Writing History: An American Inspiration Author Event and Dinner

Writing History: David S. Reynolds talks with Ryan J. Woods about "Two Ships: Jamestown 1619, Plymouth 1620, and the Struggle for the Soul of America"
American Ancestors headquarters and Chilton Club, Boston, MA
5:00 – 8:30 p.m. (Eastern Time)  

Join us for this revelatory evening viewing our country’s history through the prism of two ships that brought people and new ideas to the North and South. The evening begins with prize-winning historian David Reynolds and Ryan J. Woods of American Ancestors exploring the colonial settlements of Plymouth and Jamestown and their war of ideas, as well as the craft of researching and writing history. Then, join us—and Mr. Reynolds—for a cocktail reception and dinner at the Chilton Club. 

Writing History: David S. Reynolds talks with Ryan J. Woods about "Two Ships: Jamestown 1619, Plymouth 1620, and the Struggle for the Soul of America"
American Ancestors headquarters, 97 Newbury Street, Boston, MA 02116
5:00 – 6:15 p.m. (Eastern Time) 

In the polarized decades leading up to the American Civil War, many traced our strife to the arrival of two ships:  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. Invoked by such thought-leaders as Frederick Douglass, the two ships stood for two distinct realities: the Puritans and the Cavaliers, names and ideologies born in the bloodshed of the English Civil War. One was steeped in the ideas of divine right and patriarchal hierarchies. The other carried dissenters to the king and his church, the seeds of a more egalitarian political vision.  Join the prize-winning historian David S. Reynolds and moderator Ryan J. Woods to explore these ships’ dueling images and their legacies, also this acclaimed author’s processes for research and writing about America’s history.

“By telling the story of the White Lion and of the Mayflower, David S. Reynolds has found a new and compelling way to explore the infinite complexities of the American story—complexities that shape us still.” —Jon Meacham

“Provocative . . . essential reading for today’s polarized times.” —Henry Louis Gates, Jr."

Dinner with David Reynolds
Chilton Club, 152 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02116
6:30 – 8:30 PM (ET)

Following the conversation at American Ancestors, join David Reynolds for a private reception and dinner at the Chilton Club. This is an exclusive event for American Ancestors Board and Council and their guests.