Thanksgiving is really the holiday that made the other American holidays possible.
Were it not for the Pilgrims having courage, absolute faith in their cause and calling, and the willingness to sacrifice and risk everything, they never would have attempted to cross a vast ocean on the 94-foot Mayflower, a ship of questionable seaworthiness.
The Thanksgiving holiday, which commemorates one part of the Pilgrim story, remains the favorite holiday for many Americans.
It's about not only enjoying a feast, but our history of having successfully passed through troubled times.
It's worth reviewing the pilgrim's five significant achievements, which created the American story.
A saga revealing remarkable insight into our character, and, how we need to overcome our challenges of today.
First, the Pilgrims were singularly motivated by a spiritual quest for religious freedom —one having its origin in the Protestant Reformation, a century before.
William Bradford, the long-serving governor of Plymouth Colony and author of "Of Plymouth Plantation" (c.1630–1651), repeatedly framed the pilgrims' voyage and settlement in explicitly biblical terms.
Bradford drew parallels to the Israelites' exodus from Egypt to the promised land.
Thus, both American Christians and Jews find profound meaning in the pilgrims' Thanksgiving story.
Atlantic passage on the Mayflower meant facing fear, hunger from spoiled and/or depleted provisions, and anxiety inevitably arising from moving to a new land.
The pilgrims' exit from the Virginia Company charter territory brought murmurs of mutiny. It was at this time, when the pilgrims made their second major achievement, one shaping the future of America.
The pilgrim leaders supporting William Bradford recognized that Mayflower passengers, diverse as they were, needed to maintain unity to survive.
So, off the Cape Cod coast they drafted a governing agreement which would be acceptable to both their Christian brethren and the secular crew members and merchant adventurers — comprising approximately half the 102 people aboard the Mayflower.
Thus, the Mayflower Compact — provided for security, equality, and democratic decision-making for everyone in their anticipated settlement.
With every man aboard signing the Mayflower Compact the pilgrims established the foundation for democratic self-government, one based on the people's will — for the first time.
Thus, the laying cornerstone of the U.S. Constitution effectively occurred.
Although the Pilgrims all survived the squalid and cramped ship quarters during their dangerous crossing, their fate changed once they found suitable land for settlement ("New Plymouth"), in December of 1620.
Their first winter was frigid and devastating, with illness afflicting most and over half of the pilgrims dying.
The fate of the Pilgrim colonists would surely have been more difficult had they not settled in in what is now Plymouth, Massachusetts, adjacent to friendly natives, the Pokanoket Indians.
They were part of the Wampanoag tribe and led by chief Massasoit.
By God's grace, there were two Indians present (Squanto and Samose) who spoke English, thanks to prior interaction with the British.
As a result, the pilgrims learned survival skills: hunting, fishing, crop planting (inclusive of crop types unknown to the English) - corn, squash, and bean varieties)
It was Squanto who made possible the Pilgrims' third major achievement, the Pilgrim-Wampanoag Peace Treaty (April 1, 1621), by Massasoit and leaders of the Plymouth colony. That agremeent lasted more than 50 years.
The Virginia Company Charter, under which the Pilgrims lived, called for settlement farmland to be owned, worked, and harvested to be equally shared.
This socialist common property approach created disincentives to work.
William Bradford recorded in his memoirs that while "slackers showed up late for work . . . everybody was happy to claim their equal share . . . and production only shrank."
The Pilgrims wanted to give thanks for that first meager harvest and their survival, so they invited Massasoit to celebrate a thanksgiving to God. It was good that Massasoit brought almost twice more of his tribesmen than the 50-odd Mayflower survivor hosts, for they brought five dear, fish, and game of all kinds, and of course, turkeys — enough for a three day celebration - and even a military parade by Myles Standish.
The Pilgrims’ fourth major achievement was the rejection of socialism and the adoption of private enterprise. After the meager Thanksgiving harvest, the second season of disappointing harvest, Gov. Bradford had seen enough, recording that the system "was found to breed much confusion and discontent and retard much [production]."
So, he scrapped socialist farming and replaced it with private ownership of land for each of the families.
The result?
Pilgrims' productivity surged with plenty to eat and trade.
The fifth factor that distinguished the Pilgrims was their Christian relational behavior, which enabled them to keep harmony within their diverse community and serve and help the Indians.
In March of 1623, Massasoit was dying from an unknown illness.
Senior Pilgrim elder Edward Winslow immediately set out and walked some 40 miles to administer medicinal broth, natural herbs, and prayers to Massasoit.
Astonishingly, upon making a full recovery within three days, Massasoit remarked, "Now I see the English are my friends and love me; and whilst I live, I will never forget this kindness they have showed me."
We've seen how the pilgrims' five achievements and the qualities of character making them exemplary are needed more now than ever.
A contemporary Thanksgiving "makeover" should absolutely be comprised of gratitude, as well as a commitment to developing the faith to hold on to a vision of a "promised land," in the face of all adversity.
To:
—Go against the crowd.
—Defend the truth.
—Being willing to endure hardship.
—Defer instant gratification
—Revitalize respect for and tolerance of people of different beliefs; and . . .
—Renew the predisposition to extend appreciation, love and assistance at every appropriate opportunity.
Scott Powell is senior fellow at Discovery Institute. This article is a vignette out of his latest acclaimed book, "Rediscovering America," which has been a #1 new release in history for eight straight weeks at Amazon. Reach him at scottp@discovery.org. Read Scott Powell's Reports — More Here.
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