Miles Smith

It's in the 18th century. I mean, one of the interesting things, you bring up space and it's a really good observation. Most of the people on the Mayflower are from a part of England called East Anglia. That's the little nub of England that sticks out into the North Sea towards Norway. That was the part of England that had township governance.

It's in the 18th century. I mean, one of the interesting things, you bring up space and it's a really good observation. Most of the people on the Mayflower are from a part of England called East Anglia. That's the little nub of England that sticks out into the North Sea towards Norway. That was the part of England that had township governance.

That was the type of England you were most likely to be a Congregationalist in. So they came with a kind of preconceived notion of even how a town should be laid out. It's laid out with sort of a Congregationalist church in the middle of it. So it means that, guess what? You kind of live in a town around that church. Township governance is something we get from their East Anglian dispositions.

That was the type of England you were most likely to be a Congregationalist in. So they came with a kind of preconceived notion of even how a town should be laid out. It's laid out with sort of a Congregationalist church in the middle of it. So it means that, guess what? You kind of live in a town around that church. Township governance is something we get from their East Anglian dispositions.

And so this is something that they kind of just dispositionally replicate when they get to New England. So the church is the center of civil life. The Massachusetts General Court, what will become the colonial government, is a civil and a religious court. It's composed of ministers, many of whom sort of comprise the government of Massachusetts.

And so this is something that they kind of just dispositionally replicate when they get to New England. So the church is the center of civil life. The Massachusetts General Court, what will become the colonial government, is a civil and a religious court. It's composed of ministers, many of whom sort of comprise the government of Massachusetts.

At the very beginning of the 18th century, you have a lot of the rules change because Boston... Salem, those towns, they get rid of their more authoritarian past, the quote unquote Salem witch trials, basically orient people away from using the state to necessarily prosecute things like heresy.

At the very beginning of the 18th century, you have a lot of the rules change because Boston... Salem, those towns, they get rid of their more authoritarian past, the quote unquote Salem witch trials, basically orient people away from using the state to necessarily prosecute things like heresy.

And slowly but surely in the beginning of the 18th century, you have major changes to how the government treats the relationship between the individual and church, for example.

And slowly but surely in the beginning of the 18th century, you have major changes to how the government treats the relationship between the individual and church, for example.

Yeah, for a good century and change. Yeah, so for well over 100 years.

Yeah, for a good century and change. Yeah, so for well over 100 years.

It's one of the deciding factors. Another one is just you have a lot more people in New England by the beginning of the 18th century. And you have people who aren't really from East Anglia. They don't have any history with being a pilgrim or being a Puritan.

It's one of the deciding factors. Another one is just you have a lot more people in New England by the beginning of the 18th century. And you have people who aren't really from East Anglia. They don't have any history with being a pilgrim or being a Puritan.

So you've got folks who might be just a regular Anglican coming and moving to Boston, and they don't want to go to a Congregationalist church. You have Scottish people, for example, moving to New England, and the Scots didn't like the Congregationalists because they remember what Cromwell had done to Scotland.

So you've got folks who might be just a regular Anglican coming and moving to Boston, and they don't want to go to a Congregationalist church. You have Scottish people, for example, moving to New England, and the Scots didn't like the Congregationalists because they remember what Cromwell had done to Scotland.

when the first presbyterian church is founded in boston in 69 too that the congregations say there's a church of satan among us so there's a real sort of sense that hey we don't have this kind of pure pilgrim puritan commonwealth anymore and so everyone sort of recognizes well we can't create that via the state either so that sort of just even demographic change leads to some of these subtle changes in laws

when the first presbyterian church is founded in boston in 69 too that the congregations say there's a church of satan among us so there's a real sort of sense that hey we don't have this kind of pure pilgrim puritan commonwealth anymore and so everyone sort of recognizes well we can't create that via the state either so that sort of just even demographic change leads to some of these subtle changes in laws

That's a great, great question. You would tend to think that it would sort of create a relatively individualistic society, but the legacy of it's so strong that even today, New England tends to be more kind of conformist than other parts of the country. It tends to vote the same way. People tend to sort of think the same way.

That's a great, great question. You would tend to think that it would sort of create a relatively individualistic society, but the legacy of it's so strong that even today, New England tends to be more kind of conformist than other parts of the country. It tends to vote the same way. People tend to sort of think the same way.