Thanksgiving and the Forgotten Triumph of Liberty

Every November, Americans gather to give thanks—for family, for food, for freedom. But buried beneath the sentimental retellings and schoolroom myths lies a powerful truth about Thanksgiving that rarely gets the attention it deserves.

The real lesson of the first Thanksgiving isn’t just about gratitude or community. It’s about how freedom, not forced collectivism, saved the Pilgrims from starvation.

When the Plymouth settlers first arrived, they organized their economy on communal lines. Land, labor, and harvests were shared. No family owned its own plot. And the result? Hunger. Laziness. Resentment. As Governor William Bradford later recorded, the most able and industrious had no reason to work harder when their efforts benefited others who contributed less. The system collapsed under its own moral weight.

In 1623, the colony abandoned this failed experiment. Families were given private plots. Individuals now kept the fruits of their labor. The results were immediate. Incentives worked where utopian ideals had not. The colony flourished. Productivity soared. And that abundance is what made the first real Thanksgiving possible—not government handouts, not communal sharing, but the liberating effect of private property.

That’s the forgotten triumph of Thanksgiving. It’s not just a holiday about giving thanks. It’s a holiday about what made prosperity possible in the first place: freedom, responsibility, and the right to own and enjoy the product of your own work.

So this year, as you pass the turkey and toast to your blessings, remember the deeper legacy of this uniquely American tradition.

It’s not just about surviving a hard winter.

It’s about what finally made thriving possible. Happy Thanksgiving!

---

Allegheny County has over 2000 registered libertarian voters.  Contact us to learn more about how you can help us make a difference.