American History Tellers – The Mayflower | The First Thanksgiving | Episode 3

Host: Lindsey Graham
Release Date: November 19, 2025
Duration Covered in Summary: ~00:00 to ~44:25 (ads and promos omitted)

Overview

This episode delves into the harrowing first year of the Plymouth colony, tracing the Pilgrims’ struggle to survive a catastrophic winter, their uneasy contact with Native neighbors, the formation and testing of a vital alliance with the Wampanoag, and the complicated legacy of what later generations would call the "First Thanksgiving." Through vivid storytelling, reenactments, and primary source quotations, Lindsey Graham highlights both the cooperation and tension at the heart of early colonial America.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Deadly First Winter in Plymouth (03:40 – 09:00)

• The Pilgrims arrive in November 1620 and immediately confront life-threatening conditions: "dysentery, scurvy and pneumonia spread throughout the settlement." (04:22)
• Most of the sick retreat to the Mayflower, which becomes a makeshift hospital, and the crew (including Captain Christopher Jones) cannot return home as planned because too many are ill or dead.
• Paranoia of nearby Native groups is exacerbated by glimpses of campfires and cries in the woods, leading the colonists to hide their dead and stage ill men as sentinels to project strength.
• Notable quote (Lindsey Graham, 04:54):

  “They went so far as to prop the gravely ill against trees, placing muskets in their hands so they looked like sentinels guarding the settlement.”

2. First Contact: Samoset & the Power Play (09:00 – 13:45)

• On March 16, 1621, Samoset, an English-speaking Abenaki, enters Plymouth, astonishing colonists by greeting them in English:

  "Welcome, Englishmen." (Lindsey Graham, 09:54, quoting Samoset)

• Samoset provides intelligence on local politics, geography, and tribal relations, revealing that the village sits upon an abandoned Indian village decimated by disease.
• Samoset is an emissary from Massasoit, the local Wampanoag sachem, who is weighing his options amidst the devastation wrought on his own people by European-borne epidemics and looming threats from the powerful Narragansett to the west.

3. Squanto: Interpreter, Survivor, and Wild Card (13:45 – 16:07)

• Squanto’s complex story: previously kidnapped by the English, forcibly taken to Europe, and returned—only to find his village destroyed.
• Squanto becomes Massasoit's (and then the Pilgrims’) intermediary, but Massasoit is wary of Squanto’s motives, recognizing the power his English fluency affords him.
• Memorable reenactment (12:56):
  • Squanto argues it’s wiser to ally with the English for weapons and possible supernatural power ("the English...have the power to unleash disease upon anyone they wish").

4. Alliance & Its First Test (16:08 – 22:40)

• March 22, 1621: Samoset and Squanto bring Massasoit to Plymouth. The Wampanoag entourage is an intimidating show:

  “…fewer than 20 adult men were left in Plymouth,” while Massasoit brings 60 painted, armed warriors. (15:01)

• Edward Winslow meets Massasoit bearing gifts and pledges of friendship; a peace agreement is struck. Squanto remains with the Pilgrims to aid their spring planting.
• This fragile truce is tested by internal Wampanoag opposition, competing tribal interests, and the precarious state of the colony.

5. Securing Survival: Squanto’s Agricultural Aid (22:40 – 26:38)

• After the Mayflower departs (April 1621), Squanto teaches Pilgrims Native agricultural techniques:
  • Fertilizing with fish, planting corn, squash, and beans in a system unknown to the English.
  • Their own barley and peas “struggled to take root.”
• Bradford’s reflection:

  “He was a special instrument sent from God for our good.” (24:46, quoting William Bradford)

• A sudden leadership change comes as Governor John Carver dies and William Bradford is elected.

6. Political Intrigue: Squanto’s Kidnapping and the Show of Force (26:38 – 31:59)

• Summer 1621: Squanto is kidnapped by Corbitant, a Wampanoag rival to Massasoit who opposes alliance with the English.
• Miles Standish leads a midnight commando raid to Namasket; Squanto is rescued, Corbitant escapes.
• The Pilgrims’ violence cements their seriousness, resulting in nine sachems (including Corbitant) signing a loyalty treaty.
• By autumn, relations are stable enough for the Pilgrims to complete rudimentary structures and enjoy a decent harvest.

