The Real First Thanksgiving by Mary Stauffer    

Thanksgiving calls to mind those first Pilgrims who “undertook for the glory of God and advancement of the Christian faith . . . a voyage to plant the first colony” in America. (Mayflower Compact) That undertaking was frought with struggle. Of the 102 who set sail aboard the Mayflower in 1620, only 53 survived that first winter. While there was a harvest feast in 1621 with 90 Indians, the Pilgrims didn’t call this a “Thanksgiving,” though they gave God thanks. A Day of Thanksgiving for them would have been purely religious. (pilgrimhall.org) This came on November 29, 1623 as Governor William Bradford proclaimed a day of Thanksgiving for an abundant harvest provided by God after the Pilgrims grasped some of God’s principles and applied them to their new land.

It was after that first difficult winter that their grand and failed experiment began. As many as were able began to plant their corn in a common field, which was to be consumed for the general good of the colony. Each person was to work according to his ability and would be provided from the common storehouse according to his need. Squanto, an English-speaking Indian, came as an instrument of God’s good Providence and taught the Pilgrims how to plant and set corn so it would bear good fruit. But as harvest time approached, according to Governor Bradford, “it arose to but a little compared to what they needed for a full year’s supply.” (Bradford 211)

Here’s how Governor Bradford described the experience:

“The experience that was had in this common course and condition . . . may well evoke the high ideals of Plato and other ancients and applauded by some of later time; that taking away of property and bringing it into community for the common wealth would make them happy and flourishing; as if wiser than God. For this experiment was found to breed much confusion and discontent and slow down the work that would have been to their benefit and comfort. It well appeared that famine must still ensue the next year also, if not some way prevented. For I have heard of the discontent brought about by bringing all things into community into a common wealth. For the young men that were most able and fit for labor and service were not happy to spend their time and strength working for other men’s wives and children without compensation. Those who were strong and willing to work had no more incentive than those who were weak and not willing to do so much as a quarter of the others. Wives were expected to do service for other men, such as sewing and washing of clothes. They began to view this as a form of slavery.” (Bradford 213)

Governor Bradford rightly reasoned from Scriptures in 2 Thessalonians 3:10 that if a man does not work, neither should he eat. It was decided that every man should take care of himself and plant for himself. As the men took ownership of God’s Word, they understood that if they wanted to feed their families, they had to work.

“It made all hands very industrious, and much more corn was planted than otherwise would have been. Women and children now went into their fields to plant.” (Bradford 213) All worked hard to produce a good harvest that they may have some extra to trade or to sell and better their station in life.

After the Pilgrims aligned their principles with those of God’s Word, it looked as if they would have an abundant harvest. (www.pilgrimhall.org) But the summer brought drought that threatened the crops. So, the Pilgrims submitted to God and held a “Day of Humiliation” and prayer. The rains came and the harvest was saved. The Pilgrims saw this as a sign that God blessed their new economic system, and Governor Bradford proclaimed November 29, 1623, as a Day of Thanksgiving—the first Thanksgiving.

Our first Thanksgiving may be interpreted as an expression of gratitude to God, not only for the harvest, but for enabling the Pilgrims to grasp and apply the universal principle that produced that great harvest: Each individual is entitled to the fruits of his own labor. (thefreemanonline.org)

God’s grace provided William Bradford direction in reasoning rightly that free enterprise and the right to enjoy the profits of one’s labors makes one more productive in the end, which truly benefits the common good.

Bibliography

Bradford, William. “Plimoth Plantation Bradford’s History of the Plymouth Settlement 1608-1650.”  Hall, Verna M. “The Christian History of the Constitution of the United States of America. San Francisco: Foundation for American Christian History, 1966. 183-240

The Pilgrim Society. The Pilgrim Story. 19 September 2009

The Pilgrim Society. The First Thanksgiving at Plymouth. 18 November 2009

Foundation for Economic Education. The Freeman: Ideas on Liberty. Our First Thanksgiving. 18 November 2009