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Peter C. Mancall

Puritans going to church: (Original Caption) "Thanks be to God for winter time! That bore the Mayflower up, To pour amid New England snows the treasures of its cup, To fold them in its icy arms, those sturdy Pilgrim sires, And weld an iron brotherhood around their Christmas fires." - B.F. Taylor. (Bettman Collection/Getty)

Why the Puritans cracked down on celebrating Christmas

Peter C. Mancall
Protestors affiliated with the "Occupy Wall Street" protests wave signs and banners. At right: A rally during the Great Depression (AP/LOC)

As states weigh human lives versus the economy, history suggests the economy often wins

Peter C. Mancall
President Donald Trump at the White House, Oct. 24, 2019. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Impeachment is better than exile

Peter C. Mancall
This June 27, 2006, file photo, shows a 17th century costumed role player, who called himself Samuel Fuller, in a 1627 Pilgrim Village at Plimoth Plantation in Plymouth, Mass. (AP Photo/Chitose Suzuki, File)

Why the Pilgrims were actually able to survive

Peter C. Mancall
Christopher Columbus Monument in Baltimore, Maryland (AP)

Columbus believed he would find “blemmyes” and “sciapods” — not people — in the New World

Peter C. Mancall
(Wikimedia)

The two men who almost derailed New England’s first colonies

Peter C. Mancall
Depiction of Protestant pilgrims preparing to leave for the New World

One man nearly derailed the New England colonies before they really began

Peter C. Mancall