10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America

In his brief introduction to 10 Days that Unexpectedly Changed America, author Steven M. Gillon explains that the book came about as a companion volume to the documentary series which aired on The History Channel. The dates included went through a complex deliberative process. The historians and History Channel producers in charge of narrowing the initial list to 10 first agreed that no events occurring after 1965 would be included because of “the difficulty of gaining proper historical perspective on the recent past” (1). While acknowledging that such a list is purely subjective and certain to provoke disagreement, Gillon explains that many obvious choices were purposely overlooked because the group sought out events whose impact and importance have been undervalued.

On May 26, 1637, during the Pequot War, a contingent of English Puritans led by Major John Mason, and their allied forces of Mohegans and Narragansetts warriors, set fire to a Pequot Fort located near the Mystic River in Connecticut, burning hundreds of Pequots alive, including women, children, and the elderly. Mason considered his actions to be righteous and “went to his grave believing that the violence at Mystic pleased the English God in true Puritan form” (9).