The Political History of the United States

Among the most influential documents to come out of 17th century New England was the Massachusetts Body of Liberties. A codified system of laws, the Body of Liberties would introduce due process of law to Massachusetts. We will finish this week up by returning to Plymouth and checking in on our old friends there. Join us on social media!   Threads :  https://www.threads.net/@uspoliticalp...

This week we are looking at the evolving religious dynamic in Massachusetts throughout the 1630s and '40s. During this time the Puritan church would tighten its stranglehold over the social and political systems in Massachusetts. In order to fully investigate the situation, we are going to turn our attention to Anne Hutchinson and see what happens when somebody challenges the established order. Jo...

This week our episode turns to the Pequot War and the massacre in the Mystic River Valley. This war is going to have long term political implications for New England moving forward, especially in regard to Connecticut. Join us on social media!   Threads :  https://www.threads.net/@uspoliticalpodcast Twitter:  https://twitter.com/ushistpodcast Facebook :  https://www.facebook.co...

This week we return to the narrative and welcome two new colonies to our story. First, we are going to look at Connecticut. Second, we are going to head to New Netherland and look at the Dutch effort to colonize North America. If you stick around there might even be a surprise bonus colony at the end! Join us on social media!   Threads :  https://www.threads.net/@uspoliticalpodcast Twitt...

Upon arriving in America, Roger Williams quickly became one of the most prominent colonists in New England. As the founder of Rhode Island, a proponent of Native American land rights, and an early advocate of the separation of church and state, Williams spent much of his life alienating just about everybody in New England. Despite this Williams remains a giant figure in American colonial history a...

For the first biography episode of the podcast, we look at John Winthrop. An early founder of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Winthrop would spend much of his two decades in New England as the governor of Massachusetts. More than that, however, it was his immortal words to the new colonists on their way to Massachusett's that would cement his legacy. Winthrop described Massachusetts as being "as a c...

Last time, we spent our episode discussing the causes of the Great Migration from England. We looked at the changing economic and religious atmosphere during the 1630s as Charles I did all he could to alienate the Puritans in England. This week we jump across the Atlantic and watch as the Great Migration begins to flood people into the new Massachusetts Bay Colony. Virtually overnight Massachusett...

Thus far we have placed our focus in New England on Plymouth which has seen a steady, though slow, amount of growth. However, during the 1630's the population of New England is going to explode when Puritans exit England to escape increasing persecution. This week we are going to head to England and look at the conditions that made nearly 80,000 Puritans flee from their home country. Join us on so...

Following the English attack at Wessagussett, the Plymouth colony enters a new period. During this episode, we are going to see the continued fallout from that assault. At the same time, however, we are going to see internal changes at Plymouth that help make it a far more sustainable colony and sees the functional end of starvation as a real risk. For the members of the Leiden congregation, they...

During the settlers second year in Plymouth we see them work to build off the diplomatic success that we saw a week ago. Unfortunately for the settlers, they had entered into a world that was already full of rivalries and competition between the various tribes. This week we are going to watch how the Pilgrims navigate through a political quagmire that they are unfortunately unprepared for. At the...

With the end of the first winter, the Pilgrims attention was quickly turned towards the Indian question. This week we are going to detail those early interactions with the Wampanoag tribe, and examine how the two groups were able to create a long-lasting peace.  Join us on social media!   Threads :  https://www.threads.net/@uspoliticalpodcast Twitter:  https://twitter.com/ushis...

With the Mayflower Compact in place, it is time to getting the pilgrims off the boat. This week we are going to spend our time looking at the founding of the Plymouth colony. We are going to discuss what those early days were like on the ground in New England, why the Plymouth site was chosen, and discuss the events of that first winter in North America for our newest settlers. Join us on social m...

After failing to land near the mouth of the Hudson, as originally planned, the Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower were forced to land up near Cape Cod. This caused serious issues for our colonists because they lacked the authority to set up camp there. Needing to improvise they decided that the survival of the group depended on there being some underlying agreement between all the people aboard the May...

As our story moves to the New England colonies, we need to go back to Europe and meet that first group of settlers that head to Plymouth. The Pilgrims begin their story in England, before heading to the Netherlands for a few years, and then make their journey across the Atlantic on the Mayflower in 1620. So who were these people? What were their reasons for wanting to leave England and establish a...

As Jamestown emerged from the Starving Time and the Powhatan attack in 1622 they entered a new reality. No longer the fledgling colony that we saw during those early years, the Virginia Company still struggled to work towards profitability. This will ultimately cumulate with the collapse of the Virginia Company in 1624. During those same years, the colony would see other changes including their fi...

The Powhatan Indians have become a fixture in our story. For the English, they have been critical in both ensuring the survival of the settlers as well as posing a constant threat. However, following the death of Powhatan, that relationship began to change. All of this leads to the surprise attack by the Confederacy on the settlers in 1622. This week we are going to look at the effect that 16...

Following the events of the Starving Time, the Virginia colony entered a period of relative stability. This is largely caused by the arrival of Thomas Dale who becomes the new Governor of the colony. With the colony under something now resembling martial law, discipline was on the rise. The tides would really turn however when the capture of Pocahontas led to the end of the first Anglo-Powhatan wa...

During the winter of 1609-1610, the Jamestown colony is going to hit its low mark. During that winter, food shortages would become such a serious problem that nearly two-thirds of the settlers are going to die. Stories of cannibalism emerge from that winter, and eventually, it would lead to the temporary abandonment of the colony. This episode is going to look at the traditional story of...

This week we explore the early years of the Jamestown colony and the struggles it faced right after its founding. From disease, starvation, troubles with the Powhatan Confederacy, a complete lack of farming knowledge, and a lack of good leadership, the Jamestown colony gets off to a rough start. We will discuss all these things this week as we set the stage for the famous winter of 1609-10 when th...

This week we give a formal introduction to the Powhatan Confederacy. Both the English and Powhatan have very specific ideas of what their relationship with the other will be like. As expected, however, both sides have vastly different expectations of how things will progress. This relationship is going to dominate life for the settlers for the next three decades, as the two groups swing between pe...

After spending our first 6 episodes bouncing around Europe, it is finally time to move the party across the Atlantic. This week we head into the first of several episodes looking at that first colony in Jamestown. We are going to spend this week with our focus on who the first settlers were, and why they decided to make Jamestown their new home. We are also going to take a fun little detour this w...

This week we are going to conclude our 6 part look at Europe on the eve of the formation of the English colonies. Specifically, our focus in this episode is going to be on heading back across the Atlantic and catching up on what the European powers are doing just prior to 1607. We are going to check in on the exploration of North America, the creation of Spanish Florida, as well as the English att...

So far on our survey of 16th century Europe we have spent time looking at the political situation as well as the developing religious changes. This week our attention goes to the changing economy. During the 16th century, we see the economy continue through a long period of modernization. The feudal economy is giving way to early capitalistic systems, as the age of mercantilism is ushered in....

Throughout the course of this podcast, few topics are going to remain more closely tied to the politics of the United States than religion. Religion is going to be a driving force behind so much of American politics, that often you cannot easily separate the two from each other. This week we are going to continue our survey of Europe in the 16th century by looking at the Reformation. The Reformati...

This week we look at the events of the Anglo-Spanish war, specifically in respect to the battle of the Spanish Armada. The Battle of the Spanish Armada is portrayed as a being a turning point in English history and is often pointed to as being the victory that allowed the English to establish their North American colonies. The truth, however, is far more complicated. This episode is going to...