“The Liberty of the Truth”
Storybooks and movies show that American history has always been one of freedom, independence and liberty. According to these, since the beginning of colonial times, America has been a paradise for those in search of a perfect land where to re-establish God´s law and order, to speak freely and to start a new life without punishment or judgement. New England was the new heavenly kingdom for the Puritans persecuted in England for their radical beliefs.
The American story of freedom begins with such persecution of the dissenters of the Anglican Church and the arrival of the Pilgrims in the Maryland ship in 1620. They established Plymouth, in Massachusetts, allegedly the first American settlement where freedom of conscience became a civil right. Afterwards, Puritans migrated to these lands, setting out their colonies to practice freely their faith. But, as Kenneth C. Davis once put it, “the problem is that this tidy narrative is an American myth” (2010). In the same article, the author states that the Massachusetts Bay society founded by the Puritan …show more content…
Unlike Puritans, they postulated that each congregation should be ruled by its membership and rejected any Christian ritual. One congregation from this separatist group, The Pilgrims, aboard the Mayflower ship, landed at Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620, founding the second most prosperous English colony in America after Jamestown, Virginia. The Pilgrims’ hazardous enterprise set up a safe place far away from their mother nation, where Puritans were free to practice their faith as they thought it was the rightful way. Their venture encouraged Puritans from all over Europe to join them in New England where, ultimately, they “could lay the foundations of a Christian commonwealth” (Barber, 1861, p.
Storybooks and movies show that American history has always been one of freedom, independence and liberty. According to these, since the beginning of colonial times, America has been a paradise for those in search of a perfect land where to re-establish God´s law and order, to speak freely and to start a new life without punishment or judgement. New England was the new heavenly kingdom for the Puritans persecuted in England for their radical beliefs.
The American story of freedom begins with such persecution of the dissenters of the Anglican Church and the arrival of the Pilgrims in the Maryland ship in 1620. They established Plymouth, in Massachusetts, allegedly the first American settlement where freedom of conscience became a civil right. Afterwards, Puritans migrated to these lands, setting out their colonies to practice freely their faith. But, as Kenneth C. Davis once put it, “the problem is that this tidy narrative is an American myth” (2010). In the same article, the author states that the Massachusetts Bay society founded by the Puritan …show more content…
Unlike Puritans, they postulated that each congregation should be ruled by its membership and rejected any Christian ritual. One congregation from this separatist group, The Pilgrims, aboard the Mayflower ship, landed at Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620, founding the second most prosperous English colony in America after Jamestown, Virginia. The Pilgrims’ hazardous enterprise set up a safe place far away from their mother nation, where Puritans were free to practice their faith as they thought it was the rightful way. Their venture encouraged Puritans from all over Europe to join them in New England where, ultimately, they “could lay the foundations of a Christian commonwealth” (Barber, 1861, p.