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Two Ships: Jamestown 1619, Plymouth 1620, and the Struggle for the Soul of America
A revelatory history of American division through the prism of two ships, whose widespread use to define that division has been lost to memory despite their enduring legacy
In the bitterly polarized decades leading up to the American Civil War, it was commonplace to argue that America’s strife could be traced back to the arrival of two ships, less than a year apart—The White Lion, which brought the first enslaved Africans to Jamestown in 1619, and the Mayflower, which brought the Pilgrims to Plymouth Rock in 1620.
In a deeper sense, David S. Reynolds shows us, in this magnificent book, those two ships, invoked by Frederick Douglass and many others, stood for two quite distinct the Puritans and the Cavaliers, names and ideologies born in the bloodshed of the English Civil War. The Virginia colony, founded by royalists, was steeped in the ideas of divine right, which flowed down in rigid patriarchal hierarchies. Plymouth Colony’s dissenters to the king and his church, while hardly perfect, carried the seeds of a more egalitarian political vision.
These two ships of 1619 and 1620 played a key role in the battle of images and words that marked the roiling fight, and then war, over slavery. As Reynolds shows, there was a long stretch of time in America when everyone knew what Cavaliers and Puritans meant. It was North versus South, but more deeply, it was about whether social hierarchy was the natural order of things.
But then, as America descended into the long night of Jim Crow, the metaphor of the two ships went to sleep as well. The meaning of the Mayflower and of Thanksgiving changed as they became mainstream, apolitical ideas. If the ships’ status as cultural touchpoints before the Civil War tells us something vital about that conflict, their forgetting afterward tells us much about why the road to true equality has proved so stony. By dredging up these two ships’ dueling images, the great David S. Reynolds enables us to make the same use of them that Frederick Douglass and his contemporaries did—to challenge us, and to give us hope that we are up to the task.
In the bitterly polarized decades leading up to the American Civil War, it was commonplace to argue that America’s strife could be traced back to the arrival of two ships, less than a year apart—The White Lion, which brought the first enslaved Africans to Jamestown in 1619, and the Mayflower, which brought the Pilgrims to Plymouth Rock in 1620.
In a deeper sense, David S. Reynolds shows us, in this magnificent book, those two ships, invoked by Frederick Douglass and many others, stood for two quite distinct the Puritans and the Cavaliers, names and ideologies born in the bloodshed of the English Civil War. The Virginia colony, founded by royalists, was steeped in the ideas of divine right, which flowed down in rigid patriarchal hierarchies. Plymouth Colony’s dissenters to the king and his church, while hardly perfect, carried the seeds of a more egalitarian political vision.
These two ships of 1619 and 1620 played a key role in the battle of images and words that marked the roiling fight, and then war, over slavery. As Reynolds shows, there was a long stretch of time in America when everyone knew what Cavaliers and Puritans meant. It was North versus South, but more deeply, it was about whether social hierarchy was the natural order of things.
But then, as America descended into the long night of Jim Crow, the metaphor of the two ships went to sleep as well. The meaning of the Mayflower and of Thanksgiving changed as they became mainstream, apolitical ideas. If the ships’ status as cultural touchpoints before the Civil War tells us something vital about that conflict, their forgetting afterward tells us much about why the road to true equality has proved so stony. By dredging up these two ships’ dueling images, the great David S. Reynolds enables us to make the same use of them that Frederick Douglass and his contemporaries did—to challenge us, and to give us hope that we are up to the task.
475 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 9, 2026
About the author
David S. Reynolds
31 books89 followersDavid S. Reynolds is a Distinguished Professor of English and American Studies at the City University of New York. His works include the award-winning Waking Giant: America in the Age of Jackson, Walt Whitman's America, and John Brown, Abolitionist. He lives on Long Island in New York.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 1, 2026
This is an interesting take on the North v South, slavery v abolition history of America, introducing me to the very old idea of two ships determining the characters of the two regions of the US: the Mayflower and the first ship to deliver African slaves to Virginia. It argues that the English factions of Cavaliers (aligned with the monarchy and Anglican church, supporting rigid hierarchy and a feudalist vibe) and the Puritans (separatists who came to America to establish a more politically egalitarian society that ended up supporting abolition and revolutionary ideals. The metaphor was used heavily for a couple hundred years until fading away in the early 20th century, when New South revisionism and post-Civil War reunification made white Americans a little more racist and xenophobic and removed some of the distinction of identity. As one who has read a lot of American history, I really liked this! It had a lot of fresh information in it (for me), especially more about the English civil war than I've ever had reason to learn. That alone gives so much more context to how the US developed, ideas-wise. I do wish this had included a little more about the 20th century; it ends somewhat abruptly in hoping that we can all use this understanding to do a little better. Given the BS coming out of Washington right now (including the SC stripping the Voting Rights Act), I'm not sure we're going in the right direction.
