17th Century America

Back in the 17th century, the area that would eventually become the United States of America was still just the "New World." Native Americans and European settlers lived side-by-side, but populations were small and there wasn't a whole lot going on besides bare survival. Modern historians like to picture white people stepping ashore with guns blazing, when in fact early relations between European settlers and Indians was often peaceful and cooperative.

The South American scene was considerably different. Most of the first European visitors weren't there for primarily religious reasons (as was true of the Pilgrims and Puritans in North America), and the natives they encountered were more violent than their northern counterparts. The result was a lot of bloodshed and fire, and names like Cortes and Columbus are still bad words in many South American countries.

In the New England colonies, however, God was uppermost in the minds of most people. Jamestown was the first English colony in the New World, and it wasn't particularly religious, but the second one was Plymouth and it was the first American home of the Pilgrims. The Pilgrims were Puritan in doctrine but Seperatist in practice, believing that the Church of England was beyond repair and that dedicated Christians had no choice but to leave it. They did, settling first in Holland, and in 1620 founding Plymouth Plantation in what would become Massachusetts.

The Puritans came not much later. Their intention was a little more ambitious than the Pilgrim project: not content with simply fleeing the shadow of a state church, they intended to build a Christian community in which the Law of God determined the civic laws, and where there was little distinction between sacred and secular law. Modern Americans often balk at this, but the Puritans weren't concerned with human wisdom, they were wholly informed by a desire to practice holiness and godly devotion.

Don't think they were all witch-hunters and dour black-clad killjoys, either. The Puritans enjoyed life as much as the next person, and while they were susceptible to ignorance and sin just like any other group of human beings, they were continually given to thanking God for the material and spiritual blessings He'd bestowed on them.

Their influence was largely responsible for the inclusion of Christian moral standards within the U.S. Constitution, for while the Enlightenment humanism of Franklin and Jefferson is clearly present, so too is the Puritan heritage of many of the Founding Fathers. As Christians, we also can thank God and praise Him for providing such forefathers for His children in the New World.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.
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1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving
by Catherine O'Neill Grace
from National Geographic
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Almost Home
Daughters of the Faith
by Wendy G. Lawton
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American Heritage History of the Indian Wars
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Anne Bradstreet
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Black Man in America
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Classical Acts and Facts History Cards: New World
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Colonial Experience
A Basic History of the United States Volume 1
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Colonial Kids
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Daily Life in the Pilgrim Colony 1636
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Early American History for Primary Grades - Guide
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Eating the Plates
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Faith Unfurled
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First Thanksgiving
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History of US Book 2
History of US Book 2
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History Pockets: Life in Plymouth Colony
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Jamestown
Adventures in Colonial America
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Adventures in Colonial America
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Mary of Plymouth
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Mayflower II
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On the Mayflower
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Paradox of Jamestown (1585-1700)
The Drama of American History
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Peter and the Pilgrims
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Pilgrim Boy (old)
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Pilgrim Stories
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Pilgrim Voices
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Pilgrims Plantation
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Pilgrims' Party
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Plymouth Thanksgiving
by Leonard Weisgard
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Pocahontas
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Pocahontas and the Strangers
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Pocahontas: A Little Indian Girl of Jamestown
Tip Top Elf Books
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Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims
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Sailing to America
Adventures in Colonial America
by James Knight, illustrated by George Guzzi
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Saints and Strangers
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Saints and Strangers
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Samuel De Champlain
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Samuel Eaton's Day
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Sarah Morton's Day
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Seeds of a Nation - Massachusetts
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Serpent Never Sleeps
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Settling of Jamestown
Landmark Events in American History
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Stink Alley
by Jamie Gilson
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Story of Jamestown
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Story of Liberty
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Historical Reference for 10th-Adult
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Story of the Mayflower Compact
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Surviving Jamestown
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Sweet Land of Liberty
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Thanksgiving Primer
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1955 Caldecott Honor Book
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This Dear-Bought Land
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Three Young Pilgrims
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Turkeys, Pilgrims, and Indian Corn
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Very First Thanksgiving Day
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What Was the First Thanksgiving?
What Was?
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Who's That Stepping on Plymouth Rock?
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William Bradford of Plymouth Colony
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William Bradford, Pilgrim Boy
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Cathy Duffy's 100 Top Picks
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