The Old World with Will Tanner

Will Tanner
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Life Before Liberalism

  1. 2D AGO

    The Virginia Cavaliers: Myth or Reality?

    Were the famed Virginia Cavaliers truly the architects of the Old Dominion, or are they merely a phantom of Southern chivalry's imagination? Did those proud and defiant Royalists, the "Distressed Cavaliers" of legend, ever actually flee to the Tidewater to escape the dreary tyranny of Oliver Cromwell's Protectorate, or is the "Cavalier" just a convenient myth—a mask worn by a merchant class in search of a noble pedigree? This episode resolves that perennial question.  We discuss the reality of the Cavalier-Puritan split in America—a conflict of visions rooted in an irreconcilable divide between the Tobacco Plantations of the Virginia Gentry and the Gospel of Labor. We explore the offer of Cavalier sanctuary provided by Governor Sir William Berkeley, and how Virginia culture became Cavalier culture. Most of all, we discuss the reality of the Second Sons myth of the First Families of Virginia, and if there really were nobles in America's Old Dominion, or at least their second sons. This is the foundational story of the Tidewater Gentry and the rise of the First Families of Virginia. It is the tale of how a tobacco plantation economy was transfigured into a colonial aristocracy, how the fires of the English Civil War were reignited in the New World, and how Virginia became the land of the Cavaliers. 0:00 The Cavalier of Virginia: Man or Myth? 3:47 The English Civil War Comes to Virginia 5:59 Why Virginia Remained Cavalier 7:10: What the Conflict Between Puritan and Cavalier was All About 10:50 Were There Puritans in the Tidewater? 11:23 Puritan Levellers and Diggers Chase the Cavaliers Out of England 12:27 The Three Stages of Cavalier Migration to Virginia 17:21 The Cavaliers Define the Virginia Gentry 19:07 Governor Berkeley Invites the Cavaliers and Creates a Ruling Class 23:09 The Importance of the Anglican Church of Virginia 25:47 Virginia's Cavalier Ruling Class Has Formed 26:46 Was the Virginia Cavalier Real? Richard of Jamestown, Internet Archive Book Images, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons Astley Bernard, Unknown artistUnknown artist, CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Rev. Hunt Reads, Internet Archive Book Images, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons Pilgrim Fairmount, Internet Archive Book Images, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons Westover Plantation, Internet Archive Book Images, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons Berkeley, D.H. Maury (via Internet Archive Book Images), CC0, via Wikimedia Commons Church of All Saints, Lewis Hulbert, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Berkely, John Philip Davis via Frank X. Sadlier (via Internet Archive Book Images), CC0, via Wikimedia Commons Jamestonwn Church, Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Colonial Williamsburg, Harvey Barrison from Massapequa, NY, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Colonial Williamsburg Parish Church, Carolyn from Pemberton Township, NJ, USA, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Colonial Williamsburg, Mobilus In Mobili, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Settlers, Frank X. Sadlier (via Internet Archive Book Images), CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

    30 min

  2. 5D AGO

    An Interview with Charles Murray: The Real Reasons Apollo Succeeded

    How did NASA boldly advance the Apollo Program over the course of a decade to accomplish the greatest feat of mankind: the landing of humans on the Moon and their safe return to Earth? In this episode, Will sits down with Charles Murray—renowned author of The Bell Curve and Coming Apart—to discuss a lifelong passion project: the Apollo Program. While many focus on the astronauts, Murray's book, Apollo: The Race to the Moon, tells the story of the engineers, the mission controllers, and the institutional genius that made the impossible a reality. What We Discuss: The Cold War Background: How the Bay of Pigs Disaster led to President Kennedy deciding to set the Moon as a benchmark of Space Race victory, and why he chose it, along with whether the Soviet space program was really that far ahead of America's. They cover Von Braun and the Germans at the Marshall Space Center, the incredible story of the NASA Langley Research Center. The Engineering Talent Pool: How the mid-century U.S. produced an unprecedented concentration of technical brilliance, and how many of Apollo's engineers came from backgrounds other than what one might expect. The Saturn V & The Lunar Module: Examining the "otherworldly" engineering and the sheer scale of the incredibly advanced spacecraft and rockets. Saving the Mission: How a handful of personnel in Mission Control made split-second decisions that saved the program from disaster, and how courageous decisions made by  NASA leaders over the decade ensured Kennedy's pledge was fulfilled. The SpaceX Connection: Why Elon Musk is the true heir to the Apollo legacy and how SpaceX mirrors the NASA of the 1960s. The Future of Human Achievement: What missions today could inspire the same civilizational impact as the moon landings. About the Guest: Charles Murray is a Hayek Emeritus Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. While widely known for his sociological work, his history of the Apollo program is considered a definitive look at the technical and organizational triumphs of the Space Race.     Get Charles Murray's book about Apollo here: ⁠Apollo: The Race to the Moon⁠   See his other books here: ⁠Charles Murray's books⁠   Find his other work here: ⁠Charles Murray AEI⁠   Note: I am an Amazon affiliate. Using the above Amazon links to Mr. Murray's books is a way of supporting my work at no cost to yourself.

