Super Short Summary

In The Wordy Shipmates, Sarah Vowell humorously and critically examines the Puritans who traveled on the Arbella to Massachusetts in 1630, exploring their efforts to establish a "city upon a hill" and the lasting legacies of their actions and ideologies. The book delves into their cultural production, colonialism, politics, religious tolerance, and gender issues, urging a reevaluation of American exceptionalism and the Puritans' impact on modern American identity. The book includes references to violence against Indigenous peoples.