Thanksgiving fun

[Johnny Dangerously]

[Johnny Dangerously]

The Real Story Behind Thanksgiving
Did you know that the first [Plymouth Colony Pilgrim's] Thanksgiving was a celebration of the triumph of private property and individual initiative? William Bradford was the governor of the original Pilgrim colony, founded at Plymouth in 1621. The colony was first organized on a communal basis, as their financiers required. Land was owned in common. The Pilgrims farmed communally, too, following the "from each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs" precept.
The results were disastrous. Communism didn't work any better 400 years ago than it does today. By 1623, the colony had suffered serious losses. Starvation was imminent.
Bradford realized that the communal system encouraged and rewarded waste and laziness and inefficiency, and destroyed individual initiative. Desperate, he abolished it. He distributed private plots of land among the surviving Pilgrims, encouraging them to plant early and farm as individuals, not collectively.
The results: a bountiful early harvest that saved the colonies. After the harvest, the Pilgrims celebrated with a day of Thanksgiving -- on August 9th.
Unfortunately, William Bradford's diaries -- in which he recorded the failure of the collectivist system and the triumph of private enterprise -- were lost for many years. When Thanksgiving was later made a national holiday, the present November date was chosen. And the lesson the Pilgrims so painfully learned was, alas, not made a part of the holiday.
Happily, Bradford's diaries were later rediscovered. They're available today in paperback. They tell the real story of Thanksgiving -- how private property and individual initiative saved the Pilgrims.
This Thanksgiving season, one of the many things I'm thankful for is our free market system (imperfectly realized as it is). And I'm also grateful that there are increasing numbers of Americans who are learning the importance of free markets, and who are working to replace government coercion with marketplace cooperation here in America and around the world.


Paul Schmidt






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[Alloy Dave]

Originally Posted by Johnny Lupara

..weather's starting to get cold and crappy around here; maybe time for a road trip.....

Go visit Joe.

[Joe G]

Originally Posted by Alloy Dave

Go visit Joe.

And what's wrong with that?!?



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[rpretzel]

Originally Posted by Darkside

OK you smartasses, its a freakin' typo for pete's sake. That is what I get for posting with a few drinks in me. For the record, my degree is in History, NOT in English.

If I would have had any marketable talent, I would not have had to join the Army after college.

Good to see another Historian in the house. Both the first lady and I have degrees in History...neither of us work anywhere near the history field.

[Darkside]

Originally Posted by rpretzel

Good to see another Historian in the house. Both the first lady and I have degrees in History...neither of us work anywhere near the history field.

I find the best use for my History degree is my ability to dominte at trivia games and TV game shows.

[rpretzel]

Originally Posted by Darkside

I find the best use for my History degree is my ability to dominte at trivia games and TV game shows.

Funny...my worst category in Trivial Pursuit is History. A lot a good that degree did me. Too much beer, I guess. My whole college career is pretty much a blur. I kick but in Science & Nature and work in finance. I've always been a closet theoretical physicist.