The True Meaning of Thanksgiving

In discussing the origin and meaning of the thanksgiving holiday we may exclude references to the historically documented Spanish celebration of thanksgiving (in modern day Florida) back in 1565 or the Canadian story about Martin Frobisher’s arrival in Newfoundland in 1578, or the we-gotta-have-our-own-version Frenchmen who landed in modern day Quebec some time in the early 17th century, all on grounds that when we celebrate thanksgiving today we tend to think of the traditional story of the pilgrims in the colonies of Virginia and Massachusetts (1619-1623)...the Plymouth Plantation, etc.  I don’t remember the last time I celebrated the holiday eating fish or loading my potatoes up with garlic and singing dorme vu.  The Wikipedia says, “The holiday is meant to honor the "First Thanksgiving", which was a harvest feast held in Plymouth in 1621, first recorded in the book New England's Memorial, written by Nathaniel Morton, secretary of Plymouth Colony and nephew of Governor William Bradford.”  But there is an important aspect to the origin of the holiday unknown to people today much as it was to the illegal immigrants who first landed at plymouth rock: the reason behind the thanks in thanksgiving.

After all, it’s not as if the bounty fell out of the sky.

Contemporary historians like to depict North America at that time as having a natural abundance of all things.  Yet, economics professor Gary Galles notes that, “Sixty-six of Jamestown's initial 104 colonists died within six months, most from famine. Only 60 out of 500 arrivals two years later survived that long. The consequences of this "starving time" included cannibalism. Plymouth's first colonists fared little better, with only about half surviving six months. Some, in desperation, sold their clothes and blankets to, or became servants of, Indians.”

Thomas DiLorenzo, an economist and one of my favorite historical revisionists, notes in his excellent book about how Capitalism Saved America that the “settlers originally adopted communal ownership of land and property, and as a result most of them starved to death or died of disease –a problem endured in later centuries by virtually every communist country that adopted collectivized agriculture.”

Plymouth’s Governor William Bradford observed back then that, “The experience that was had in this common course and condition, tried sundry years and that amongst godly and sober men, may well evince the vanity of that conceit of Plato's and other ancients applauded by some of later times; that the taking away of property and bringing in community into a commonwealth would make them happy and flourishing; as if they were wiser than God. 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.”  It is difficult for me to fathom the celebratory spirit of the holiday originating in the condition that the colonies were in before William Bradford abandoned the communal property system.

The Wikipedia notes that,

“For its first two-and-a-half years, the economy of Plymouth Plantation took the form of a communal system. There was neither private property nor division of labor. Food was grown for the town and distributed equally.”  And that, “By 1623, facing starvation Plymouth Plantation's leaders took another course. Upon allotting private land plots it is evident that productivity increased.”

According to Governor Bradford, “And so assigned to every family a parcel of land, according to the proportion of the number, for that end, only for present use and ranged all boys and youth under some family. This had very good success, for it made all hands 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 & oppression.”

So ended the New World's first experiment with a socialist-style economy, ends the Wikipedia section on the economy of plymouth.

The religious might divine their own reasons to give thanks on thanksgiving but it is obvious to where the thanks truly belongs: the market system based on private property of the means of production, which rained abundance and plenty upon the colonies.

It could be said that the free market solution then was perhaps the New World’s first successful experiment with capitalism.

The colonists chose an unequal share in prosperity over an equal share in misery, and yet everyone was happier.

We need only extend this knowledge to all industry and we would soon find that war and depression disappeared, and the world would live happily ever after...abundance would rain upon our children.  They would have to work less hard than you.

Instead, today, as Gary Galles writes, “we demand a cornucopia of laws and regulations that increasingly throttle the private-property rights that are [society’s] essential foundation. Therefore, we must relearn the history lesson taught by America's first successful colonies — that if we continue to choke off our engine of prosperity, future Thanksgivings will give us far less to celebrate.”

Undoubtedly that is already true of this year’s celebration relative to others in our past.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Ed Bugos

Senior Analyst



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