When the American Colonists Experimented with Socialism
Religion & Liberty Online

When the American Colonists Experimented with Socialism

Do you remember the story about colonial Americans experimenting with socialism? Probably not. It’s a tale that rarely finds its way into the textbooks of high school and college students. Indeed, I had been out of school nearly 20 years when I first heard about it.

If your not familiar with this part of American history, this short video by Larry Schweikart will fill you in on explains what happened when the early settlers who arrived at Plymouth and Jamestown in the early 1600s experimented with socialist communes. (Spoiler alert: It didn’t work out.)

Joe Carter

Joe Carter is a senior writer for The Gospel Coalition, author of The Life and Faith Field Guide for Parents, the editor of the NIV Lifehacks Bible, and coauthor of How to Argue Like Jesus: Learning Persuasion from History’s Greatest Communicator. He also serves as an associate pastor at McLean Bible Church in Arlington, Va.