American Colonists Created First Communist State, And This Is How It Ended
The United States is the first communist country in the world. I know. That is very bold to say. But it’s not wrong.
Namely, the American colonies, primarily those in Plymouth, functioned according to a political and economic system that resembles communism. Communalism is a more accurate word.
In 1620, the settlers founded the Plymouth Colony. History will remember these immigrants as the Puritans. One American journalist described the Puritans as people who fear there is someone out there having fun. But the Puritans were not frowning men in black who beat the sinners with whips, shouting shame, shame.
The Puritans were members of the Church of England and wanted it to be purified. Hence the name Puritans. They thought that the Anglican Church is as same as the Roman Catholic Church, and it should abolish rites and traditions that are not rooted in the Bible.
A single man can not be both the head of the state and the church, as it had to be the case in England in the 16th century. That meant concentrating high power in the hands of one man.
Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Also, one thing bothered the Puritans. Priests in England were exempted from the application of civil law. In other words, they could do what they wanted. Priests enjoyed wealth not because they were capable, but because they enjoyed privileges that others, a growing class of merchants and lawyers, did not have.
However, the English king and clergy did not fulfill the requirements of the Puritans with enthusiasm. Fleeing persecution, the Puritans went to the Netherlands, and from there on the ship “Mayflower” to the northeast coast of North America, which will take the name New England. There they founded the Massachusetts Bay Company and, among others, the Plymouth Colony.
The Puritans were finally able to organize life in the way they thought every community should function. They considered themselves as “chosen people” (their words). They wanted to establish an authentic Christian community ruled by King Jesus himself. Messiah means king in Hebrew.
The Puritans organized a community based on the principles of collectivism. They didn’t have private property; that’s mine, that’s yours. All things belonged to everyone. All members of the community jointly owned the real estate, as well as the means of production. The grain in the warehouse was common property, too. Everyone could take as much grain as they needed, and bring as much grain to the warehouse as they could give. Marx approved this!
They strictly followed the moral rules of the Bible. If everyone follows these rules, God will reward them, but if they do not, the whole community will feel God’s wrath.
Less than three years later, the Puritan commune disintegrated. The situation was so severe that people began to starve to death. The crops were declining, and fruits and vegetables rotted. Rats appeared — lots of rats. And with them diseases.
What happened to the Puritans’ socialism?
People worked less and less. The lazy did not work at all, and the hardworking did not want to work for others. In communalism, even hardworking people became lazy.
Thus, communism failed in a community made up of honest, selfless people dedicated to the faith. Even in such a society, communism has failed. The Puritans understood that a person tends to work hard for his family, but not for their neighbors. Women washed and prepared food, not only for their husbands but also for other men. They felt like slaves.
Captain John Smith, yes, that is his real name, took over the colony and abolished the communal system. Instead of a society based on a large community, the Puritans decided to form an organization based on a family.
Everyone got their piece of land, and therefore private property came to the New World. So, whoever wants to eat will have to work. Trust yourself and your horse. The individual is responsible for his economic destiny.
The community quickly established new rules, freedom of speech, the sanctity of contracts, non-interference of the authorities in the business, and discipline in paying debts. Everyone had the right to decide what to produce and whom to serve freely.
The free market was born.
However, the similarities between the Puritans’ communism and twentieth-century communism do not end there. Both societies were progressive. For many countries, communism was a necessary thing to make those countries to develop and to enter the 20th century from the feudal system. At least at first.
The Puritans hold annual elections, giving the right to vote to every man that is a member of the community. That meant that in the 17th century, more people had the right to vote in Massachusetts than in England, which is no small deed. In the 20th century, communist states introduced universal suffrage that included women before many countries in the capitalist West.
The Puritans’ rules were strict. A man was not allowed to kiss his wife in public. There are notes about the punishment of one man for kissing his wife on the doorstep after he returned home after three years of travel. Also, the Puritans executed two adulterers.
Women had to cover their heads in public. Khm, khm. And to wear a dress so long that no one can see your ankle. God forbid! Someone to look at your ankles and be overwhelmed by sinful thoughts.
Today, the word puritanism has a derogatory meaning. A Puritan is someone who does not laugh, hates any entertainment, always wears black, is sad, and depressed.
Almost like the Generation Z.
Well, some descriptions of the Puritans are exaggerated. They certainly did not approve getting drunk, but we know that they produced, and drank, of course, beer and rum. They didn’t just dress in black. They loved blue and red. Women took care of what they wore. But the clothes needed to be long enough.
It is not true that they despised art. Well, they weren’t fans of theater, but they appreciated poetry. And most of the Puritans were literate. After all, how would they read the Bible?
The Puritan society was so developed that many of them get so old to see their grandchildren. That level of health care was high back then.
The Puritans realized in time, which was the least corrupt economic system, and laid the foundation stone for its development. The founding fathers accepted that system as well as the majority of the free world.
