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Thanksgiving fare shows nation’s pluralism, diversity

JASON ENGELHART/Herald photo

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by Jason Engelhart

Thursday, November 15, 2007

In just one week, families across the country will sit down to a gigantic afternoon meal of turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole and a variety of other side dishes. To the excitement of many and the consternation of some, families will gather for Thanksgiving, a uniquely American holiday.

At this time of year, many writers examine historical topics such as whether or not what Americans eat today is more or less what the colonists ate at the first Thanksgiving in 1621. Another common topic is the true nature of the relationship between British colonists and Native Americans at the first Thanksgiving. Speculation abounds over whether or not the pilgrims or colonists even ate together in the first place.

These questions are certainly interesting, but they tell us little about our society today. The dishes on the first Thanksgiving table were a product of seasonal and regional availability, and the nature of interactions between Native Americans and white settlers, although very significant, is far too complex to be gleaned from merely one event.

However, there are other elements of the history of Thanksgiving that reflect the peculiar nature of our national identity. Specifically, the foods we eat on the day show we derive identity from both national and local sources.

The first presidential proclamation of the Thanksgiving holiday came from Abraham Lincoln in 1863, in the midst of our nation's bloody Civil War. During a conflict characterized by factionalism, Lincoln's proclamation of the holiday hearkened back to an event that would come to define the United States' national identity.

Aside from turkey, one food that represents the national nature of Thanksgiving cuisine is the green bean casserole. Invented in 1955 by a Campbell Soup Company home economist named Dorcas Reilly, the dish is a marriage of technological innovation and a zeal for convenience characteristic of the 1950s in the United States. The use of a canned food showed a decreased enthusiasm for seasonal eating and created a vegetable side dish that would unite the country. Because of the national branding, shelf-stable ingredients could be shipped all over the U.S., and the Thanksgiving Day green bean casserole had the potential to become part of the fabric of our nation. With more than 20 million households enjoying this dish on the holiday, it has done just that.

The foods of the Thanksgiving table, however, are hardly homogeneous. Side dishes vary from region to region and even family to family. From the shellfish of the Northeast to the cornbread dressing of the South, Thanksgiving foods show a good deal of geographical variation.

Furthermore, some groups in society incorporate their ethnic heritage into the holiday. This Nov. 22, tables will hold side dishes influenced by African-American, Mexican-American and Jewish-American cuisine, among a host of other traditions.

Even individual families have their own peculiar culinary traditions that have nothing to do with regional or ethnic differences. In my own home, for example, Thanksgiving would not be complete without the personal-size walnut pie baked exclusively for my pecan-allergic uncle.

The variation in Thanksgiving foods is a reminder of our nation's incredible diversity and rich history. In these days of green bean casserole and the Macy's Day Parade, it is easy to forget that we are an enormous nation of diverse states, tastes and ethnic identities.

As Thomas Jefferson astutely points out in his autobiography, the size of the United States necessitates a partial devolution of power to local control: "Were we directed from Washington when to sow, and when to reap, we should soon want bread. It is by this partition of cares, descending in gradation from general to particular, that the mass of human affairs may be best managed for the good and prosperity of all."

Although the choice of what to eat on Thanksgiving is hardly comparable to policy decisions, the local element of the foods parallels the nature of our society, just as the federal system of government does.

Any calendar in the United States will tell you Thanksgiving is a national holiday; however, it may be more precise to refer to it as a federal holiday. In our wide and diverse nation, the foods on the Thanksgiving table celebrate our national, regional, ethnic and familial identities.

Jason Engelhart is a senior majoring and history and economics. If you would like to talk mashed potatoes, gravy, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, stuffing, wild rice, squash, sweet potatoes or even just turkey with him, send an e-mail to jengelhart@badgerherald.com.

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Anonymous (November 20, 2007 @ 9:37pm):

THANK YOU for this article. We're studying modern day T-giving traditions in our home school and were so glad to FINALLy find an article that was pertinent!
DRA4

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