Beginning At Plymouth Colony (1954)

[Music] when our founding fathers established this Republic they created a political and economic system you shion's a system which has led the United States to the buret pinnacle in wealth and in world leadership this series of programs is being presented us understand Bubba of our American Way of life for today's town our group of young people at the national education program workshop in Searcy Arkansas at the classroom lectern is dr. Clifton L gayness junior historian the American adventure that's rather an unusual designation for a course in economics and political science isn't it well the American Way of life which we will examine here is rather unusual in fact there's nothing quite like it in all the world all of us want to know more about our Cree what makes it tick why it's the best place on earth why it's worth understanding why it's worth saving while wars have been fought to protect it during the 13 weeks of this course in the American adventure our general purpose will be to answer many questions about the American Way of life and to explore the workings of the American economic and political system so that we may understand its significance and importance why should we bother to do this because in one generation many of the nations of the world have become either socialistic or communistic and the advocates of both of these economic and political systems have determined to gain control of our country let's look at this map of the world here they have two and one-quarter billion people they work and worship under all kinds of economic and political systems from dictatorship to democracy from collectivism to individualism now let's see how socialism and communism have expanded since the end of the First World War these dark areas or the nation's that today live under communism our that have adopted a considerable degree of socialism some of them were overrun and captured by Russian communism but some have drifted into are actually voted into being many fundamental aspects of socialism the people were promised all sorts of material and economic benefits so they decided to try socialism in some of our later classes we are going to examine socialism with this promises than results and we're also going to shine the spotlight of knowledge on communism and some of its tactics in America but in the beginning let's just learn about the American system did you know that the founders of America when they came here from England seeking freedom and a better way of life established first a communal or collectivist economic system they did both in Jamestown and at Plymouth Rock let's look in a moment on the Plymouth Colony in December of 1620 101 pilgrims from England reached the Atlantic coast in the Mayflower their primary purpose in risking the great hazards of an Atlantic crossing and life in a primitive unknown land was to gain religious freedom for themselves and no preconceived ideas about building a nation society or a system of economics by common consent the colonists economic system was communal the property was community property our public problem on and effect by the colonies government the people work together as a scientist they shared and shared alike in the total production of the colony it works like this there was a common storehouse each family brought all its produce of whatever kind to the storehouse the government of the colony allocated the goods on a basis of equal shares for all this was the Christian spirit of sharing our forefathers were people basically motivated by Christian principles many of them felt that they could best progress under this communal economic arrangement and have full freedom also they thought they had an ideal economic system even among these dedicated Christians however with a great measure of freedom the theory of government ownership of property and communal living did not work in practice a few of the less industrious colonists discovered that no matter how little they produced then carry to the common storehouse they still receive the share equal with their neighbors it began to low and to shirk their duty the industrious seeing they were being made to support the slothful began to slow down also well as one family after another eased up on their work and the production of vegetables grains and meat the goods in the storehouse dwindled in time starvation threatened to wipe out the colonists the leaders of the colony despaired of their communal experiment instead of providing plenty for all the collectivist system had produced only an equal distribution of poverty and stagnation instead of progress something had to be done to restore the energies of the colonists either way must be found to stimulate work in production through voluntary willingness of everyone or the colonists would have to resort to the type of coercive measures based on force which had been a part of human history for thousands of years the plymouth colonists did not want to force labor with police power that was one way of doing it but they believe that freedom was a godly heritage for all mankind they had fled from the old to the new world seeking this freedom so in the communal our collectivist system carried them toward starvation the governmental and religious leaders together propose the establishment of the basic law of private property and the fundamental principle of self-reliance every able-bodied man was to become responsible for his family the community owned our government-owned farmlands and pastures would be parceled out for private ownership people would exchange goods and services among themselves according to their abilities and desires the industrious and the lazy alike will have to work or would suffer a self-inflicted penalty one of hunger and disgrace from this time forth the people possess their own property thus at Plymouth was established this fundamental characteristic of American philosophy just the opposite of the public ownership system of socialism and communism did it change things for the better at Plymouth Colony it certainly did the change in ownership and responsibility from government to the individual citizen marked the beginning of progress in the colony it helped to establish the foundation of American economic system William Bradford governor of the Plymouth Colony wrote in his diary that when the system of private ownership was established and self-reliance became the rule the housewife came out of her kitchen and the children gave up some of their playtime to work in the fields so the family could produce more and have more and live better the fruit of their labor was bears no wonder they were willing to work who can deny the power of that incentive which is based upon the right to own property and to keep the proceeds of one's labor that which happened at Plymouth had also happened at Jamestown 12 years earlier students of history will recall the colorful interludes at Jamestown with such leading romantic characters as Captain John Smith and Princess Pocahontas the Indian maid who saved his life from the anger of an Indian chief but so many people pass over the historic fact that a communal economic system was established at Jamestown with a common storehouse and equal shares for all it failed miserably just as it did at Plymouth at Jamestown the people almost starved under the communal system and as at Plymouth the establishment of private property and individual responsibility instead of government property and dependence upon the common storehouse started a colony on the road to success here's what Captain John Smith himself wrote in his diary after starvation had been averted at Jamestown by the change to private ownership and individual self-reliance when our people were fed out of the common storehouse and labour jointly together he wrote glad was he who could slip from his labor or slumber over his task he cared not how presuming that howsoever the harvest prospered the general store must maintain him even the most honest among them wrote Captain Smith would hardly take so much true pains in a week under the public ownership and common storehouse system as now for themselves they will do in a day so that we read not so much corn from the labors of 30 as now three or four will provide for themselves both in Jamestown and Plymouth Colony it was historically demonstrated that men will not work to the fullest of their capabilities without the incentive given through private ownership the incentive of personal profit and it was likewise demonstrated beyond question that so long as there is dependence upon a public storehouse personal incentive withers and production falls even among the most honest and Christian people as Captain Smith and governor Bradford noted the positive lesson learned from these two examples is that the individuals right to own property the spirit of self-reliance and the presence of incentives individual freedom and responsibility work for the good of all today these principles are found in our economic system working for the benefit of all Americans in subsequent classes as we consider other phases of our economic and political life we will consider the dangers that threaten the continued existence of the principle of private ownership posing such questions as is the principle of private ownership being diluted with our permission but without our realization of the danger and is the pendulum in America swinging back toward public ownership after 350 years of progress unmatched in all the 6,000 years of human history these are questions worth our consideration aren't they and we shall consider them but for now Christ the Smith the American adventure series is a production of the national education program Searcy Arkansas dr. George s Benson directed dr. Clifton al-qaeda's