[miljacic]

Mr. McClanahan (or anyone else willing to help out),

if, as was said in your presentation, origins of the North-South splits and disputes precede even the forming of USA, how far back can we track these origins?

Could you, for example, say that there was some fundamental split (philosophic or economic) even back in England that the colonists then brought to America? Or you can’t trace it that far and have to say – no, the disputes arose only after they moved to American soil? Thanks.

[Brion McClanahan]

Yes, the split can be traced back to England, and it spilled over into the colonies. The time frame would be roughly the 1620s forward. William Berkeley, arguably the most important man in VA in the early colonial period, sided with King Charles during the English Civil War and despised Puritans. On the other hand, men like Cotton and Winthrop in New England could do without “cavalier tories” like Berkeley.

[miljacic]

Mr. McClanahan, thanks for the prompt answer!

It’s fascinating how in history some patterns like that are stable throughout centuries when you’d think as soon as one generation is gone, the next one or the one after will forget the old scores and start interacting in a more productive way.

Do you have some idea why would these Cavaliers and Puritans be fussing with each other in the first place? Was it more abstract, like religious or philosophical issues, or a more concrete clash of interest?

For example, were then Puritans against King Charles in that war? Or something alike? Thanks.

[gutzmank]

The eastern counties of England (which supplied most of the early New Englanders) were generally Puritan, while the Midlands (jumping-off point for most early Virginians) were generally Tory.

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