On the Voice of Conservative Values Brighteon.TV Thanksgiving Day special, historian, best-selling author, and frequent UncoverDC.com contributor Larry Schweikart met with host Daniel Bobinski to discuss what happened in the first years of the first English settlements in the New World (video embedded below).
Schweikart opened the discussion during the show’s second segment by saying, “Not just in Plymouth, but in Jamestown as well, both colonies, separated by 13 years, were socialist-run organizations when they were set up.” Schweikart said there were communal grain stores and the land was owned in common by the company, not by individuals. And, they were starving.
After two years of starvation, John Smith (in Jamestown) divided the land and assigned it to people as theirs. Suddenly, crop production increased and they were no longer starving.
“Long story short, they get their own land, they plant, they have surplus, they invite the Indians to share in that feast” Schweikart continued. “It wasn’t like the Indians saved them from starvation. Yes, the Indians made suggestions and showed them different corn varieties, but they were thanking God and not the Indians. The abundance was the result of a change in their economic system, not the Indians helping them out.”
Bobinski addressed how socialist practices in America today are causing problems similar to what was experienced in the colonists' first settlements.
“There’s a strong need for humans to look ahead, and they don’t do it. I think it’s why we have such problems today with people who’ve become addicted to the welfare state. They don’t look at the ripple effects of that. I think it was Margaret Thatcher who said, ‘Socialism works until you run out of other people’s money.’”
Bobinski continued, saying, “You’ve got people who just live on the dole and collect their federal check, and they don’t realize that, in time, that backfires.”
Socialism in New Haven, Indiana
Schweikart also discussed the originator of the term “Socialism,” Robert Owen, who attempted to create a socialist-run community in Scotland, but failed miserably. Believing his idea would work if tried elsewhere, Owen brought his socialist ideology to America and founded New Haven, Indiana. It also failed, despite the fact that Owen poured his inheritance into the community, trying to make it work.
“By my estimation,” Schweikart said, “he put in nearly $17 million modern U.S. Dollars in a four-year period before it completely collapsed.”
“Socialism is a net consumer of wealth. It destroys wealth. Capitalism is a net creator of wealth – it produces wealth,” Schweikart said.
George Washington’s Thanksgiving Day Proclamation of 1789
During the first segment of the show, Bobinski reviewed, word-by-word, the first official Thanksgiving Proclamation made by a sitting President after the ratification of the U.S. Constitution.
Then, as now, proclamations often start with one or more “whereas” statements, giving reasons for the proclamation being made. Washington started by saying, “Whereas, it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God.” Washington’s second “Whereas” noted that it was committees from both the U.S. House of Representative and the U.S. Senate who had requested that he make such a proclamation.
"This tells us these guys did know who God was, and they did have a relationship with Him," Bobinski said.
The bulk of Washington’s proclamation was asking Americans to thank God for His protection, provision, and providence in many different areas of life.
Watch the full Thanksgiving Day Special for Voice of Conservative Values here:
About the Voice of Conservative Values show
The Voice of Conservative Values TV show airs live each Thursday afternoon at 4pm eastern time / 1pm pacific. To watch live, simply go to www.brighteon.tv and click the “Live Stream” image at the top of the screen. Shows are free to watch, and no registration is required. The Voice of Conservative Values show is hosted by UncoverDC.com contributor Daniel Bobinski.
