Wednesday October 21, 2009 5:30 — 7:00 p.m.
‘Mine-Host of Ma-re Mount’ and his ‘Land of Milk and Honey’: A Reappraisal of Thomas Morton and his World
Charlotte Carrington, University of Cambridge
Thomas Morton established the Ma-re Mount settlement, near modern-day Quincy, Massachusetts, in the 1620s. Morton, an Anglican gentleman and lawyer, freed the servants at the plantation in order to trade and plant as equals. The Mortonites erected a maypole and embraced Old English traditions, which vexed the Pilgrims and Puritans. Morton, who was banished from New England more than once, is primarily remembered as a marginal licentious anti-type to his Puritan opponents. This article places Morton at the centre of the narrative, and examines the true nature of his dissent. It addresses Morton's disregarded side of the story, his English background and his actual actions and interactions. It argues that Morton's New World identity was formed upon the soundless of the common law and worldly entrepreneurial concerns. Morton used this praxis to pen his protest against the discrimination of the authorities, and to promote a new vision for New England.
All papers are pre-circulated electronically to those who plan to attend the seminar in person. For a copy of the paper, e-mail Heather Radke at scholl@newberry.org,or call (312) 255-3524.
The Newberry Library Seminar in Early American History and Culture is co-sponsored by the History Departments of DePaul University, Loyola University Chicago, Northern Illinois University, Northwestern University, the University of Illinois at Chicago, and the Karla Scherer Center for the Study of American Culture at the University of Chicago
|
