U.S. Capitalism Born in Blood: From the First Thanksgiving to Today w/ Dr. Gerald Horne [Preview]

The Socialist Program with Brian Becker

The Socialist Program

Politics, News

4.7 • 587 Ratings

🗓️ 27 November 2025

⏱️ 16 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Karl Marx wrote in Capital that capitalism came into the world “dripping from head to foot, from every pore, with blood and dirt.” The Thanksgiving holiday is built around an insidious and false creation myth -- that the so-called “settling” of North America was a peaceful and amicable process. But in reality, the genocidal expansion of colonialism across the continent led to unspeakable suffering and death for Indigenous peoples. What is the real story of the birth of U.S. capitalism?

Dr. Gerald Horne holds the Moores Professorship of History and African American Studies at the University of Houston and the author of many books, including “The Dawning of the Apocalypse: The Roots of Slavery, White Supremacy, Settler Colonialism, and Capitalism in the Long Sixteenth Century”.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to the Socialists program. I'm John Prysner, a producer of this show.
0:05.6	Today's episode is a remastered version of an interview from our archives titled
0:10.6	U.S. capitalism born in blood, from the first Thanksgiving to today with Dr. Gerald Horn.
0:17.5	This episode is exclusive to our Patreon community, which makes this show possible.
0:22.8	Thanks so much for your support, and if you're not already a member, you can become one at
0:27.5	patreon.com slash the socialist program.
0:32.3	Capitalism has evolved over many centuries.
0:36.4	Karl Marx, writing in volume one of capital, wrote that capital or
0:40.9	capitalism came into the world as an economic order, quote, dripping from head to foot from
0:48.3	every pore with blood and dirt. Today we will talk about the real story of capitalism.
0:55.6	We need a new system. We need a new society. We need to demand that which may have sounded
1:02.8	impossible even a few weeks ago, but is not only realizable, but an imperative necessity. Welcome to The Real Story on the Socialist Program.
1:35.3	I'm your host, Brian Becker.
1:38.3	Today we'll be talking to Dr. Gerald Horn.
1:41.3	Dr. Horne holds the Moors Professorship of History and African American Studies at the University of Houston.
1:48.0	He's the author of many books, including the dawning of the apocalypse,
1:53.0	the roots of slavery, white supremacy, settler colonialism and capitalism in the long 16th century. He is also the author of the bittersweet science,
2:03.6	racism, racketeering, and the political economy of boxing.
2:08.6	Dr. Horne, welcome to the Socialist Program.
2:11.6	Thank you for inviting me.
2:13.6	Thank you.
2:14.6	Dr. Horne, this week is Thanksgiving celebrated by families all over the United States.
	...

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