardship. A bold decision is made to move to America. In the late summer of 1620, the Mayflower sets sails carrying 102 English settlers. Over the next four months, about half of the settlers and sailors die of scurvy and weather-related illness. An English speaking Indian, Samoset, visits the settlers, and his visit leads to the signing of a peace treaty. By the Fall of 1621, the English decide to celebrate their harvest with a feast which is attended by at least 90 Wampanoags. That peace will last 40 years. This show features elaborate dramatic reenactments from original source material written by eyewitnesses and participants in the actual events.

Reveals the epic history behind the creation of America, exploring how and why our ancestors came to this country. From the Dutch living in New Amsterdam seeking the wealth offered by the fur trade, through the English Quakers who fled persecution and helped shape the American Constitution, to the German soldiers who helped the North defeat the South, this episode uses expert historians, DNA evidence, and census records to explore our cultural origins through the different groups who travelled to America seeking freedom from early Colonial times through the end of the Civil War.

Sparked by the Industrial Revolution, a wave of migrants flood the United States. One-third of the entire population of Norway and Sweden migrate to America, transforming the Pacific Northwest; opened by the transcontinental railroad, Mennonite farmers from Ukraine turn Kansas into the breadbasket of the country; in 1908, more Italians were living in New York City than Rome. Spanning the 1900s through the 1970s, this episode reveals how our ancestors, coming from America's own Southern states, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Asia, change America's cityscapes forever, and directly influence the map of modern America.