The Puritans

        O reader, this will be a special blog. I am taking my time to read all the sources related to this blog with care for I feel that the very identity of America is with the Puritan: more specifically the Puritans that settled at Plymouth plantation. Although there were many settlements in New England that called themselves Pilgrims and Puritans, all of them branched out from the mustard seed planted at Plymouth, Massachusetts bay colony. What made that congregation of individuals so unique? I’ll explain by answering these questions. Who are we as a people? What is America’s identity? This blog is an attempt to answer those questions by identifying the Puritans of Plymouth; for the very identity of America branched from them.

        There was one English plantation in America that everyone knows: the Jamestown colony. It was founded by a Puritan. That’s right: John Smith. William Bradford identified Smith as a Puritan in his book A History of Plymouth Plantation. It was no surprise that the Pilgrims that eventually landed at Cape Cod wanted to go to Virginia, and they even thought that they were going to Virginia during their trials to receive a ship to cross the ocean. Some believed that the Puritans left England because of religious persecution, but it wasn’t about that parse. They were persecuted for their beliefs, but that wasn’t the main reason for coming to the New World. Bradford gave two main reasons: to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ, and to protect their children from the corruption around them.

        These courageous people sold all they had in England, and in Holland, to be part of a voyage to America. They gave all that they had to lay it at their apostles’ feet. They were a covenant keeping people that held on to their bibles for everything that they did. They had guns for protection, and were geniuses in educating their young. The most important thing to notice about them was their devotion to God, and the acknowledgment of His providence: God’s guidance in human affairs. Miracles happened for them: baskets of corn were abandoned by Indians upon the arrival of the group. There was an Indian named Squanto that was fluent in English, and taught the Pilgrims how to use the corn to plant them in the soil. There was a sailor on the voyage that mocked the sick, poor people, and wanted to toss them over the side. The man ended up getting the disease, dying from it, and became the first to be tossed over the side of the ship while on the ocean

        These were only some instances of God’s intervention in the lives of the founding families of America. They were Sabbath-keeping Christians that believed in baptism, laying on of hands, and the resurrection. They elected their leaders by popular vote. Read the English Primer, the poems of Anne Bradstreet, Edward Winslow, and William Bradford to paint a better picture of the Puritans. They considered the English church to be a high place of worship, and were only persecuted because they wanted to reform it to be more biblical and less ritualistic with religious ceremony. When that didn’t work, they had to move away from England to avoid being corrupted themselves. That’s why they were called Puritans. I believe that the very identity of America came from the Puritans of Plymouth Plantation.