The Birth of an American Town ~ Episode 2

The second installment of a three-part documentary series telling the story of the formation of the town of Sudbury, Massachusetts in the 17th century. In this episode, the Sudbury settlers lay out an early form of infrastructure and establish a self-sufficient municipal government. However, as the town grows and a new generation comes of age, class division threatens to tear the community apart.

Very special thanks to @StefanMilo for his guest narration and Callum from @Embracehistoria for his cartography.

0:00 Introduction
1:37 Chapter IV: Make Straight The Way
13:56 Chapter V: The Secret Lives of Puritans
25:30 Chapter VI: Every Man An Equal
38:55 Conclusion / Credits

~REFERENCES~

[1] Alfred Sereno Hudson. The History of Sudbury, Massachusetts (1889). The Sudbury Press, Page 130-131

[2] Hudson, Page 90-103

[3] Nathaniel B. Shurtleff. Records of the Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New England (1853). From the Press of William White, Page 271

[4] Sumner Chilton Powell. Puritan Village: The Formation of a New England Town (1963). Wesleyan University Press, Page 82-91

[5] Hudson, Page 100-103

[6] Barbara Robinson. Wayland Historical Tours (2013 Edition). Wayland Historical Society, Page 16-19

[7] Powell, Page 98-101

[8] Powell, Page 112-113

[9] Hudson, Page 49

[11] William Barry. A History of Framingham, Massachusetts (1847). James Monroe and Company, Page 16-29

[12] Dennis A. Connole. The Indians of the Nipmuc Country in Southern New England, 1630-1750 (2001). McFarland and Company, Page 105

[14] Roger Thompson. Sex in Middlesex: Popular Mores in a Massachusetts County, 1649-1699 (1984). University of Massachusetts Amherst Press, Page 71-74

[15] Thompson, Page 17-31

[16] Thompson, Page 58-59

[17] Thompson, Page 35, 57, 100

[18] Thompson, Page 172-173

[19] Powell, Page 116-132

[RokDocJekyl]

This is the kind of American history we need. Not the "great man" stuff, but the common and ordinary people building up something uncommon and extraordinary.

[dmman]

NOW I get it! Through explaining the governance of Sudbury, I get when you mean by Puritan freedom. I get the contradiction. “Freedom for me, not for thee!”

[HistoryTime]

Lovely stuff. Looking forward to Mr Beast narrating part 3

[SonOfExcess]

Atun-Shei, you probably won’t end up reading this, but I just wanted to thank you for opening my eyes. Not only did your videos drag me out of the depths from believing a lot of the lost cause, but they’ve helped me see a different side to history and view the world differently.

Frankly I now try as hard as I can to see history from the perspective of underrepresented groups and those who have been ignored or persecuted in history.

You’ve made me a more intelligent, better informed and all around better man. I used to be pretty right wing, now I feel like a totally different person politically.

So from one reformed history buff to another, thank you sir. You are genuinely one of my YouTube heroes.

[stormblessed]

I live in Sudbury. My family has an antique shop here. I love this town. The Grist Mill and The Wayside Inn are my favorites. I wish I knew Atun was in town, I would have gone looking for him.

[notthis]

I can only imagine

"Setting aside your office, I regard you no more than another man"

was punctuated by several air horn blasts

[HeroofBergen]

19:30 The best joke in Atun Shei history.

[ryanm]

I am listening to this while I am at work at an outdoor historical museum that has a collection of buildings from across the country. I realized we have a house from Sudbury here! The Plympton family house was built in the early 1700s with family lore stating a structure had been present since 1640. Just a cool coincidence!

[Game_Hero]

Really wish this series would continue up to the 21st century. Seeing these peoples, I've became attached to them. I want to see their yearbook, love letters, newspaper articles, petition, home movies and photographies, first telegraph station, weather events that shook them, big popular events long forgotten.

[mauricedesaxe]

Like before, the music is excellent! Thought I'd share what I heard in case others are curious.
0:32: Vivaldi, Four Seasons, Winter, Allegro Non Molto.
I adore the soloist and will have to track down the recording used here.
4:10: Ma Vlast Moldau, Bedřich Smentana, our venerable main theme!
13:53: Vivaldi, Four Seasons, Spring, Allegro
20:29: Mozart Requiem in D Minor, Introitus.
23:13: Vivaldi Concerto for Two Violins in A Minor 2nd movement, Larghetto e spiritoso.
Vivaldi's double concertos deserve more love so I am happy to see it here.
25:32: Mozart String Quartet No. 15 in D Minor K.421
33:15 Vivaldi, Four Seasons, Winter, Allegro Non Molto
36:54 Vivaldi, Four Seaons, Summer, Presto.
38:55 Ma Vlast Moldau, Bedřich Smentana
But it looks like it's a different recording; there's a lovely harp and a lot more bass.

[MalaysianChopsticks]

Why is this so nostalgic? The British narrator and the TV resolution

[HistorywithCy]

I don't know why I'm so fascinated by all of those tombstones... great and super interesting program as always!

[HermesSonofZeus]

Just the thing to watch on a snowy Massachusetts afternoon.

[lucasmatiasdelaguilamacdon]

Mr. Atun Shei, as someone actually pursuing a history degree, I am more than happy to have encountered your content. This is actual great scholarship. Not your average edutainment video. You truly have huge talent for actual academic historical pursuit, I’m really excited about what will come next!

[yrobtsvt]

I don't know how many views you get on these "local" history videos which are really about America in general, but this series is my favorite thing you're doing right now

[braunx]

Well worth the wait. This is a top quality series. I look forward to episode 3.

[brianwoodbridge]

19:33 still beating the meetinghouse drum. Haha i see what you did there 😆

[ryanconners]

This is criminally underviewed, incredible work!

[patrickblanchette]

I love the collaboration in this video between Atun-Shei Films and Stefan Milo. I hope you folks are able to do more collaborations in the future.

[kyleclark]

This is genuinely a great listen! I've very little knowledge of the Old Colonies, being a filthy Ohioan. It's so refreshing to see that personal political squabbles even existed this early in American history. God, imagine the Twitter wars that those elders could have fought! Oh, well. They're about to fight an entirely different war in the mot too distant future. Can't wait for the next episode, guys!