History on Fire
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Episode 96: The Wildest Man You Never Heard Of, Thomas Morton
🕑 Added 2022-12-04 18:04:57 +0000 UTC
Today we are going to play with one of the greatest stories you probably have never heard of. Even in U.S. very little known about this story and it’s a crime. If you have even a superficial knowledge of American history, you have almost certainly heard about the settlers who came to Plymouth in 1620. What you may not have heard about is that shortly thereafter a gentleman named Thomas Morton set up a different colony just down the road from Plymouth. At a time when most people arrived to Plymouth in chains, as indentured servants, Morton abolished servitude in his settlement he called Merrymount. At a time when his neighbors in Plymouth were brutally squashing religious dissent, Morton encouraged religious freedom. And on top of it all, he and his friends entertained extremely friendly relations with Native tribes even openly intermarrying. What makes the story even crazier is that Merrymount was well on its way to be more successful than Plymouth. When new settlers arrived on American shores, many took one look at ultra-strict Plymouth, another look at the freedom to be enjoyed at Merrymount and didn’t need to be told twice which way to go. The only reason why Merrymount didn’t make it in the history books you may have read is because the pilgrims turned to violence to destroy a community whose existence was a challenge to all of their beliefs.
From that day forward, the name of Thomas Morton has largely been erased from history. Some people could refer to Morton as a victim of the Puritan brand of cancel culture. The Puritan story became mainstream, and Morton’s name disappeared. This episode fixes this mistake.
Comments
History on Fire
Thank you! Much appreciated
Neil Bishop
I’m a new subscriber, so I’m listening to this three years late. This episode is so great I can’t find the superlatives to praise it. Bravo!!! This is history is so pertinent to the current division between MAGA and constitutional democracy, everyone should know it.
History on Fire
agreed. that's what's fascinating about this story
David and Leyna Clarke
I wonder what America would look like today if Morton’s culture had been allowed to flourish! So sad that the puritans put a stop to it. Thank you for shining a light on this part of our history!
