The Real Story Behind Thanksgiving

By : Freedom Keys
http://freedomkeys.com/thanksgiving2.htm

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.

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One Meal for the Hungry

My family is used of spending Thanksgiving the most natural way. I grew up in an atmosphere of folks around talking just about anything, with food around, of course. I saw the value of one another. Most of the time we think of a new way to give thanks.

Aside from the table thanks, cards, and the biggest of the biggest turkeys, have you ever thought of sharing a little food to those who may be hungry during Thanksgiving hours? For years and years, we have been thanking God for life, based from the first Thanksgiving feast that lasted three days providing enough food for 53 pilgrims and 90 native Americans.

Let's celebrate with St. Anthony Foundation. If you would hear how the foundation is thanking you for what you have shared.

"Thanks to you our first three galas raised almost $2 million to rebuild our facilities here in the Tenderloin. Help us make the fourth annual gala a spectacular success. Join us Thursday, October 7, 2010 for an evening of great food, great wine, and lots of fun!"

“Knit 2500 scarves. By hand. By Christmas.” That’s the idea behind St. Anthony Foundation’s Holiday Scarf drive planned for this year’s Christmas Celebration. Pledge your contribution to the drive now.

Would you like to share a plate of your delicious foods and allow that plate be a part of the 36 million meals for the hungry?