    1h 2m

  3. APR 11

    Tobacco and Plantations: The Making of the Old Dominion

    his is the tale of how tobacco created the plantations in Virginia for which the Old Dominion is known, and how those plantations entrenched and solidified the power of the famous "Topping People" of Virginia, those First Families of Virginia and Virginia Gentry who ruled the state for decades. It is a tale of indentured servants in colonial Virginia and slave labor workforces on vast Virginia plantations. It is a tale of the Navigation Acts, of soil exhaustion, of Starving Times in Jamestown and dying gentlemen in their starched, ruffled shirts. This is the story of Virginia's shift, brought about thanks to John Rolfe of Pocahontas fame, from the blighted land  Captain John Smith and Gov. George Percy knew, to that flourishing and flowering Old Virginia of Robert "King" Carter, Thomas Lee, and the others of Virginia's Golden Age. But most of all, this is the tale of tobacco and plantations in Virginia, and why they developed as they did.

    34 min

  4. APR 9

    The History and Legacy of the Apollo Missions with Richard Easton

    In this episode, Will and Richard Easton, a historian of GPS and son of one of the inventors of GPS, discuss the history of the Space Race and Apollo missions. They go over the impetus for Eisenhower committing America to launching a satellite, the reasons for the Gemini and Mercury missions, why Kennedy settled on the moon mission, and how the Apollo program progressed. They discuss the technical advancements required to make Apollo happen, the characters and competence of the men involved, the scientific legacy of Apollo, and why the missions were ended. They discuss also why space exploration slowed to a crawl after Apollo 17, the challenges NASA faces, and the incredible technical competence shown by SpaceX, along with GPS and Richard's book about its history. Note: the Apollo 16 CapCom whose name Richard could not remember is Charlie Duke Get Richard's Book here: GPS Declassified: From Smart Bombs to Smartphones Get Michael Collins's Book here: Carrying the Fire Get Charles Murray's book about Apollo here: Apollo: The Race to the Moon

    1 hr

  5. APR 4

    The Legacy of Lewis and Clark

    In this concluding video on the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Will discusses what the legacy of these two great explorers is. He comments on their discovery that the Northwest Passage was a figment of the imagination, but how they nevertheless sparked a massive fur trade rush. He tells how Clark mapped the West with incredible accuracy and created a resource used for decades, how their careful cataloguing and preservation of natural specimens was an immense scientific accomplishment, and how they discovered and documented much of the West's incredible species and beauty. He also discusses the death of Meriwether Lewis, and how Lewis's incomprehensible failure to publish the Lewis and Clark Journals led to many of their greatest scientific accomplishments going unrecorded for almost a century.

    25 min

  6. APR 1

    Building Great Houses and What They Are with Gregory Treat

    In this episode, Will and Gregory Treat, an attorney who helps families plan for multiple generations into the future. They discuss Great Houses—families that build a multi-generational legacy and use it to influence and lead their polities—and how such a concept is relevant today. They discuss democratic vs. aristocratic technologies, the mindset behind Great Houses, whether the form of wealth matters, some examples of Great Houses acting for the best in American life, and how technological change could lead to a very different world…that will likely still rely on Great Houses. Find Gregory Treat on Substack here: ⁠Gregory Treat⁠ Listen to His Great Houses episodes here: ⁠https://greathouses.forum/⁠ Check out his consulting here: ⁠https://avaloncircle.com/⁠ Read Will's thoughts on this here: ⁠https://www.theamericantribune.news/p/all-elites-are-not-created-equal⁠

    1h 8m

  7. MAR 28

    Lewis and Clark: The Triumphant Heroes Return

    The Corps of Discovery's Permanent Party makes it back to St. Louis in this episode, finishing the grand march across a continent and back on which it set out two years prior. This is the tale of how the Lewis and Clark Expedition made it back from Fort Clatsop to St. Louis in one travel season. It's the story of fighting up rivers, marching through the Bitterroot Mountains in a heavy season of snow, splitting the party up despite the immense risks so that the Marias River and Yellowstone River Valley could be explored as the party filled in the map and looked for commercial opportunity, and how the party split with Sacagawea when they returned to the Mandans.   This is also the story of Pompey's Tower, of a desperate fight with the Blackfeet Indians, of the discovery that the Northwest Passage was truly non-existent, of the wisdom of the Nez Perce Indians, of the first mountain man—a veteran of the Permanent Party, and of the tragic fate Lewis met with after an immensely successful journey

    25 min

  8. MAR 22

    Whitewater of Death: Lewis & Clark's Desperate Descent Down to the Pacific after Braving the Bitterroot Mountains and Lolo Trail

    Emerging from the skeletal hunger and crushing snows of the Bitterroot Range and its Lolo Trail, the Lewis and Clark Expedition finally reaches the waters that will lead them to the Pacific. But the Permanent Party explorers in the Corps of Discovery quickly realize that their mountain ordeal was merely a prelude to further terrible ordeals to follow. This critical chapter captures the moment they commit themselves to the unyielding, ferocious whitewater of the great river descent, forced to navigate dangerous cascades in cumbersome, hand-carved dugout canoes. As the snow-dusted, jagged peaks from their past loom in the background, they are thrust into a relentless battle against a watery labyrinth that threatens to swallow the dreams of an "Empire of Liberty" whole. This is the tale of how the Lewis and Clark Expedition reached the Pacific. It is a tale of crushing snow and frigid temperatures in the Bitterroot Mountains, high-stakes negotiations with the Nez Perce, shooting the dangerous rapids after making dugout canoes, and a winter of misery spent at Fort Clatsop amongst the Clatsop Indians in steady rain. It is a tale of courage, of triumph over insurmountable odds, and of incredible leadership in the face of immense danger

    21 min
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