Trusted Writing on History, Travel, and American Culture Since 1949
Massachusetts Bay Colony
Thomas Morton liked the lush country, the Indians liked Thomas—and the stern Puritans cared little for either
The broad expanse of ocean that separated Plymouth from Mother England helped create a novel experiment in democracy that grew as the American colonies expanded.
She was, said Governor Winthrop, an American Jezebel
It would have been no pleasant thing for any defendant to hear John Winthrop, governor of the Massachusetts colony, declaim the serious charges brought against Anne Hutchinson at her trial in 1637. Read more >>
Many a book, a magazine, a play, a movie, has been banned in Boston. But Christmas?
Many a book, a magazine, a play, a movie, has been banned in Boston. But Christmas? Read more >>
Did the Fathers in 1620 really land on that famous slab of granite? Through the haze of myth that surround it, a profound truth may be dimly seen
Above the rush of wind and water could be heard their hymns of praise as they sprang from the shallop onto the rock, the stern-faced men in wide-brimmed pot hats, the women modestly poised between this world and the next. Read more >>
Thus Margaret Winthrop to her spouse, the governor of the Bay Colony. Her letters—and John’s in reply—reveal behind the cold Puritan exterior a warm and deeply touching relationship
How far back in American history can we find the old shell game in operation? Alas, pretty far. It is as old as money, or the shortage thereof. Read more >>
Roger Williams liked Indians and almost everyone else, and he founded a colony that gave our freedom a broader horizon
There is a legend about Roger Williams that is exceedingly popular among Americans. There is also a truth which is slowly emerging from the welter of fancies. The truth is less simple than the legend, for most legends are oversimplifications. But it has some even more dramatic aspects than the beloved myth and it accords better, too, with the mental development of the normal human being. If it dims the halo of this pioneer of American liberty, it gives him a warmth, a nearness to ourselves that we could hardly feel while he stood on the pedestal.
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