“We must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill … the eyes of all people are upon us.” - John Winthrop

 Founded by English Puritans. These were Anglicans who felt that not enough had been done to distance the Anglican church from the Catholics.  Their protestations of the church were regarded as an affront to the king, and for this, they faced persecution or even death.  Some went to Holland, but their children growing up speaking a language not spoken by their parents became a problem.  Led by William Bradford, 35 “Pilgrims” – radical Protestants who had separated completely from the Church of England – opted to seek their freedom in America. They joined 60 other migrants from England and arrived on the Mayflower in Plymouth in 1620.

 While en route, they were blown off course. They had intended to go to Virgina, but were going to land on the coast of New England. Lacking a charter for this land, and being outside of the jurisdiction of the king, they signed the Mayflower Compact to “combine ourselves together into a civill body politick.” This would become the first “constitution” adopted in North America.

In 1625, Charles I became King of England. He was particularly unkind to the Puritans. After dissolving Parliament and promoting William Laud, who loathed Puritans, to head the Church of England, he sparked a mass exodus, wherein thousands of Puritans sought refuge in America.

In 1630, 900 Puritans boarded eleven ships and sailed across the Atlantic under the leadership of John Winthrop, a highly- regarded Puritan squire. He did so under a corporate charter granted by the king for use around Boston. The Puritans established the Massachusetts Bay colony.

 Winthrop knew that their purpose was significant. He believed that England was “morally corrupt and ‘overburdened with people.’”  He had a vision for a new land free from the failures and decadence of Europe, and said  Between 1630 and 1640, over people left England for the New World. “We must consider that we shall be as a City upon a Hill. The eyes of all people are upon us.”

 The Earliest settlers in Massachusetts faced similar hardships to their Virginian counterparts. Of the 100 who landed in the winter of 1620, only about half survived until the spring.  Thereafter, the Plymouth colony, unlike Virginia, became healthy and thriving.

 The cold climate of Massachusetts inhibited the spread of mosquito-born diseases.  Because they were not motivated by the draw of making quick money, the Pilgrims, unlike those who arrived in Virginia, built solid houses and planted ample crops  Their religious discipline was fundamental toward their building of community – you’ve probably heard the phrase “puritan work ethic” or “protestant work ethic”

 Most of the earliest Europeans who came to America were in pursuit of a new life. They wanted religious freedom, economic stability, or the chance to leave an old life behind.