BackStory - American as Pumpkin Pie: A History of Thanksgiving
From: BackStory with the American History Guys
Length: 00:54:00
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Piece Description
When we sit down to Thanksgiving dinner, we think we know what we're commemorating. After all, the story of Pilgrims and Indians breaking bread together is one of the first history lessons many of us had. But if an actual Pilgrim were to attend your Thanksgiving dinner, chances are he'd be stunned, and not a little disgusted, by what transpired there. On this holiday edition of BackStory, the History Guys search for the true roots of Thanksgiving. They discover that the holiday we celebrate today begins not with the Pilgrims, but with the Victorians, who in the midst of the Civil War sought a national holiday honoring home and family. But did Thanksgiving strengthen the Union, as its proponents had hoped? What relation do Indians have to the holiday in reality - and in myth? And what does football have to do with any of it?
Highlights include:
* Historian James McWilliams explains why the Puritans would have turned up their noses at the Thanksgiving foods we consider most traditional.
* Legendary NFL quarterback Roger Staubach describes what it was like to spend every Thanksgiving on the football field.
* Religion scholar Anne Blue Wills discusses the life of Sarah Hale, the 19th century magazine editor who waged a 30-year campaign to make Thanksgiving a holiday.
* BackStory listeners - including experts on the pardoning and the roasting of turkey - weigh in with their thoughts on the holiday.
Broadcast History
Airs on three stations in Virginia
Timing and Cues
SHOW RUNDOWN
00:00 – 00:59 BILLBOARD
IC: From VFH Radio in Charlottesville, Virginia, this is Backstory.
OC: First, this news.
01:00 – 05:59 NEWS HOLE
06:00 – 18:59 SEG A
IC: This is Backstory, with us, the American History Guys.
OC: We’ll be back in a minute.
6:00-14:32 From Pilgrims to Pigskin
20th Century Guy Brian Balogh interviews legendary Dallas Cowboys’ quarterback Roger Staubach about playing on Thanksgiving, and the History Guys reflect on the place of football and commercialism in the holiday.
14:33-18:59 Listener Calls
Backstory listeners join the Guys on the phone with their questions about the history of Thanksgiving.
19:00 – 19:59 STATION BREAK 1 (MUSIC BED)
20:00 – 39:59 SEG B
IC: This is Backstory. I’m Peter Onuf.
OC: ….and an anonymous donor.
20:00 – 24:16 Listener Calls
24:17 – 38:59 Thanksgiving’s Victorian Roots
19th Century Guy Ed Ayers interviews religion scholar Anne Blue Wills about the invention of Thanksgiving by a Civil War-era magazine editor.
39:00 – 39:59 STATION BREAK 2 (MUSIC BED)
40:00 – 59:00 SEG C
IC: This is Backstory. I’m Peter Onuf.
OC: …at the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities
40:00 – 45:22 Thanksgiving in Colonial Virginia
On a visit to Colonial Williamsburg, the History Guys hear stories about caterpillar plagues… and turkey bones.
45:22 – 53:21 The Original Feast
18th Century Guy Peter Onuf interviews historian James McWilliams about why the Puritan settlers would have been disgusted by the very Thanksgiving foods we consider most traditional.
53:22 – 57:33 Listener Calls
57:48 – 58:59 PRODUCTION/FUNDING CREDITS
*************************************
Contact: Producer, Tony Field (434) 924-8922, tfield@virginia.edu
Related Website
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VIICKYY WADE
Posted on November 14, 2011 at 07:28 PM | Permalink
WHAT I LIKED
I LIKE HOW HE SAID THEY DIDNT HAVE TO CHOOSE WEATHER THEY WANTED WHITE MEAT OR DARK MEAT