No one escapes from the past without bearing some of its burdens. Edmund Morgan bearburdenescape Change image and share on social
The Puritans left behind so full a record of what they thought and did that scholars cannot resist the temptation to make the most of it. Edmund Morgan fullleavemake Change image and share on social
The colonial period has been the proving ground in America for the new social history, which concentrates on the ordinary doings of ordinary people rather than on high culture and high politics. Unfortunately ordinary people, almost by definition, leave behind only faint traces of their existence. Edmund Morgan americacolonialconcentrate share on social
It was not necessary and might even have been disadvantageous for a government to claim a direct personal commission and communion of the kind God had given some rulers in the Old Testament. A working government might need the support of the Church but not of God Himself in a voice from on high. Edmund Morgan churchclaimcommission share on social
The starting point for the new history, both in Europe and America, has been the record of births, marriages, and deaths, which most literate societies preserve in one form or another. In colonial America, surviving records of this kind - as of every other kind - are most abundant for New England. Edmund Morgan abundantamericabirth share on social
History, at its best, always tells us as much indirectly about ourselves as it does directly about our predecessors, and it is often most revealing when it deals with episodes and phenomena that we find repulsive. Edmund Morgan dealdirectlyepisode share on social
The men who founded and governed Massachusetts and Connecticut took themselves so seriously that they kept track of everything they did for the benefit of posterity and hoarded their papers so carefully that the whole history of the United States, recounted mainly by their descendants, has often appeared to be the history of New England writ large. Edmund Morgan appearbenefitcarefully share on social
Cotton Mather is one of those classic figures of American history who can't be left out. One has to explain him or explain him away, redeem him or denounce him. Edmund Morgan americanclassiccotton Change image and share on social
Everybody knows that Alexander Hamilton was a founding father of the United States, a young father to be sure: only thirty at the time of the Constitutional Convention and just turned thirty-eight when he left behind his brilliant career as Secretary of the Treasury. Edmund Morgan alexanderbrilliantcareer share on social