The First Thanksgiving, 1621 by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris. Public Domain.
**Previously Recorded by Phyllis Schlafly**
Thanksgiving is the unique American feast day. President George Washington issued the first Thanksgiving Proclamation, stating that “it is the duty of all nations to aclmowledge the Providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection
and favor.” Beginning with Abraham Lincoln, every U.S. President has issued a Proclamation calling on Americans to dedicate a Thursday in November to give thanks to God.
When the Pilgrims came to the New World to escape religious persecution, and landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620, the weather was harsh and the crop yields were poor. The Pilgrims brought with them from England a practice knows as “farming in common.” Everything they produced was put into a common pool, and the harvest was rationed among them according to need. This system didn’t work because there were no incentives to produce.
After the Pilgrims endured near-starvation for three winters, Governor William Bradford decided to experiment with a new system. In the spring of 1623, he marked off a plot of land for each family, so that every man would have his own plot. The results were miraculous. According to Governor Bradford’s written account, “This had very good success; for it 1nade all hands very industrious, … much more corn was planted than would have been by any [other] means … and gave far better [results].” The women went willingly into the field. Those who previously claimed they were too old or
ill to work embraced the idea of private property and enjoyed the fruits of their labor. The Pilgrims enjoyed a bountiful harvest in the fall of 1623 and set aside a day to thank God for their good fortune.
Governor Bradford’s last entry in his history was in 1647. He wrote, “Any general want or famine hath not been amongst (us) to this day.” The Pilgrims had discovered that respect for private property produces abundance. Private property is the reason why America is almost the only nation in history that has never suffered a famine.
This post originally appeared at https://phyllisschlafly.com/constitution/religious-liberty/why-the-pilgrims-had-a-bountiful-harvest/
Ryan Hite