Category: The Historical Muse

Thoughts on history and the historical profession. Clio is the muse of history–this category title is a play on that concept.

Puritan Controversy #3: Quakers

  

The Puritans of Massachusetts Bay had their own reasons for setting up their colony. They sought as much uniformity of thought as possible, which is good in itself, but which also led to confrontations with those who disagreed with the leadership. When Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson went astray from the original vision, and their beliefs threatened the existence of the colony, they were banished. As I mentioned in previous posts, that punishment wasn’t all that severe; they simply wanted… Read more »

Puritan Controversy #2: Anne Hutchinson

  

Last week, I looked at the Roger Williams episode in early Puritan history and came to the conclusion that the Puritan establishment had good reasons to worry about his influence, given their desire not to have their charter taken away. Today, let’s move on to the second major controversy to arise in Massachusetts in the 1630s. It had to do with a movement that historians call “antinomianism.” That’s just a fancy name for people who believe there is no law…. Read more »

Puritan Controversy #1: Roger Williams

  

Thus far, in my examination of the Puritans’ role in American history, I’ve emphasized their original intent—to be a City on a Hill, an example of a Christian community—and their contributions to American government—the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut and the Massachusetts Body of Liberties. Those are all positive elements of the Puritan heritage. I want to delve now into some of the controversies of the era. It’s one thing to have a beautiful dream of unity, but reality always intrudes…. Read more »

How Did Puritans View Government?

  

We’re talking about Puritans in our ongoing trek through American history in this blog. As I mentioned in last week’s post about them, there is this stereotype that is difficult to reverse. But I hope I showed that not only were they earnest in their faith, but that they understood the concept of a covenant with God in which they needed to love one another. Were the Puritans always faithful to that covenant? Did they always treat each other in… Read more »

The Puritans’ City on a Hill

  

The word “Puritan” has developed, over time, into a reproach. If someone is tagged a Puritan today, that supposedly means he is an austere, humorless, narrow-minded bigot. Yet what do most people really know about the Puritans who came over to America in droves, especially during the 1630s? Not much. What we have now is primarily a stereotype. Puritans were far more diverse than the stereotype allows. Some, indeed, were lacking humor, but that might be because they were persecuted… Read more »

The Pilgrim Story: Communism Rejected

  

The financiers who provided the funds for the Pilgrims’ voyage to America had as one of their requirements that the farming in the new settlement be set up communally. No individual or family was to have their own land. Rather, everyone had to work on communal land and receive an equal share of the crops. This wasn’t the Pilgrims’ idea, but they felt bound to the arrangement. For a while, at least. As governor, William Bradford had to make a… Read more »

The Pilgrim Story: Harmony with the Natives?

  

One aspect of Pilgrim history that everyone seems connected with is the harmony that existed between the settlers and the natives. Was that the case, or is this another legend that has become supposed fact? Let me provide the best analysis I can on this question. Upon arrival, as I mentioned in an earlier post, the Pilgrims made a big mistake by taking some buried corn from one tribe. They did so out of their need, and they comforted themselves… Read more »