Constructing the American Feast: A Political, Cultural, and Culinary Biography of Thanksgiving: Uncovering the layered, contested history of America's most beloved holiday

"Constructing the American Feast" traces Thanksgiving's evolution from Indigenous harvest ceremonies through the 1621 Plymouth gathering, examining how the holiday was transformed by 19th-century politics, Sarah Josepha Hale's thirty-six-year campaign, Lincoln's wartime nationalism, and the 1939 Franksgiving controversy.

This comprehensive biography reveals how the standard turkey-and-pie menu was invented in the 1800s, how Catholic and Southern colonial precedents were deliberately erased from national memory, and how the National Day of Mourning emerged as a powerful Indigenous counter-observance.

Perfect for readers who enjoy accessible academic history, American cultural studies, and myth-busting narratives. A revelatory deep dive into how America's "most beloved" holiday became a site of contested national identity.

thanksgiving history | American cultural history | revisionist history | Indigenous perspectives | colonial America | holiday origins | food history | American mythology | Pilgrim history | Native American studies