This is a Updated Version of the Annual Thanksgiving Post

The traditional thanksgiving story as taught in schools across the United States goes something like this:

The poor helpless Pilgrims came to the New World wholly unprepared for the harsh winters and totally ignorant on how to get food to grow in the soils of this new land.  After nearly starving to death the first winter a kind Native American named Squanto showed them how to plant corn and to use fish as fertilizer. The result was a bountiful crop that was able to supply all their needs. In gratitude they had a feast and invited the natives to share in a day of Thanksgiving.

It is a beautiful tale that most Americans know well. The fact that it is mostly a fairy tale has not diminished its popularity. The truth of the first Thanksgivings are a story as compelling as the fairy tale version but lesser known. The true story is a story of triumph over adversity and has a moral too.

The story of the first American Thanksgiving

In 1620 a band of travelers left their homelands for good, risking all for a chance at freedom. With both anticipation and foreboding, they boarded a ship called the Mayflower for the long journey to a new world and a new life. Due to circumstances beyond their control, the journey had left later in the year than they had anticipated and most sailors would have considered wise. When they arrived a harsh Little Ice Age winter was nearly upon them. Ill timed in their arrival and ill prepared for the tasks ahead of them, they faced a daunting future. In a location north of where they planned to arrive and with no time left to sail down the coast, they went to work finding and cordoning off an area for settlement. Slipshod housing and storage sheds were built just in time to shield them from the heavy snows and bitter cold. To make matters worse the supplies they had on hand were far too meager to last the long cold winter ahead.

On top of the enormous challenges that faced the Pilgrims, the group was far from harmonious. The fact was they had nearly mutinied before even sitting feet in the new world. The compact of rules they ended up agreeing on was all that kept them from ending their adventure before it even started. Now, with winter upon them, that compact would be stretched to the limit. As food was rationed hoarding and fighting over the sparse provisions became rampant. Later the Pilgrims would find themselves ravaged by hunger and disease. A harsher winter the small group of settlers could not have imagined. When spring arrived the final toll on the group was horrendous, of the original 102 souls landing at Plymouth Rock nearly half had died.

Determined to get the group back on its feet, William Bradford, the Governor, went to work trying to organize the weak and disheartened group into a single working unit. No private property was allowed per their sponsors instructions. The plantation was to be a cooperative, the new worlds first working commune. Each member was assigned tasks that were to benefit the group as a whole. The plan was for all food that they grew, furs they trapped and provisions they gathered, were to be shared by all after the sponsor’s share had been separated out.

The results of the pilgrims labors at end of the first summer was disappointing to say the least. The food stores meant to get them through the winter fell far short of what was needed. There was a justified fear of the coming winter and William Bradford had to have the storage sheds locked up and fortified against food riots. The reason for the poor harvest and insufficient provisions was clear enough. Throughout the summer there had been grumblings about some being lazy and living off the backs of the others. They felt if they worked hard it was as if they were being “slaves” to the wants of their neighbors. The result was the pace of work was set by the the laziest and most slothful among them.

Even with another harsh winter upon them and stores low, the Pilgrims would not abandoned their traditions and Christian faith. Following the European tradition, they prepared to have a harvest festival and feast. The men went out and shot deer and fowl, the women gathered what they could, and a feast was prepared. As in the legend, members of the local tribes were invited.

Soon after the feast was finished, the Pilgrims were facing famine again. As there was not enough food to make it through the winter all were placed on half rations. By the grace of God and their rationing of the thin supplies the Pilgrims survived their second winter without the death and disease of their first, but nonetheless they were starving by the time spring arrived.

The summer of 1622 was a repeat of the previous one, with the group being short on those willing to labor for the common good. When harvest time arrived the Pilgrims found themselves only meagerly better off then they had been the previous year.

After passing another long and hungry winter Governor Bradford had seen enough. The Pilgrims were barely surviving after two summers and 60 more settlers were scheduled to arrive in late summer. That meant they would need enough supplies to feed themselves and 60 more mouths! The terrifying truth was that another substandard harvest would likely mean mass starvation and loss of the settlement.

In the spring of 1623 Bradford declared the cooperative arrangement was over, from then on each each family would be responsible for their own welfare. Lots were assigned and people were told what they grew is what they would eat. As Bradford would later comment, the transformation was dramatic. Industry flourished as people worked sun up to sun down and got as much as possible from their plots of land.

When the fall of 1623 came the harvest was spectacular. Instead of meager supplies that would of meant a daunting winter there was plenty for all. Even more remarkable, is the fact beyond the bountiful harvest of food the Pilgrims had managed to grow a substantial amount of cash crops like tobacco too! The first two years the Pilgrims were thankful just to be alive. The harvest of the third year they were finally able to give thanks for a bountiful harvest and look forward to a future filled with promise. The fact is after the fall of 1623 the Pilgrims would never again face starvation.

Today most remember that first celebration of 1621. True it was a emotional one, they had lost nearly half their numbers the previous winter and the future was bleak. Although little is written about the harvest feast of 1623, it certainly was more joyous than the first. Not only were they not facing starvation for the first time, but they had been joined by old friends too. For the future country that would sprout from these hearty souls and those that followed, the harvest of 1623 holds a special meaning. It was at this celebration that the promise of this new land was revealed. It was also showed the triumph of capitalism and individual effort that would one day make of this land the most bountiful place on earth.

As far as Squanto, he was a real man with a compelling story all his own.  A English speaking native Indian who had spent some years in Europe, he befriended the Pilgrims. The fact that they had been forced to land by circumstance in the one place that had a English speaking native that was familiar with their ways, must of seemed like divine providence (and probably was). Squanto did help the Pilgrims in many ways. While he did introduce them to Indian corn, a stable of the local tribes, that was not what made him a blessing to the newcomers. His greatest contribution to the Pilgrim’s survival was his ability to negotiate. Through him the Pilgrims were able to trade with the local population and set up alliances. It was because of his efforts the Pilgrims relationship with the local inhabitants was mostly peaceful and fruitful. In fact it would not be until after this first generation was gone that any true conflicts with the natives would arise at the Plymouth settlement.

Undeniably the true account of those first Thanksgivings is much more compelling and inspiring than the fairy tale version. A story of endurance, trials and triumph that would be played out over and over again as the colonies and then the United States grew. This is the true Thanksgiving story, a story that is an inspirational part of American history.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

“The Conservative Mind”

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