Tag Archives: Samoset

How The Pilgrims Succeeded

Posted on by
Reply

As someone who lived in New England for 45 years, the thought of coming to Massachusetts in November without the luxuries of central heating and indoor plumbing is horrifying. But somehow the Pilgrims survived. I recently posted the story of Samoset and Squanto (article here), but there was another aspect to the survival of the Pilgrims–private property rights.

On Sunday, John Stossel posted the following at Hot Air:

As we gather this Thanksgiving, it’s easy to take abundance for granted.

        Leftovers are practically guaranteed.

It wasn’t always this way.

For most of history, there were no Thanksgiving feasts. Hunger, if not starvation, was the norm.

Today, supermarkets are stocked with exotic foods from all over the world. Most of it is more affordable than ever. Even after President Joe Biden’s 8% inflation, Americans spend less than 12% of our income on food, half of what they spent 100 years ago

Why?

Because free markets happened. Capitalism happened.

When there is rule of law and private property, and people feel secure that no thief or government will take their property, farmers find new ways to grow more on less land. Greedy entrepreneurs lower costs and deliver goods faster. Consumers have better options.

Yet today many Americans trash capitalism, demanding government “fixes” to make sure everyone gets equal amounts of this and that.

But it’s in countries with the most government intervention where there are empty store shelves and hungrier people.

The article recounts some early American history:

This week, we celebrate the Pilgrims, who learned this lesson the hard way.

When they first landed in America, they tried communal living. The harvest was shared equally. That seemed fair.

But it failed miserably. A few Pilgrims worked hard, but others didn’t, claiming “weakness and inability,” as William Bradford, the governor of the colony, put it.

They nearly starved.

Desperate, Bradford tried another approach. “Every family,” he wrote, “was assigned a parcel of land.”

Private property! Capitalism! Suddenly, more pilgrims worked hard.

Of course they did. Now they got to keep what they made.

Bradford wrote, “It made all hands very industrious.”

He spelled out the lesson “The failure of this experiment of communal service, which was tried for several years, and by good and honest men proves the emptiness of the theory … taking away of private property, and the possession of it in community … would make a state happy and flourishing.”

The free market works–crony capitalism does not. It will be the job of the Trump administration to restore the free market economy and end crony capitalism. It won’t be easy, and they may not be able to complete the job, but we need them to begin.

One Person Truly Responsible For Thanksgiving

Posted on by

Peter Marshall was born in 1940. He was the son of the former Senate Chaplain Peter Marshall and author Catherine Marshall. He wrote the book The Light and the Glory, published in 1977, a history of America from the Pilgrims through the Presidency of George Washington. The information below is taken from that book.

On November 11, the Mayflower dropped anchor on Cape Cod. In December, the crew moved the Mayflower into a more sheltered harbor inside Cape Cod Bay. In March, as they were creating their settlement, an Indian strolled casually down their main street and into their common house where he said “Welcome.”

That Indian was Samoset, the Chief of the Algonquin Tribe of Maine. He asked for a beer. They didn’t have beer, so they offered him brandy, which he accepted. He provided the Pilgrims with information about the Indian tribes in the area. He explained to the Pilgrims that the land they were settling on had belonged to the Patuxet Indians, a hostile tribe known for killing any white man they encountered. The Patuxet Tribe had been wiped out by a mysterious plague four years before the Pilgrims arrived. Other tribes considered the land cursed and would not settle there. The nearest Indians were the Wampanoag Tribe about 50 miles southwest of where the Pilgrims had settled.  Samoset spent the night with the Pilgrims and headed off the next day with gifts for Massasoit, the head of the Wampanoag Tribe.

The next week, Samoset returned with Massasoit, some of his braves, and Squanto, who would act as a translator. Squanto was a Patuxet Indian who had escaped the plague because he had been captured and sold into slavery twice—once to England and once to Spain. Because Squanto was devastated when he finally got back to Massachusetts and found out that all of his tribe had perished, he decided to stay with the Pilgrims to help them settle in their new land.

Squanto taught the Pilgrims how to hunt deer, plant pumpkins among the corn, refine maple syrup, collect beaver pelts, and other much needed survival skills. Without the help of Squanto, the Pilgrims would probably not have survived.

Thought For The Day

Posted on by

Occasionally I fill in for the high school Sunday School teacher at my church. Recently I filled in for her, and the lesson was very interesting. The theme of the lesson was “God has a plan and a purpose for your life.” That was mixed in with the need for personal integrity and hard work. It was a good lesson.

The example given in the lesson was the story of Squanto. Squanto is very well known in Massachusetts as the Indian who pretty much saved the Pilgrims’ lives during their first winter in America. The Pilgrims landed on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, on November 11, 1620. Shortly after, they moved to Plymouth, a harbor somewhat protected by Cape Cod Bay. Coming to New England in November with limited supplies is a recipe for disaster. Initially the Pilgrims were greeted by an Indian named Samoset, chief of the Algonquin tribe in Maine, who was exploring the coast. He spoke English, which he had learned from various fishing captains who had fished off the Maine Coast. He explained to them that area where they had settled had previously belonged to the Patuxet Indians, a large, hostile tribe who murdered every white man who landed on their shores. Four years before the Pilgrims arrived, that tribe had died of a mysterious plague. The devastation was so complete that neighboring tribes would not settle in that land. Later, Samoset brought his friends Squanto and Massasoit, the Chief of the Wampanoag Tribe, to meet the Pilgrims.

This is Squanto’s story:

In 1605, Squanto and four other Indians were taken captive by English sailors and taken to England. When he met Squanto in England, Captain John Smith, an English Captain, promised to take Squanto back to his people. In 1614, Captain Smith fulfilled that promise. Unfortunately, Captain Hunt, who was sailing with Captain Smith’s expedition on another ship kidnapped Squanto and some other Indians and brought them back to Spain. Squanto was bought by local friars, who introduced him to Christianity. Squanto managed to get back to London where he embarked for New England with Captain Dermer. Captain Dermer picked up Samoset at Monhegan, an important fishing station in Maine, and dropped both Indians off at Plymouth. When Squanto got to Plymouth, he found out that his entire tribe had been wiped out by disease. Squanto lived with the Massasoit (Wampanoag Tribe) for a while as he grieved his loss. Then Samoset told him about some peaceful English families at Patuxet. He went with Samoset to meet the Pilgrims.

That meeting resulted in a 40-year peace treaty of mutual aid and assistance. Massasoit was an example of God’s provision in his care for the Pilgrims. Squanto chose to stay with the Pilgrims after the meeting with Samoset and Massasoit. He showed them how to catch fish and how to plant corn. He taught them to stalk deer, make beaver pelts for trading, and the other skills they needed to survive. His grieving ended as he discovered new purpose.

Based on where he was born and his family, Squanto was not someone you would have assumed would make a difference in the world. Yet, despite his beginnings and unbelievable challenges and disappointments, he played a significant role in the history of America. Never assume that you are too insignificant to be significant. We are at a major tipping point in America right now. You never know the impact you may have on a person when you simply share a basic truth or insight with them. We know in the end that the good guys win. You are part of that victory.

Much the information here can be found in THE LIGHT AND THE GLORY By Peter Marshall and David Manuel.