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
for 4th-6th grade
in Pilgrims at Plymouth (Location: HISA-17PIL)
$7.00 (2 in stock)
Almost Home
Daughters of the Faith
by Wendy G. Lawton
from Moody Press
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American Dream
by Stephen K. McDowell & Mark Beliles
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American Heritage History of the Indian Wars
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Anne Bradstreet
Christian Renegades Series
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Black Man in America
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Blood on the River: James Town, 1607
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Building a City On a Hill
To Pledge Allegiance #2
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World History Reference for 8th-11th grade
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Heroes of History
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Cavalier and Puritan Fashions - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
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Colonial Experience
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$17.00 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Colonial Kids
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1st edition from Chicago Review Press
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$7.00 (2 in stock)
Colonial Period: 1607-1750
American History by Era Volume 2
by Brenda Stalcup (editor)
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$11.00 (1 in stock)
Daily Life in the Pilgrim Colony 1636
by Paul Erickson
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Down Ryton Water
by E.R. Gaggin
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1942 Newbery Honor
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Draw Write Now Book 3
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Early American Crafts & Occupations - Coloring Book
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$5.99
Early American History for Intermediate Grades - Guide
by Rea Berg & Rebecca Manor
3rd edition from Beautiful Feet Books
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$25.95
Early American History for Primary Grades - Guide
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Dover Coloring Books
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Eating the Plates
by Lucille Recht Penner
1st edition from Simon and Schuster
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Everyday Dress of the American Colonial Period - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
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Faith Unfurled
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First Thanksgiving
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First Thanksgiving
by Jean Craighead George
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First Thanksgiving Feast
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Guests
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Heart Strangely Warmed
by Louise A. Vernon
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$9.99
History of US Book 2
History of US Book 2
by Joy Hakim
3rd Revised Edition from Oxford University
American History Reference for 5th-9th grade
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History Pockets: Life in Plymouth Colony
by Jill Norris & Sandi Johnson
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Homes in the Wilderness
by William Bradford
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If You Lived in Colonial Times
If You Were There
by Ann McGovern
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If You Sailed On the Mayflower
If You Were There
by Ann McGovern, illustrated by J.B. Handlesman
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If You Sailed On the Mayflower in 1620
If You Were There
by Ann McGovern
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In Their Own Words: Pocahontas
by George Sullivan
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Island at the Center of the World
by Russell Shorto
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Jamestown
Adventures in Colonial America
by James Knight
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Jamestown
Adventures in Colonial America
by James Knight, illustrated by David Wenzel
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Jamestown and the Founding of the Nation
by Warren M. Billings
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Jamestown Settlement
by Nancy Egloff
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Jonathan and Sarah
by Edna Gerstner
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Biography for 9th-Adult
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Jonathan Edwards
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Biography for 9th-Adult
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Land as God Made It
by James Horn
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
Land of Hope
by Wilfred M. McClay
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Landing of the Pilgrims
Landmark Series
by James Daugherty
from Random House
Historical Non-Fiction for 5th-8th grade
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$7.99
Life in Colonial America - Coloring Book
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Lion to Guard Us
by Clyde Robert Bulla
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Lost Colony of Roanoke
by Jean Fritz, illustrated by Hudson Talbott
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Mary of Plymouth
by James Otis
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Mary of Plymouth
America's Children
by James Otis
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Mayflower
by Nathaniel Philbrick
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Mayflower II
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Mayflower Pilgrims
by Edmund J. Carpenter
2nd edition from Christian Liberty Press
Biography for 7th-10th grade
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Mayflower Secret
Trailblazer Books
by Dave Jackson, Neta Jackson
from Castle Rock Creative
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Mighty Mastiff of the Mayflower
by Peter Arenstam, illustrated by Karen Busch Holman
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Miles Standish: The Puritan Captain
by John S. C. Abbott
2022 Reprint from Knowledge Keepers
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N.C. Wyeth's Pilgrims
by Robert D. San Souci
from Chronicle Books
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$8.00 (1 in stock)
New World In View
To Pledge Allegiance #1
by Gary DeMar & Fred Douglas Young
from American Vision Press
American History Reference for 8th-10th grade
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$12.00 (2 in stock)
Of Plymouth Plantation
by William Bradford
from Dover Publications
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$14.95
On the Mayflower
by Kate Waters
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$8.50 (1 in stock)
Out of Many Waters
by Jacqueline Dembar Greene
from Backinprint.com
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$13.95
Paradox of Jamestown (1585-1700)
The Drama of American History
by Christopher Collier & James Lincoln Collier
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Peter and the Pilgrims
by Louise A. Vernon
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Picture the Past: Life in Colonial America - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Peter F. Copeland
from Dover Publications
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$5.99
Pilgrim Adventures
by Margaret B. Pumphrey
from My Father's World
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$12.95
Pilgrim Boy (old)
by Matilda Nordtvedt
2nd edition from A Beka Books
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$4.00 (17 in stock)
Pilgrim Stories
by Margaret Pumphrey
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Pilgrim Voices
by Connie Roop, Peter Roop, eds.
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Pilgrims of Plimoth
by Marcia Sewall
from Aladdin Paperbacks
History Reference/Picture Book for 1st-4th grade
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Pilgrims Plantation
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Pilgrims' Party
A Really Truly Story
by Sadybeth & Anson Lowitz
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Plymouth Thanksgiving
by Leonard Weisgard
Reprint from Doubleday Book For Young Readers
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Pocahontas
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Beautiful Feet Books
Picture Book Biography for 3rd-6th grade
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Pocahontas and the Strangers
by Clyde Robert Bulla
from Scholastic Inc.
Biographies for 3rd-5th grade
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$3.50 (1 in stock)
Pocahontas: A Little Indian Girl of Jamestown
Tip Top Elf Books
by Frances Cavanah, illustrated by Manning de V. Lee
from Rand McNally
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Richard of Jamestown
by James Otis
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Richard of Jamestown
by James Otis
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Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims
by Rush Limbaugh
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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
by Samuel Eliot Morison
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Samuel Eaton's Day
by Kate Waters
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Sarah Morton's Day
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Seeds of a Nation - Massachusetts
by Don Nardo
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Serpent Never Sleeps
by Scott O'Dell
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Settling of Jamestown
Landmark Events in American History
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Squanto's Journey
by Joseph Bruchac
Reprint from HMH Books for Young Readers
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Squanto, Friend of the Pilgrims
by Clyde Robert Bulla
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Stink Alley
by Jamie Gilson
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$10.00 (1 in stock)
Stories of the Pilgrims
by Margaret Pumphrey
2nd edition from Christian Liberty Press
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$14.50
Story of Jamestown
Cornerstones of Freedom
by Marilyn Prolman
from Children's Press
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Story of Liberty
by Charles Coffin
from Maranatha Publications
Historical Reference for 10th-Adult
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$19.97 $10.00 (2 in stock)
Story of the Mayflower Compact
from Children's Press
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$5.00 (2 in stock)
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