Two Ships: Jamestown 1619, Plymouth 1620, and the Struggle for the Soul of America – A Virtual Book Talk

Why Is America So Divided? Two Ships and the Search for Unity.

Why have Americans disagreed so deeply about freedom, equality, and who belongs? And what can our history teach us about coming together?

Join historian David S. Reynolds for a discussion of his new book, Two Ships: Jamestown 1619, Plymouth 1620, and the Struggle for the Soul of America (Penguin Press, 2026). Reynolds traces two powerful strands of American life through the arrival of the White Lion, which brought enslaved Africans to Virginia in 1619, and the Mayflower, which carried the Pilgrims to Plymouth in 1620.

The ships came to symbolize competing visions of the nation. Their histories are more complicated than any simple opposition between North and South, yet the struggle they represent shaped the fight over slavery, the Civil War, and the long pursuit of equal rights. Reynolds will explore how people across racial and regional lines worked together for change—and what that history might offer a divided country today.

The story also offers a chance to revisit the Puritan inheritance: its ideals, its contradictions, and its place in the continuing search for a more just union.

This event is free and open to all, but registration is required. Click here to register.

After registering, you will receive an email with information about attending the webinar.   

Email any questions to programs@14beacon.org. 

Speaker

David S. Reynolds is a Distinguished Professor of English, History, and Biography/Memoir at the CUNY Graduate Center. His latest book is Two Ships: Jamestown 1619, Plymouth 1620, and the Struggle for the Soul of America. He is also the author of Abe: Abraham Lincoln in His Times, winner of the Lincoln Prize, and Walt Whitman’s America, winner of the Bancroft Prize. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, and The Washington Post.