Editing Protestant work ethic (section)

==American political history==
[[File:New York at the Jamestown Exposition, Norfolk, Virginia, April 26 to December 1, 1907 (1909) (14780176584).jpg|thumb|Captain John Smith, admiral of New England (1624)]]
In 1607, the first English settlement in America was established at [[Jamestown, Virginia|Jamestown]], led by [[John Smith (explorer)|John Smith]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | url=https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/smith-john-bap-1580-1631/ | title=John Smith (bap. 1580–1631)|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Virginia}}</ref> He trained the first English settlers to work at farming and fishing. These settlers were ill-equipped to survive in the English settlements in the early 1600s and were on the precipice of dying. John Smith emphasized the Protestant work ethic{{citation needed|date=November 2023}} and helped propagate it by stating "He that will not work, shall not eat" which is a direct reference to 2 Thessalonians 3:10.<ref>{{cite web |title=2 Thessalonians 3:10 ESV – Bible Gateway |url=https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Thessalonians+3%3A10&version=ESV}}</ref> This policy is credited with helping the early colony survive and thrive in its relatively harsh environment.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2At5Ymp3c_E | title=John Smith, Jamestown and the Roots of America | website=[[YouTube]] | date=May 2020 }}</ref>

Writer [[Frank Chodorov]] argued that the Protestant ethic was long considered indispensable for American political figures:
{{blockquote|
There was a time, in these United States, when a candidate for public office could qualify with the electorate only by fixing his birthplace in or near the "log cabin". He may have acquired a competence, or even a fortune, since then, but it was in the tradition that he must have been born of poor parents and made his way up the ladder by sheer ability, self-reliance, and perseverance in the face of hardship. In short, he had to be "self made". The so-called Protestant Ethic then prevalent held that man was a sturdy and responsible individual, responsible to himself, his society, and his God. Anybody who could not measure up to that standard could not qualify for public office or even popular respect. One who was born "with a silver spoon in his mouth" might be envied, but he could not aspire to public acclaim; he had to live out his life in the seclusion of his own class.<ref>{{cite web| first=Frank|last=Chodorov|author-link=Frank Chodorov|url=https://mises.org/daily/5031/The-Radical-Rich |title=The Radical Rich|website=Mises Daily Articles|publisher=[[Mises Institute]]|date=21 March 2011}}</ref>
|author=Frank Chodorov|title=''The Radical Rich''}}

Others have connected the concept of a Protestant work ethic to [[Racism|racist ideals]].<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Protestant work ethic's relation to intergroup and policy attitudes: A meta-analytic review &#124; Semantic Scholar|year=2011|doi=10.1002/EJSP.832|s2cid=33949400|last1=Rosenthal|first1=L.|journal=European Journal of Social Psychology |volume=41 |issue=7 |pages=874–885 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://newrepublic.com/article/121901/white-protestant-roots-american-racism|title=The White Protestant Roots of American Racism|first=Alana|last=Massey|date=May 26, 2015|magazine=The New Republic}}</ref> [[Civil rights movement|Civil rights]] activist [[Martin Luther King Jr.]] said:

{{blockquote|We have deluded ourselves into believing the myth that capitalism grew and prospered out of the Protestant ethic of hard work and sacrifice. The fact is that capitalism was built on the exploitation and suffering of black slaves and continues to thrive on the exploitation of the poor—both black and white, here and abroad.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pri.org/stories/2017-12-04/smiley-capitalism-has-always-been-built-back-poor-both-black-and-white|title=Smiley: Capitalism has always been built on the back of the poor — both black and white|website=Public Radio International|date=4 December 2017 }}</ref>}}