Historian David S. Reynolds authored the book "Two Ships," which examines the historical legacies of the Mayflower and the White Lion. The Mayflower transported Pilgrims to Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1620, while the White Lion arrived in Jamestown in 1619, bringing the first enslaved Africans to Virginia.

The Mayflower's passengers were separatist Puritans who dissented from the reign of English King James I. In contrast, the European settlers in Jamestown were Royalists, also known as Cavaliers, who remained loyal to the monarchy and believed in a strict hierarchy. Frederick Douglass frequently used the "two ships" metaphor in his speeches and writings.

During the mid-nineteenth century, Abraham Lincoln avoided using the "two ships" metaphor, seeking to preserve a unified ship of state. Southern descendants of Cavaliers invoked the Mayflower to emphasize the intolerance and character of the Puritans. By this period, the North encompassed a variety of religious denominations, few of which resembled the faith of the Plymouth colonists.

The South favored Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel "The Scarlet Letter" and the medieval historical romances of Sir Walter Scott. By the 1890s, both Southern and Northern whites established a period of racial solidarity, reinforced by Mayflower celebrations.

In the later twentieth century, the image of the Mayflower became depoliticized and commercialized, leading to its association with items such as Pilgrim hats and Black Friday sales. In 2019, The 1619 Project helped reintroduce the White Lion into public discourse by centering it in discussions about the role of slavery in the national story. The 1619 Project has faced criticism regarding its historiography, and its chronological scope extends beyond that of Reynolds' book.