GordonUnleashed

The Thanksgiving Story Hillary Doesn’t Want You to Know

November 21st, 2007 by Steve

As we spend time with friends and family members this holiday weekend, it might be nice to reflect on a generally overlooked portion of the history of our celebration of Thanksgiving.

I’m not referring to the government-issued textbook version of Pilgrims and Native Americans sharing, but about the evils of socialism.  Here’s an excerpt from an article which covers some important history which should be taught in schools around the country, but sadly isn’t:

The Pilgrims’ unhappiness was caused by their system of common property (not adopted, as often asserted, from their religious convictions, but required against their will by the colony’s sponsors). The fruits of each person’s efforts went to the community, and each received a share from the common wealth. This caused severe strains among the members, as Colony Governor William Bradford recorded:

” . . . the young men . . . did repine that they should spend their time and strength to work for other men’s wives and children without any recompense. The strong . . . had not more in division . . . 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 . . . thought it some indignity and disrespect unto them. And the 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.”

Bradford summarized the effects of their common property system:

“For this community of property (so far as it went) was found to breed much confusion and discontentment and retard much employment that would have been to their benefit and comfort . . . all being to have alike, and all to do alike . . . 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.”

How did the Pilgrims move from this dysfunctional system to the situation we try to emulate in our family gatherings? In the spring of 1623, they decided to let people produce for their own benefit:

“All their victuals were spent . . . no supply was heard of, neither knew they when they might expect any. 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 . . . the Governor (with the advice of the chiefest among them) gave way that they should set corn every man for his own particular, and in that regard trust to themselves. . . . And so assigned to every family a parcel of land . . . “

As you’ve certainly guessed by now, the abundance of crops stemming from a free market system combined with property ownership led to the first Thanksgiving celebration.  In other words, the Pilgrims found failure with the sorts of policies which Hillary Clinton (or Mitt Romney or any of the other central planners) will impose on you.  They found success by using more of a Ron Paul approach.

This Thanksgiving, let’s reflect on this forgotten footnote to history — and then act on it during the primary elections.

Posted in History, Bad Democrats, Culture, Ron Paul, Libertarian Movement

One Response to “The Thanksgiving Story Hillary Doesn’t Want You to Know”

1. Rich Paul wrote on 11/22/07 at 11:07 pm :

   Wonderful!

TrackBack URI

Leave a Reply