06/16/2024
Did you ever wonder why in America we have different regions, with different and distinct cultures? We have people in New England, with their accents, their traditions and culture that is remarkably different from the southerners, or people in the Midwest, or even people from Appalachia down through Texas and the west. Over the past few weeks as I have been reading a book, I’ve asked about 10 people, friends, neighbors, relatives and family if anyone knows why this is true. Not one person knew the answer. I didn’t know the answer either. I thought, as most did, that it just came sort of organically, that different regions of the US just evolved that way. That is until I read the book, Albion Seed. It is a 946 page book that examines this topic. So, over the next few FB posts I am going to do a review of this book, Albion Seed (I know, sounds like a real page turner, right?), and I found this book so interesting, so educational and comprehensive, that I had to write about it here on FB. I wish in high school that I had a teacher who taught history in a way that grabbed my interest and allowed me to enjoy and love our American history, so this writing will be an effort to do for all of us what I feel I missed out on. So, let’s get started.
There were 4 major waves of immigrants that came to America, the first beginning in 1629 and lasting until 1640. This group are called the Puritans. They came from the eastern part of England, almost all within a relatively condensed area of 5 counties, referred to as East Anglia. In just this 11 year period of history, 20,000 East Anglians arrived in Massachusetts and founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Of the four major waves of immigration, 3 of them (Puritans, Cavaliers and Quakers) came for religious freedom from the persecution they experienced in England. The fourth group of immigrants, called the borderland people, came not for religious reasons, but primarily for economic opportunities. Now for historical purposes, there was an earlier group that came to America prior to the Puritans, called the Pilgrims. They came over on the Mayflower and established the first New England colony called Plymouth Colony, in what later became Massachusetts. However, the pilgrims did not establish a permanent colony, it was short lived, lasting around 70 years, before being absorbed by the larger Massachusetts Bay Colony. The pilgrims were separatists, wanting to break away from the Church of England, while the Puritans wanted to reform the Church of England. The lasting legacy of the Pilgrims come from our knowledge of the ship Mayflower, the Mayflower Compact, their immense hardships where nearly half of the settlers dying in the first brutal winter and they are remembered by their attempts at friendship with the local Indians, called the Wampanoag tribe, and Thanksgiving. I wanted to point out this difference between the Pilgrims and the Puritans, because the book Albion Seed, is subtitled “Four British Folkways in America”, and the four distinct cultures or folkways, begin with the Puritans.
Today, 8 million Americans can trace their ancestry back to the 20,000 Puritans that arrived in America during that 11 year period, called The Great Migration. As we examine the Puritans and the culture and traditions they brought from East Anglica, we will see that that the area we call New England is defined, shaped and retains its cultural heritage and identity. Though others later have taken up roots in New England, from different cultures and backgrounds, the imprint of the culture (or folkways) were established and many of the latecomers assimilated into the East Anglia culture. What comprises this focus on culture or folkways? I would list a set of customs including: religious ways, how they view freedom, death, learning, dress, work, time, wealth, rank, social ways, order ways, power and authority and death. We will see that the 4 folkways of New England, the South, the Midwest and the southwest all view this listing of cultural traditions differently, and you could argue that we have 4 separate and distinct American traditions within our one united states.
The next FB post will take up with the Puritans. Hopefully I will rekindle things you vaguely remember, such as King Charles 1 of England, his persecution of the Puritans, the rise of Oliver Cromwell, the beheading of King Charles all leading to the exodus of the Puritans and their arrival here in America. Hopefully you will like and share and even have your kids and grandkids read this, as I promise you will learn American history in a way that helps you understand America, and how it is today. GD.
