Pricing out the first Thanksgiving dinner Plimouth Plantation fare at 2002 prices

Table and Footnotes for Prices

from NewsLink, Vol. 7, No. 1, Fall 2002 In 1621, the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Indians sat down together at Plimouth Plantation to dine at an event celebrating the end of the harvest, which became known as the first Thanksgiving. The only surviving description of the event, written by Edward Winslow in 1621, compiles a list of offerings from the original menu. In addition to the ubiquitous wild fowl and the Wampanoags' gift of venison, diners ate lobster, goose, rabbit, cod, duck, corn, pumpkin, seasonal vegetables and dried fruit along with some wine. This kept the 90 members of the Wampanoag tribe and the 50 Pilgrims celebrating in high spirits for three days. We're inclined to think that the big difference between Thanksgiving then and Thanksgiving now is that, with all our modern conveniences, we have it much easier. Shouldn't it take a lot less work now to eat as well as the humble Pilgrims and Wampanoags did then? Well, let's see. Time The venison provided by the Indians, along with the wild fowl was enough to supply the village for a week. Deer was plentiful in the surrounding wooded areas and easy to cook as meat was the cornerstone of the English diet. Cooking and cleaning the animals was not so different than it is now, although today an already killed and cleaned turkey is commonplace in supermarkets. In 1621 turkey was prepared by boiling and could take, depending of the size of the bird, 1-3 hours to cook. A 12-pound goose would be roasted for 1.5 hours, taking the same length of time as it does now. So the Pilgrims didn't spend much more time in the kitchen than we do now. Then there's the question of how much money it took for the Pilgrims and Indians to have their meal. Money The Pilgrims came to Massachusetts under a charter from the London Company as partners in a group known as the "merchant investors." The Pilgrims pledged their personal time and labor and the merchants their money in the joint venture to start a colony in the New World. Under their contract as joint-stock holders all land and livestock were owned in partnership. Grains and vegetables grown in the common fields were shared by all. Some households that had been wealthier back in England would have brought more resources with them, perhaps providing for individual home gardens that could have contributed to the meal. As a result of this partnership, there was little need for money in the community. Goods were traded, rather than purchased. We can, however, determine the cost of recreating a 1621 Thanksgiving celebration today. According to the National Council on Economic Education, which tracks the cost of 12 basic items found on the dinner table during Thanksgiving, the average price of a Thanksgiving meal in 1998 was only about $3.10 per person. But, as the records show, the Pilgrims and Indians ate far more sumptuously than we do now. At current market prices, the cost of a meal similar to that prepared by the Pilgrims for 140 people would be $3,014.20, or $21.53 per person - about seven times the cost of a modern-day Thanksgiving dinner. The Pilgrims and the Wampanoags used the items that were found in the nearby ocean and woods to prepare their 3-day feast. The daily routines of the Pilgrims and Indians were based around subsistence living - providing and preparing food and meeting other basic survival needs. So they didn't have to spend a lot of money or time to put together their feast. Unlike the Pilgrims and their guests who harvested the bounty of their surroundings to put a feast on the table, we modern-day folks do our harvesting at the local supermarket. While it may take the same preparation time once the ingredients are gathered, we have to work to earn the money to buy those ingredients. An individual in today's workforce making the average US wage of $23,988 a year after taxes, would have to work just under 2 hours (1.8 hours) to be able to afford one portion of the food that the Pilgrims got for almost nothing.1 To feed 10 Thanksgiving guests, that individual would have to work 18 hours just to raise enough money to buy the food at the supermarket. And that does not include the preparation time for cooking and serving the food nor the time needed to go shopping for these items. Thus, it would take about three day’s work today to serve the dinner enjoyed by the Pilgrims to a gathering of ten people, no less work than it took the Pilgrims to serve the same dinner to the same number of people. Comparing the feasts Upon consideration, it is not clear that the passing of some 380 years has made life on this holiday much easier. Food preparation time has not decreased despite our modern conveniences. Today, we are provided a holiday from our everyday work to arrange the goods and gather our families, whereas that was the daily work for the Pilgrims. Today, rather than hunting and cleaning our meat and growing and harvesting our vegetables, we fill carts and bags at the supermarket. Even this convenience of shopping comes at a price, working 18 hours to buy the ingredients for a 1621 menu. Certainly the menu of the first Thanksgiving was more diverse and elegant in ingredients than our humble turkey and stuffing. In addition, today it is difficult to carve out even one day to give thanks for a year's work and harvest - the Pilgrims feasted for three! It makes you wonder - if you had the choice would you celebrate in 2002 or 1621? (1) The average U.S. wage is $32,686. The marginal tax rates applicable to this level of earnings are 14.3% (federal personal income tax less state deduction), 7.65% (Social Security and Medicare) and 4.66% (state personal income tax) for a total of 26.61%. That leaves an after-tax wage rate of $23,988. Taking this amount and dividing by the number of hours worked in a year ($23,988/2,000), we get an average hourly wage of $11.99. Dividing this amount into $21.53 gives 1.8 hours. To serve 10 people, the amount of work time becomes 18 hours. Staff Assistant Christopher Boyd provided the research for this article. Table and Footnotes for Prices

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