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc!
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.*
Two Ships discusses the two ships that were formative in the development of America. The White Lion which came to America in 1619 and brought the first enslaved Africans to Jamestown in 1619 and the Mayflower which arrived at Plymouth Rock with the first pilgrims. These two ships represented two different American realities going all the way back to the English Civil War. The ideologies of the two ships led to the Puritans and the Cavaliers but also the idea of the North versus South. This book discusses where the two ships landed, the Puritans and Cavaliers, the American Revolution, the North versus South and Black Reconstruction.
I enjoyed reading this book and I found it fascinating to learn about the Puritans and Cavaliers and their origins in the English Civil War. I think this author did well to tie a lot of different topics such as slavery, the Civil War and Reconstruction all the way back to the two ships. I will be recommending this book and I think this is a valuable addition to the books on American history and slavery. I appreciate this book because of how it discusses a lot of topics as well as slavery and I found it very interesting to learn about different attitudes towards slavery and how some of these beliefs went all the way back to the two ships.
Two Ships discusses the two ships that were formative in the development of America. The White Lion which came to America in 1619 and brought the first enslaved Africans to Jamestown in 1619 and the Mayflower which arrived at Plymouth Rock with the first pilgrims. These two ships represented two different American realities going all the way back to the English Civil War. The ideologies of the two ships led to the Puritans and the Cavaliers but also the idea of the North versus South. This book discusses where the two ships landed, the Puritans and Cavaliers, the American Revolution, the North versus South and Black Reconstruction.
I enjoyed reading this book and I found it fascinating to learn about the Puritans and Cavaliers and their origins in the English Civil War. I think this author did well to tie a lot of different topics such as slavery, the Civil War and Reconstruction all the way back to the two ships. I will be recommending this book and I think this is a valuable addition to the books on American history and slavery. I appreciate this book because of how it discusses a lot of topics as well as slavery and I found it very interesting to learn about different attitudes towards slavery and how some of these beliefs went all the way back to the two ships.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This is a stellar read (thank you NetGalley and Penguin Press for allowing me access to this ARC). Using two ships as symbols of the divide in America for the Civil War was such an interesting concept.
The argument is that the Mayflower, arriving in Massachusetts in 1620, represents “antislavery” and the White Lion, a ship that brought twenty slaves to Jamestown in 1619, could represent the antithesis is explored in this book. Many of Lincoln’s contemporaries noted this as did Fredrick Douglass. A northern journalist after Lee surrender wrote that “The Slave Ship has foundered. The Mayflower floats in triumph.”
The book explores the differences between Jamestown and Plymouth Colony though the dueling ships. Entrenched in this story was the reality that everyone knew at that time of the Cavaliers and the Puritans - the North versus the South. Though this is lost in our times, the idea of these dueling ships brings back a reminder of the roughy road to freedom for all humans. One quote in this book stuck with me when Reynolds writes borrowing from another historian that the South was a slave society but the North was a society with slaves. The South was governed by monarchists who had rigid social classes while in the North there was a more democratic flavor with the belief the “only monarch” was Christ (in today’s America I think a few folks have forgotten this). A great irony Reynolds points out that both Jamestown and Plymouth were administratively founded by the sane man: Robert Rich.
This is a revelatory book for me and possibly others who have never thought about how two ships in the early 17th C could reveal so much about the cruel and unjust divide in this country. This is a must read. Highly recommend.
