In the aftermath of King Philip’s War the Puritans of New England immediately set out to write the history of this traumatic conflict. While the initial tenor of these histories adopted the message of the jeremiad, calling the English to reform their ways or suffer further judgment, over time the ways in which the war was remembered changed significantly. Following the undulations of New England history, New Englanders continued to repurpose this narrative according to their needs. What began as a story of barbarous savages over time became an epic tragedy of native extinction leading right up to the present day when the Indigenous still struggle to be recognized.

 In this lesson students will learn to distinguish between the categories of history and memory by examining the way that King Philip’s War has been remembered over time. More specifically, they will analyze five images and explain how these primary sources reveal change over time.