Thankful for the Easy Killings

From The Real Story of Thanksgiving by Susan Bates:

"In 1637 ... over 700 men, women and children of the Pequot Tribe had gathered for their annual Green Corn Festival which is our Thanksgiving celebration. In the predawn hours the sleeping Indians were surrounded by ... mercenaries who ordered them to come outside. Those who came out were shot or clubbed to death while the terrified women and children who huddled inside the longhouse were burned alive. The next day the governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony declared "A Day Of Thanksgiving" ...

"Cheered by their "victory", the brave colonists ... attacked village after village ...

"Following an especially successful raid against the Pequot ... the churches announced a second day of "thanksgiving" to celebrate victory ...

"The killings became more and more frenzied, with days of thanksgiving feasts being held after each successful massacre. George Washington finally suggested that only one day of Thanksgiving per year be set aside instead of celebrating each and every massacre. ..."