Photoessay #2091 - Albion's Seed

In my class, we've just read a fascinating book called Albion's Seed about the four dominant migrations from England in the 17th century

a. Puritans from East Anglia to New England
b. Cavaliers from South West England to Virginia
c. Quakers from the North Midlands to Delaware Valley
d. Scotch/Irish/England from the Borderlands to the backcountry

These groups took their foklways and religion from those regional British cultures at that time and brought them with them when they got to America.  Things like accents, word usage, log cabins, that we consider 'American' are really artifacts from seventeenth century regional culture.  Britain evolved one way, British American another.  These groups had clashing values and their conflicts remain today even though most of American now is not descended from these populations, a lot of the cultural practices remain.  Most of the people who emigrated at this time were not necessarily looking for change, mostly they wanted to just be able to do what they were already doing.  Part of the conflict leading to the American Revolution was the transformed dominant English culture trying to civilize their provincial colonies.

Certainly, I personally not descended from any of these stocks.  But maybe Dennis' mother may be.  Congregational from the New England Puritans?  My parents both came from New England but their families came from Ashkenazi European Jews.

I've done another revision of the Maier paper and might be getting close to doing some kind of limited edition just to give to family and some people in New Haven.  It's a good piece of work for what it is but not sure it has any legs.