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Ep. 62: Education In Puritan New England: A Model Beyond Literacy and Memorization: Building an....

The topic of education is a HUGE deal, and it has massive implications. What does it mean to be educated? What value does education bring to a society? Does literacy matter? How focused should society be around the education of its young? Many....

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Ep. 61: The Politics of Puritan Missions: The Coming of John Eliot, Pt. 3

Puritan missions in New England were slow to start. Once they did, it became difficult to know where sincere evangelism ended and politics began. John Eliot received a lot of help to launch his missionary work, but there was a lot of controversy surrounding....

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Ep. 60: The Politics of Puritan Missions: The Coming of John Eliot, Pt. 2

If there is a sincere desire to succeed, one will often look to those who have already succeeded for guidance. Thomas Mayhew had been successful in missions. John Eliot and Massachusetts Bay did not look to Thomas Mayhew's example. His had been....

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Ep. 59: The Politics of Puritan Missions: The Coming of John Eliot, Pt. 1

In the wake of so many controversies, there arose one more for the Puritan Oligarchy. This was in their wheelhouse and presumably should have been a slam dunk. It wasn't. The missionary efforts of The United Colonies, led by John Eliot, was marred with....

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Ep. 58: Massachusetts Bay vs. Samuel Gorton: The Battle for Rhode Island, Pt. 2

Massachusetts Bay had been eyeing Narragansett Bay for a long time. They had been positioning themselves to absorb it. They were invited to come. Then they overreached. They scared the people that had invited them. They created a political firestorm....

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Ep. 57: Massachusetts Bay vs. Samuel Gorton: The Battle for Rhode Island, Pt. 1

In a post-Pequot world, in a post-Miantonomo world, Narragansett Bay and all of Rhode Island was a coveted piece of property. The Puritans wanted it. All the Puritan groups. Even though they had formed the United Colonies, a formidable power block, they....

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Ep. 56: Miantonomo was Framed!

Using the same playbook as with Sassacus, the English destroyed Miantonomo. Nobody is perfect, but he appears to have tried to accommodate and appease his English counterparts repeatedly. Even at the expense of his own culture and reputation....

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Ep. 55: How Do You Process and Apply History?

In part three of our Trilogy on the Philosophy that drives the podcast "History Comes Alive", we will distill down the two questions: "What is the role of government?" and "What do you really know about American History?" into application. How do you....

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Ep. 54: What Do You Really Know About American History?

Last week we asked the question, "What's the Purpose of Government?" This week, we'll expand some of the principles we discussed and move the conversation forward. What do you really know about American History? Like last week, the idea behind the....

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Ep. 53: What's the Purpose of Government?

As we move past the pivotal Pequot War and more toward the development of the New England Colonies, we are going to take a few weeks and begin to develop an outline of the philosophical approach to government, from my perspective, under our current....

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Ep. 52: Flight of the Pequots

It would seem reasonable that after the massacre at Mystic the remaining Pequots would have been able to simply escape into the landscape and slowly be absorbed into other native groups. They weren't. The English goal had shifted. They wanted to...

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Ep. 51: Mystic Aftermath: English Victory and Retreat

In the aftermath of a very lopsided English victory over the Pequots at Mystic, the English were forced to make a hasty retreat. Most of their native support abandoned them. The Pequots rallied, and the English fled. Sassacus, the main sachem of the Pequots....

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Ep. 50: The Pequots, Pt. 16: The Mystic Massacre: 30 Minutes of Hell

What does total war look like? Can a people suffer the effects of total war and survive? Can their will to continue be crushed? What if they still have fighting power and ability? As we work through the massacre at Mystic, you be the judge. Were the actions....

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Ep. 49: The Pequots, Pt. 15: The Enemy Within

They say a house divided against itself cannot stand. Well, the Pequots in 1637 were one such house. We've developed a working model of their last several years as far as relationships to other people. We've seen how the Europeans had first traded with....

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Ep. 48: The Pequots, Pt. 14: The Organization of New England

The Pequots made a statement when they attacked Wethersfield. The Englishmen responded. It took a while for them to get on the same page, but eventually they did. Massachusetts Bay was the first to declare war, but Connecticut was the first to....

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Ep. 47: The Pequots, Pt. 13: The Attack on Weathersfield

The Pequots had been treated unfairly by both the English and, to a lesser extent, the Dutch, for a long time. What would happen if the Pequots fought back? This week we'll see what happened at Wethersfield when the Pequots struck. We’ll also examine why....

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Ep. 46: The Pequots, Pt. 12: The Arrival of Two Johns and the Influence of Machiavelli

After a long lonely winter, Saybrook began to get the attention of both Massachusetts Bay and the other Connecticut settlements. How did that work? What were the motives? The Europeans had a very different mindset from the natives. Where did that come....

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Ep. 45: The Pequots, Pt. 11: A Small Break From Pequot Aggression: The Arrival of Thomas Stanton...