7. The “First Thanksgiving:” Reality vs. Myth (31:59 – 34:29)

• October 1621: The Pilgrims and 90 Wampanoag feast for three days.
• Contrary to myth, it’s an informal, outdoor event with little record in colonist writings, but later generations reinterpret it as a symbol of peaceful coexistence.
  • Host, Lindsey Graham (34:00):

    “There was no long table or silverware. Instead, the Pilgrims and Indians most likely stood, squatted, or sat on the ground.”

8. Plymouth Expands: Tensions with New Arrivals (34:30 – 38:34)

• November 1621: The relief ship Fortune arrives, doubling the colony overnight but bringing no provisions.
• Governor Bradford is outraged by a letter from backers in England (“I know your weakness was the cause of it… more weakness of judgment than weakness of hands.”—37:05, quoting Thomas Weston).
• The new arrivals (mostly laborers, few Puritans) spark demographic changes and religious conflict—including the now-famous Puritan ban on Christmas festivities.
  • Reenacted exchange (38:23):
    • Bradford: “You are no longer in England… you are in Plymouth, which operates by its own God ordained rules… Everyone is expected to conform."

9. Renewed Threats & Squanto’s Scheming (38:35 – 44:20)

• Winter 1621–22: The Narragansett threaten war, sending a symbolic challenge (arrows in a rattlesnake skin).
• Plymouth responds by building fortifications; internal tensions with the new arrivals simmer.
• In spring 1622, rumors emerge of a supposed Wampanoag-Narragansett alliance to attack Plymouth—allegations sown by Squanto in pursuit of his own ambitions.
• Massasoit demands Squanto’s death, but Bradford cleverly stalls as another English ship arrives, preserving their interpreter.
• Graham’s conclusion (44:09):

  “But Bradford would soon discover that the biggest threat to the colony was not his compromised friend, but the ship entering the harbor… soon Plymouth would face its gravest challenge yet.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “They went so far as to prop the gravely ill against trees, placing muskets in their hands so that they would look like sentinels guarding the settlement.” —Lindsey Graham (04:54)
• “Welcome, Englishmen.” —Samoset’s first words to the Pilgrims (09:54)
• “He was a special instrument sent from God for our good.” —William Bradford on Squanto (24:46)
• “This is not about tolerance or freedom. It’s about right or wrong.” —Bradford rebuking new arrivals about Christmas (38:23)
• "But Bradford would soon discover that the biggest threat to the colony was not his compromised friend, but the ship entering the harbor…" —Lindsey Graham’s closing line (44:09)

Timeline & Timestamps for Key Segments

• 03:40 – Harsh winter, widespread sickness/deaths, and tension with the Mayflower crew.
• 09:00 – First contact: Samoset’s English greeting and revelations.
• 13:45 – Squanto’s background; Massasoit’s dilemma; reenacted council discussion.
• 16:08 – Negotiation and alliance formation with Massasoit.
• 22:40 – The Mayflower departs; Squanto's critical intervention in agriculture.
• 26:38 – Squanto’s kidnapping and Miles Standish’s raid.
• 31:59 – The 1621 harvest celebration: reality of the so-called “First Thanksgiving.”
• 34:29 – Arrival of the Fortune; influx of settlers; tensions with sponsors and newcomers.
• 38:23 – Puritan crackdown on Christmas; deepening internal divisions.
• 38:35 – Narragansett threats; wall construction; Squanto’s divisive maneuvers.
• 44:09 – Massasoit’s demand for Squanto’s death; approaching new crisis as another ship arrives.

Style & Tone

The episode is characterized by narrative reenactment, primary quotation, and poignant storytelling—anchored by Lindsey Graham's calm, evocative delivery. It seeks not only to relate events but to probe the conflicting motives and precarious alliances underlying one of America’s foundational myths.

Summary

“The First Thanksgiving” unearthed the grueling, uncertain, and often violent reality beneath American legend. The Pilgrims’ survival is shown to be as much the result of uneasy alliances and opportunism—on both English and Native sides—as of faith and perseverance. Squanto, once the key to Pilgrim survival, emerges as a manipulator seeking his own advantage, while Massasoit’s calculations reflect the fragile, shifting landscape of Native power post-epidemic. The “First Thanksgiving” was a brief interlude of peace in a colony wracked by adversity, internal discord, and relentless threats. As the episode closes, listeners are left aware that the Pilgrims’ future—like America’s—would be shaped as much by conflict as by cooperation.