Week of February 22

Michael R. H. Swanson, Ph. D.

Office: GHH 215

Hours: M, W, F 1:00-2:00

T, 9:00 - 10:00 or by appointment

Phone: 254 3230

E-mail: amst335@gmail.com

Happy George Washington's Real Birthday! We'll serenade him in class if the majority desires. There is a legitimate connection to this class. The most famous portrait of the Father of our Country was painted by Gilbert Stuart, who was born in Rhode Island. Click on the detail in the top left corner for a quick visit to the museum at his birthplace.

I'm going to give you one more period to cojmplete reading Mourt. We'll spend some time this period continuing to look at similarities and differences in the contact with Native Americans as experienced by both Pilgrim and Puritan settlers. These are complicated and controversial stories, and our knowledge is filtered through a single point of view... that of the white population. Reminding ourselves that we may be misled by these one-sided interpretations, yet we can still learn something about the ways both the white and Native American population sought to exploit the contact with the other. I do not use exploit in a negative sense. I simply mean a conscious attempt to use something to one's own advantage. (As in exploiting internet resources to do research.)

To augment your understanding concerning Native American Tribes in New England, visit two useful resources... each of which contains links to historical and contemporary information about a number of the most important tribes in this area. Clicking on the links to the left will carry you to these. See what you can find about at least one of the tribes mentioned in Wood or Mourt.

Do note that both these sites are created by amateurs, and must be used with some caution. You will find these at:

For Thursday, February 25

From the Internet, Download and Read

Phineas Pratt’s Account of the Wessagussett Plantation,

Relations between the English and Native Americans were frequently tense, and often marked by bluster, bluff, chicanery, and outright deceit. Phineas Pratt was in the thick of things from the first, and his narrative provides a good sense of this. It reads as if it would make a good screenplay. Perhaps it needs to be taken with a grain of salt, for reasons which the introduction on the website will make clear.

Breathe a sigh of relief, folks. This one is in modern typography. (whew). It also concludes the section of the course devoted to the first settements, which means, you guessed it, I'm going to ask you to do a little writing for me.l