In the American Grain Chapter Summary & Analysis - The May-Pole at Merry Mount Summary

The May-Pole at Merry Mount Summary

In this essay, Williams has a narrator begin by confronting readers with a reality check of sorts. He bristles against American History for its "nearly universal lack of scale." To retrieve an equilibrium, he first notes the focus of historian A.C. Adams on the May-pole at Merry Mount incident, saying that Adams' focus on Thomas Morton is too close and suggesting that descriptions of Morton's persona and his being at Merry Mount as mere chance are not adequate, as they do not consider the circumstances surrounding Morton. He next concedes that it makes sense that the Puritans wanted to be rid of Morton, for the man did "rendezvous" rough and lawless men, sell liquor and firearms to the natives, and "consort with Indian girls." However, Williams challenges the wrong-ness of a white man trading items that the white men had and the natives unfairly had none with which to equalize...
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