Communal Gatherings and Integration

America has always been a country of banquets. From the Pilgrims’ 1621 feast with the Native Americans to latter-day community gardeners celebrating the harvest, social gatherings centered around a meal have been and remain an essential component of American life.

The earliest communal gatherings grew from the country’s settlement period when, in exchange for much-needed help in building homes and completing farm tasks, even the poorest households were expected to offer a well-dressed table. These practical gatherings fostered an important sense of belonging among groups of settlers, encouraged integration, and, later in U.S. history, promoted a spirit of national unity. Outsiders were incorporated into the fold, news was shared, problems were solved, and laws and communal standards were formed and devised.