re: #97 HappyWarrior

The Pilgrims founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony as Christian but the United States was intended to be free of such nonsense.

There were two groups of Puritans who established colonies in North America. The first group, historians call the Pilgrims, wanted to separate from the Anglican Church. They first went to Holland but didn’t like that their kids were becoming too Dutch. So, they went to North America where they established Plymouth Colony (which was eventually absorbed into Massachusetts Bay Colony).

The second group, who wanted to reform the Anglican Church from within, created the Massachusetts Bay Company to establish a colony in North America. This was originally a financial endeavor first and religious mission second, but before they left England, some of the investors dropped out and were replaced with staunch Puritans. The religious goals of the project moved to the top of the list. These were the Puritans who wanted to create the “city on the hill” so that all world would see the reforms they made and the Anglican Church would magically change.