The winter of 1636-7 was a long and dangerous time for the folks at Saybrook Fort. Under siege and isolated. With the arrival of Thomas Stanton there would be one more meeting between the English at Saybrook and the Pequots. Stanton would be the interpreter....

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Ep. 44: The Pequots, Pt. 10: The Continuation of Pequot Aggression: The Siege of Saybrook Fort...

What were the conditions at Saybrook Fort? What did Edward Gibbon think about Saybrook and Lion Gardiner? Who were Thomas Hurlbut, Thomas Ramble, and Arthur Branch? What roles did they play in the Battle of the Burning Fields? These questions...

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Ep. 43: The Pequots, Pt. 9: The Beginning of Pequot Aggression

What happens when you push a people too far? Who pays the price when the agitators come from far away, but leave their countrymen to deal with their actions? What is the value of having a trained military leader at these points? What happens if....

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Ep. 42: The Pequots, Pt. 8: English Diplomacy in the Wake of the Success of Roger Williams

With the success of Roger Williams, the magistrates of Massachusetts Bay took the lead role in securing not just the neutrality of the Narragansetts in the coming war with the Pequots. They took the lead in securing Narragansett support. Full support on....

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Ep. 41: The Pequots, Pt. 7: The Anticipation of Pequot Aggression: English Diplomacy in the Wake...

After the failed Saybrook Conference and expedition of John Endecott the English concern was growing. That concern was quelled from an unlikely source: Roger Williams. The recently exiled preacher would help to set the course for Puritan dominance...

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Ep. 40: The Pequots, Pt. 6: The Provocation of the Pequots Toward Aggression

The Conference at Saybrook had failed. The Block Island expedition had not yielded the results John Endecott had hoped for. Now, against the better judgement of Lion Gardiner, he would take his men and his mission to the heart of Pequot Country...

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Ep. 39: The Pequots, Pt. 5: The Heavy Hand of John Endicott at Block Island

The Conference at Saybrook had failed. As far as the English were concerned, the time for diplomacy was passed. The Pequots were the designated enemy, but the Easter Niantics would also have to be put in their place. John Endicott was dispatched...

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Ep. 38: The Pequots, Pt. 4: Fallout from the Failed Conference at Saybrook & Murder of John Oldham

After the failure of the Saybrook Conference, the Pequots were even more isolated. Their options were limited. They were victims of paranoia and covetousness. It seems nothing they did helped to advance their cause, or the cause of peace....

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Ep. 37: The Pequots, Pt. 3: The English Population Invasion of Connecticut

After the murder of John Stone, the Puritans of Massachusetts Bay came to terms with the Pequot Nation through an agreement known as The Treaty of 1634. The terms definitively favored the English. They took full advantage of the provisions....

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Ep. 36: The Pequots, Pt. 2: The Left Bookend to Destruction: The Misidentification of John Stone

In 1633 the seemingly invincible Pequot Nation suddenly found themselves dealing with multiple crises. Their stable leadership was gone. Their commanding population was eroding. The world was changing and they had real enemies....

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Ep. 35: The Pequots, Pt. 1: Who Were the Pequots?

Who were the Pequots, and what happened to them? In this episode, we will be introduced to the Pequot nation. They enjoyed a meteoric rise to the top. Where did they come from? What were the dynamics that drove their world?

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Ep. 34: John Underhill, Pt. 5: The Administrative Years in New Netherland

John Underhill had really done it all. After his arrival in 1630, he was very active for whomever he was working for at any given time. In his later years, living under Dutch rule, he maintained an unusual flair for public service and controversy....

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Ep. 33: John Underhill, Pt. 4: His Military Service in New Netherland

 John Underhill lived enough for two men while serving the New England colonies. It was not enough. In the 1640s he left his English responsibilities behind and began an aggressive military campaign against many of the native groups located in....

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Ep. 32: 3 Blogs on the Lead-Up to the American Revolution

We have been developing the advent of Puritan society in New England. We have met several characters and worked through several events that helped to establish Puritan dominance. In today's episode, we are going to take a detour and introduce....

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Ep. 31: John Underhill, Pt. 3: Prelude to his Arrival in New Netherland

John Underhill had an interesting life. There always seems to be a bigger than life aspect to his experiences. He was a part of some of the biggest controversies in Puritan New England. His service in New Netherland would be just as controversial....

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Ep. 30: John Underhill, Pt. 2: The Years of Service in Puritan New England

There were many men who helped shape the Colonial landscape of New England. Many dynamic and energetic men. One of the most prolific, and active men of the 1630s had to be John Underhill. When we last met, we developed a little of his family background....

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Ep. 29: John Underhill, Pt. 1: How the English Underhills Came to Live Among the Dutch; or....

We often consider the English Colonization of North America in the 17th century along the lines of national identity and pride. The English against the French. The English against the Spanish. Or, to a lesser extent, the English against the Dutch....

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