Myths

This chapter dealt with a lot of misconceptions on English immigration to the United States. It discussed how few the Puritans actually were, which makes sense considering they were radicals.

In addition, the chapter discusses how exclusive New England was. Where myth promotes its religious freedom and courtesy, those actually living there were very particular about their neighbors and their leaders worked to keep outsiders out.

One of the things I found surprising was that of the 900,000 who came, 600,000 of them were not free. They were either Africans or indentured servants. It's an interesting beginning to the country that became an experiment of democracy, that most of its population lacked liberty.

Speaking of those indentured servants, the three pages in the chapter that have excerpts of lost ads for runaways were extremely detailed. Compared to the stereotype that the upper classes don't notice those underfoot, those people kept track of their workers.