by Annalee Blonquist (class of 2027) and Jennifer Jensen, faculty at JAC; first published in Public Square Magazine
Whenever we talk about Thanksgiving and its origins, we refer to the first Thanksgiving in 1621. We talk of the Pilgrims and Wampanoag and the great feast they had together, celebrating the abundant harvest which was, in great part, thanks to the Wampanoag’s help. That is a part of our past well worth remembering. But there is actually another Thanksgiving story, equally important, which we don’t often recall. And this story includes an important founder of our nation who is likewise unfamiliar. This story, the first Thanksgiving under the new Constitution, had nothing to do with harvests or Pilgrims or American Indians.
But there is actually another Thanksgiving story.
Near the end of the very first session of the Congress of the United States on September 25, 1789, having barely put the finishing touches on the Bill of Rights, Elias Boudinot, a Representative from New Jersey, rose to speak. As he took the floor, he reminded his colleagues of the recent events that formed this new country. The Congressional notes tell the story