The argument is that the Mayflower, arriving in Massachusetts in 1620, represents “antislavery” and the White Lion, a ship that brought twenty slaves to Jamestown in 1619, could represent the antithesis is explored in this book. Many of Lincoln’s contemporaries noted this as did Fredrick Douglass. A northern journalist after Lee surrender wrote that “The Slave Ship has foundered. The Mayflower floats in triumph.”
The book explores the differences between Jamestown and Plymouth Colony though the dueling ships. Entrenched in this story was the reality that everyone knew at that time of the Cavaliers and the Puritans - the North versus the South. Though this is lost in our times, the idea of these dueling ships brings back a reminder of the roughy road to freedom for all humans. One quote in this book stuck with me when Reynolds writes borrowing from another historian that the South was a slave society but the North was a society with slaves. The South was governed by monarchists who had rigid social classes while in the North there was a more democratic flavor with the belief the “only monarch” was Christ (in today’s America I think a few folks have forgotten this). A great irony Reynolds points out that both Jamestown and Plymouth were administratively founded by the sane man: Robert Rich.
This is a revelatory book for me and possibly others who have never thought about how two ships in the early 17th C could reveal so much about the cruel and unjust divide in this country. This is a must read. Highly recommend.
July 6, 2026
This is another fine entry in what seems to be a trend of following a theme over time, which includes Marx in America (Marxism, doh) and Chosen Land (Religiosity). This book traces the ideology and tensions between the Mayflower and the White Lion (the ship from the 1619 Project) in terms of slavery, abolition, and racism in America. It is well-researched and makes important points that will irritate numerous people. While some might suggest bias by the author (He is a multiple Mayflower descendant), I believe he presents a balanced and nuanced product. With the exception of a certain 'snarckiness' towards the First Families of Virginia (the FFV, don't you know), he presents an overall, balanced, and necessary work. This is a must-read that helps explain some of the divisions in our country today.
July 24, 2026
I couldn’t enjoy this book at all, and didn’t finish it. The writing style was academic and I didn’t care at all about Cromwell, who never set foot in America, or any other British drama happening at the time. When I quit this book I started An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States. Same story, better writing and much mire honest perspective. History is written by the winners, and this book proves the point. I never got as far as the Civil War, too much of a slog.
July 17, 2026
An interesting take on the differences between the North and South before the American Civil War.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
It looks like I owe the Plymouth Colony an apology. See, I often will point to Plymouth as the nexus of judgmental American thought. Admittedly, the Puritans were not known to be a fun time. They might be the American origin of fuddy-duddiness (copyright pending). However, I should have been blaming the Massachusetts Bay Colony the whole time. That said, Two Ships by David Reynolds compares Plymouth with Jamestown and there is no contest about which unleashed the worst aspect of our early American society.
Initially, I thought Reynolds may be doing his own think-piece on how the United States grew out of two completely different places. One, Plymouth, with its Puritanical bend versus Jamestown and the first slave ship to land in the English Americas. What I didn't realize is that Reynolds wasn't trying to take credit for this thought. Instead, he is giving an in-depth look at how this philosophical discussion has always been there and never faded. Authors and politicians have used the metaphor of the two ships to show the huge differences which would ultimately result in the Civil War. Reynolds traces this all to England (of course) with the English Civil War of the Roundheads (always hilarious to see in print) and the Cavaliers (which is inarguably a cooler nickname).
Ultimately, what you end up with is part philosophy but mostly great history. This is one of those books that will end up making you think long after you finish the final page.
(This book was provided as an advanced reader copy by NetGalley and Penguin Press.)
Initially, I thought Reynolds may be doing his own think-piece on how the United States grew out of two completely different places. One, Plymouth, with its Puritanical bend versus Jamestown and the first slave ship to land in the English Americas. What I didn't realize is that Reynolds wasn't trying to take credit for this thought. Instead, he is giving an in-depth look at how this philosophical discussion has always been there and never faded. Authors and politicians have used the metaphor of the two ships to show the huge differences which would ultimately result in the Civil War. Reynolds traces this all to England (of course) with the English Civil War of the Roundheads (always hilarious to see in print) and the Cavaliers (which is inarguably a cooler nickname).
Ultimately, what you end up with is part philosophy but mostly great history. This is one of those books that will end up making you think long after you finish the final page.
(This book was provided as an advanced reader copy by NetGalley and Penguin Press.)
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews