American Business Perspectives Shaped by History (1) Thanksgiving: Business Perspectives Created by a History of Survival

In the United States, the summer holidays have ended, and the calendar is rapidly moving towards the Thanksgiving holiday.

Thanksgiving is a celebration of the Pilgrims, the founding fathers of the New World, who celebrated their first year of survival with a celebratory dinner. In America, it's a more widely celebrated, non-religious seasonal milestone than the religious Christmas, with most families grilling turkeys and sharing dinner with acquaintances and friends. It's a day when Americans express gratitude for having survived as Americans and reflect on their history. From this day onward, America enters a long holiday season that continues until New Year's Day. Now, let's take a look at the historical background of how Thanksgiving unexpectedly influences American business.

The Pilgrims, the founders of the nation, cross the Atlantic Ocean.

The Pilgrims, considered the founders of America, arrived in the American lands in 1620. Having suffered severe persecution in their homeland, England, the Pilgrims fled their country and set sail for the New World on the Mayflower, hoping to create their own kingdom. There were 121 of them, including the crew. After a 66-day voyage, they dropped anchor near Provincetown on November 11th.

They landed in December. It was already winter. Their nutritional status was extremely poor, and it is said that most of them suffered from beriberi. On top of that, a harsh winter was coming. Their nutritional status was already extremely poor, and the Boston area is further north than Aomori in Japan. A bitterly cold winter. Hunger. And many people succumbed to disease, and only a little less than 50 people survived their first winter.

It can be said that it was the wisdom of the Wampaguano tribe, who lived in this area, that saved the group from the brink of extinction. Squant, a Wampaguano who had been taken away as a slave but returned to America after receiving an education, acted as an intermediary, providing the impoverished Pilgrim Fathers with the wisdom they needed to survive.

The first Thanksgiving was with the indigenous people.

They finally survived their first winter. On November 27, 1621, the survivors who had safely made it through their first year invited the Wampaguano tribe to a dinner of thanksgiving, marking the beginning of what is now known as Thanksgiving Day. The table was laden with wild turkeys, wild corn, taro, and sauces of pumpkin and cranberry, and the feast is said to have continued for three days. All of these ingredients were survival foods passed down from the Wampaguano tribe.

Having gone through these circumstances, the first Pilgrim Fathers, who risked their lives for survival, faced a daily struggle for their lives. The climate and natural environment were completely different from their homeland, England. The New World, the land of God they had longed for, was not a dream land that offered sweet dreams to newcomers, but a land of harsh trials. Their families and companions wasted away day by day, were struck down by illness, and eventually lost their lives. In such circumstances, for the Pilgrims who had tried to build God's kingdom in this new land, returning to their homeland, England, was an impossible choice.

They absolutely could not allow the colony to be destroyed. And so began their battle for survival, utilizing every means, ingenuity, and technology at their disposal.

The harsh natural environment gave rise to trial and error.

In the unimaginably harsh natural environment, everything for survival was a matter of trial and error. Farming, livestock raising, making the things needed for daily life... The techniques and tools they had cultivated in their home country of England were of no use in this desolate land, leaving them at a loss. On the other hand, even with advice from Native Americans, they had to transform it into sustainable techniques, with the very survival of their community at stake.

Therefore, their most important task was to develop and test technologies that would be useful in this entirely new land. Meanwhile, the fight against the approaching winter was also a race against time. If they took too long with development, the entire colony could be on the brink of death.

Therefore, the most important thing became to create something useful as quickly as possible without spending too much time on development. The key was to quickly come up with an idea, then test it, and if it wasn't useful, make minor modifications and use it again. This mentality gave rise to "Trial & Error," a key phrase that represents American manufacturing today.

The immediate effectiveness and usefulness that were so crucial at this time would ultimately culminate in this methodology.

Even today, the American market places great importance on novelty and originality. Furthermore, very few people demand "perfection" from new products. In other words, if there's a flaw, they quickly release a new version, continuously improving it. This mentality is 180 degrees different from the Japanese model, which emphasizes process and meticulously pursues "perfection" before releasing a product to the market. This can be seen as a product born from their history of "survival," rooted in the founding of their nation. (To be continued)