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Explore the story of early Boston, Massachusetts, and the wider 17TH century world
Puritans in the 21st century: politics, myths and puritan studies
Are New England’s Puritans the first Christian Nationalists? What would John Winthrop, who stood down after his election defeat, have to say about the state of US politics? Why can’t we budge the myths about the Puritans as fun-hating, sex-loathing, grim-faced martinets?
Join us on Saturday, November 7, for Puritans in the 21st Century: Politics, Myths and the Future, a day-long symposium, held online and in the gorgeous setting of American Ancestors, central Boston, asking whether the Puritans still matter today.
In a series of lively, engaging talks with plenty of time for Q&A, leading scholars of Puritanism address all the questions you might have (certainly if you’ve followed our presentations) and more. From resistance to tyranny to the question of coexistence with Native people to the myth of American exceptionalism and claims of Christian Nationalists, we’ve got you covered. At a time when democracy is threatened, Puritans provide us with lessons in fighting tyrants, establishing the rule of law, and self-governance. Plus: is there a future for Puritan studies?
Register now to join Francis Bremer, Holly Brewer, John Coffey, David Hall, Abram Van Engen, Daniel Richter, Adrian Chastain Weimer, Neal Dugre, Lori Rogers-Stokes, and Meredith Neuman in the first major gathering of Puritan scholars in more than 25 years. The cost for the entire day is $25/person, $10/students, or free online. Come early for coffee and pastries, stay for the day. You’ll be captivated!
Puritans in the 21st Century is hosted by American Ancestors, the Colonial Society of Massachusetts, the Congregational Library & Archives, First Church Bostons, Massachusetts Historical Society and the Partnership of Historic Bostons.
To kick off the symposium, the Massachusetts Historical Society is holding an open house on Friday, November 6, 1-3pm, showcasing highlights from its unparalleled Puritan collection - including John Everett’s leather coat from his time in Cromwell’s New Model Army. Free and open to all.
The Partnership of Historic Bostons is also offering, free to symposium attendees, our 1630 walking tour on Sunday, November 8, 11am-12:30pm. You’ve learned about the Puritans - now see where they lived, loved, prayed, debated and were buried. Register here.
John Winthrop might well be turning over in his grave in King’s Chapel at the thought of today’s US politics. Or would he? Find out more at Puritans in the 21st Century, a symposium of Puritan scholars on Saturday, Nov 7. Image courtesy of American Ancestors
Time to change history
Ta dah! We’re delighted to announce that the City of Boston has awarded the Partnership of Historic Bostons, following a joint application with Upstander Project and Elizabeth Solomon of the Massachusetts of Ponkapoag, a grant to identify sites for new historical markers in Boston. Just under a century ago, the Founders Memorial depicting improbably heroic and robust colonists and equally improbably kneeling Native men in Midwest garb was installed on the Boston Common. Where, we will ask, are the memorials to the Native people whose land this was?
Of course, there is a plethora of historic sites all over Boston that have been heretofore unnoticed. The site of the home of Zipporah Atkin, the first Black woman recorded to have owned her own property in the 17th century. The place where Cotton Mather’s house was bombed after he championed smallpox vaccination. The Boston Common itself, where dozens of Native men were hanged during King Philip’s War - in addition to witches, criminals and Quakers.
We’ll be in touch to ask you what historic sites you think need to be memorialised today. We’ll be sending you a survey as we start our research. Boston is bursting with history and, with with your help and Upstander Project and Elizabeth Solomon of the Massachusetts at Ponkapoag, we’ll help to put more unknown voices on the Boston map. Stay tuned!
Image: The Founders Memorial on the Boston Common, installed in 1930 and improbably bearing the visage of then-Mayor James Michael Curley, as well as inaccurate depictions of two Native men. Wikimedia Commons.
Events
“Land as an IDOL”
Daniel Richter with Brad Lopes
ONLINE, SEPTEMBER 30, 2026, 5:30-7:30PM
Age of Exploration, papal bulls, terra nullius? What were the justifications that English Puritans used to explain their expropriation of Native land? Renowned historian Daniel Richter tackles the question of justification in an exploration of theory and practice of colonial land annexation. “Land! Land! Hath been the Idol of Many in New-England,” lamented Puritan clergyman Increase Mather. Join this trenchant presentation, moderated by Aquinnah Wampanoag educator Brad Lopes.
“We need a full and honest
reckoning with our history.”
— attendee, Tyranny vs Liberty series
Change at Peskeompskut
In May 2026, hundreds of people gathered to mourn the slaughter of 300 elders, women and children by colonial forces at Turners Falls, in one of the worst atrocities in King Philip’s War. But this Day of Remembrance was not just about mourning. It marked the telling of the truthful story of the massacre, as Liz Cold Wind Santana-Kiser and David Brule relate.
JOIN OUR BOOK CLUB!
Eloquent, powerful, original, both sweeping and intimate - how many more words of praise can we offer Gloria Whiting’s Belonging? Read with us as we delve into the way enslaved Black people struggled to marry and form families - and to keep those families intact - and how their struggle helped to end Massachusetts slavery.
surprising revolutionaries
New England Puritans insisted on self-government, bearing with them their charter. They drafted the first American bill of rights, enshrining liberties which far surpassed any in the English-speaking world. Who would have thought that Puritans could be so revolutionary? Francis J. Bremer explores the 1641 Body of Liberties and its guarantee of due process, the right to protest, and equality under the law.
“This talk opened a new world for me.”
— attendee, ‘I Pledge Allegiance’: Sovereignty and Sanctuary in the Dawnland