Tag: Thanksgiving Day

In addition to gracious help from Indians, what moved the Pilgrims from starving to thriving?

The first winter for the Pilgrims was terrible. Between starvation, pneumonia, and tuberculosis, about half died.

The second winter was terrible, again with little food. Those who survived the first two winters only did so by the goodness of the Native Americans who graciously shared their food.

The third winter was far better, with plenty of food. In a few years, there was enough abundance that the Pilgrims had paid off their debt to those who financed their trip. They were alive, thriving, and free of debt.

Those are a few highlights of the Pilgrims’ story told by Karl Denninger in his article from 2006, which is reposted at Market-Ticker:  The Truth About Thanksgiving.

What caused the change from starving to thriving is the part of the story I never heard growing up.

Continue reading “In addition to gracious help from Indians, what moved the Pilgrims from starving to thriving?”

Happy Thanksgiving! – “The true patron of this holiday feast – property rights”

The story of how the Pilgrims went from starving to plenty that I didn’t hear in school. In William Bradford’s own words:

 

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=66QdQErc8JQ#t=135]

Continue reading “Happy Thanksgiving! – “The true patron of this holiday feast – property rights””

Under what economic model did the pilgrims almost starve? What different economic model allowed them to thrive?

Here’s the arrangement the Pilgrims used when they first landed:

“Although they planted household gardens almost from the start, they collectivized initial field and livestock operations. The settlers had some agricultural successes, but they were unable to grow corn in their common field. Within six months of reaching Plymouth, almost one-half of the population had perished from disease.

That’s a quote from Professor Robert Ellickson in Prof. Don Boudreaux’s article The Pilgrims’ economic progress.

A collectivized farming system didn’t work too well.  Starvation was the result.

So, they changed their plans: Continue reading “Under what economic model did the pilgrims almost starve? What different economic model allowed them to thrive?”