A new history examines how the late 19th century’s raucous party system gave way to a more sedate and exclusionary political culture that erected more and more barriers to participation.
From: Spirit Of The Fighting 69th [Email him]
Virginians claiming 1607 as America’s founding remind me of the Irish who claim America was discovered by St. Brendan and his happy monks, or the Scandinavians who push for Leif Erickson and the Vikings, where even the Chinese have now gotten into the act. They all may have a point, but so what, the only discovery that counted was the Italian from Genoa sailing for the Spanish crown, Sr. Cristoforo Columbo.
So, it is with Jamestown, whose settlers weren’t there to found a new society, but to seek their fortunes. A permanent settlement was not a priority, only the prodigious efforts of Capt. John Smith could get them to build shelters and plant crops. Jamestown barely survived and many colonists were all for pulling up stakes and hauling their sorry carcasses back to England. That was not the story farther north.