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The Real Thanksgiving Story

by Theresa Fritz Camoriano

When I was a child, I learned in school about the pilgrims, about the indians teaching them to plant corn, and about the Thanksgiving celebration.  We made turkeys out of construction paper and dressed in the hats and collars of the pilgrims; we ate turkey, corn, and cranberry sauce, but we never learned the real Thanksgiving story.  Only when I began home schooling my daughter and reading history from original sources did I learn the real lessons from the Plymouth colony. 

The pilgrims entered into the Mayflower Compact, which established a form of self-government.  However, at first, this government created an arrangement that resulted in poverty, starvation, and strife and nearly destroyed the entire colony. 

Instead of securing private property rights, the government formed a type of commune, in which the land and the crops were held in common for everyone -- the 1600's version of Marx's "from each according to his ability, to each according to his need." 

This arrangement was unsuccessful.  People resented the fact that the fruits of their labor were being given to someone else.  They did not have the incentive to work hard and to be creative and productive.  As a result, the Governor became like an overseer of slaves, pushing the people to produce, and threatening them with punishment if they did not work hard enough.  The result was discontent and starvation.  Many people died, and the survival of the entire colony was put at risk.  Here is what Governor Bradford, who governed the colony, wrote:

“For this community (so far as it was) was found to breed much confusion and discontent and retard much employment that would have been to their benefit and comfort. For the young men, that were most able and fit for labor and service, did repine that they should spend their time and strength to work for other men's wives and children without any recompense. The strong, or man of parts, had no more in division of victuals and clothes than he that was weak and not able to do a quarter the other could; this was thought injustice. The aged and graver men to be ranked and equalized in labors and victuals, clothes etc., with the meaner and younger sort, thought it some indignity and disrespect unto them. And for men's wives to be commanded to do service for other men, as dressing their meat, washing their clothes, etc., they deemed it a kind of slavery, neither could many husbands well brook it. Upon the point all being to have alike, and all to do alike, they thought themselves in the like condition, and one as good as another; and so, if it did not cut off those relations that God hath set amongst men, yet it did at least much diminish and take off the mutual respects that should be preserved amongst them.”

  (It should be noted that the Virginia colony encountered a similar problem.)

Governor Bradford finally decided to secure private property rights, assigning a parcel of land to each family and respecting the right of each family to keep what it produced.  This proved to be very successful.  Again, from Governor Bradford's writings:

“So they began to think how they might raise as much corn as they could, and obtain a better crop than they had done, that they might not still thus languish in misery. At length, after much debate of things, the Governor (with the advice of the chiefest amongst them) gave way that they should set corn every man for his own particular, and in that regard trust to themselves; in all other thing to go on in the general way as before. And so assigned to every family a parcel of land, according to the proportion of their number, for that end, only for present use (but made no division for inheritance) and ranged all boys and youth under some family. This had very good success, for it made all hands very industrious, so as much more corn was planted than otherwise would have been by any means the Governor or any other could use, and saved him a great deal of trouble, and gave far better content. The women now went willingly into the field, and took their little ones with them to set corn; which before would allege weakness and inability; whom to have compelled would have been thought great tyranny and oppression.”

So the American colonists learned very early that socialism or communism was the path to languishing "in misery", and capitalism or respect for private property was the path to prosperity.  Not only that, but people were happier.  They learned that even government force cannot make people productive.  Only people who are free, and who reap the fruits of their labor, have the incentive to push themselves to work and produce to their full capacity.  The capitalist system also preserved "the mutual respects" among people so that, instead of quarrelling among themselves, they were working industriously and were cooperating with each other.  From that point on, the colony prospered.  Fortunately, the founders of this country embraced private property rights and capitalism, fueling the freedom and success that have made this country a great place to live.

Over the years, this same experiment has been repeated and has continued to have the same results -- from the capitalist successes in the U.S. and Hong Kong to the communist failures in Russia, China, and Cuba.  The communal system, which is touted as being caring and compassionate, results in misery, poverty, and strife, while the capitalist, private property system, which many characterize as a system of greed, results in prosperity, cooperation, and good will. 

Human nature has not changed over the centuries.  While small family units can succeed in a shared, communal property arrangement, due to their mutual affection and familial bonds, this arrangement cannot work for a large society, even for a society as small as the Plymouth colony. 

Too bad we still haven't learned the lesson.  Having a self-government, like our democracy or like the government established by the Mayflower Compact, does not ensure that the government will respect the people.  Today, our politicians from both parties accelerate the plunder of productive people to give to those who do not produce -- seeking to buy votes and to repeat the failed Plymouth colony experiment under such benign-sounding programs as “universal health care” and “smart growth”.  This Thanksgiving, as you gather around the dinner table with your family and friends to give thanks, while you are sharing the turkey and cranberry sauce, I hope you will also share the real Thanksgiving story.  Maybe this time we will finally learn. 

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