America at 250 (Ep. 2): Rediscovering the Foundations of a Nation

Episode 2 — The First Clue

“Every investigation has to begin somewhere. Ours begins in the autumn of 1620.”

History has a way of simplifying the past.

Over time, complicated stories are reduced to a few familiar sentences, repeated so often that they become accepted without much thought. We learn dates. We memorize names. We remember famous events. Yet somewhere along the way, the people behind those events often disappear.

If our goal is to discover the true foundation of America, then we owe it to history to slow down.

Before there was a Declaration of Independence…

Before there was a Constitution…

Before there was a United States of America…

There was a small wooden ship crossing one of the most dangerous oceans in the world.

The year was 1620.

The ship was the Mayflower.

For more than two months, approximately one hundred passengers endured conditions that are difficult for most of us to imagine today. The Atlantic Ocean offered no guarantees. Violent storms battered the vessel. Living quarters were cramped, damp, and unsanitary. Disease spread easily. Every…