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Puritans and Pilgrims 6407 Views


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Description:

Not everything was as gravy as Thanksgiving decorations make it seem. Get the real scoop (of mashed potatoes) here.

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:07

Puritans and Pilgrims, a la Shmoop.

00:10

Howdy pilgrims.

00:12

You see, Puritans were English protestants with funny hats.

00:16

And Pilgrims...

00:17

Pilgrims were separatists... with funny hats.

00:22

The Puritans and Pilgrims came to America because they were persecuted in Europe.

00:25

No, not for the hats. They followed a different religion than most

00:29

people in Europe... ... and because of that they weren't treated

00:32

like everybody else. America was a land of opportunity.

00:36

It was mostly unsettled, and they knew that nobody would persecute them over there.

00:43

Because Puritans and Pilgrims were among the first American settlers...

00:47

... Freedom of Religion became one of the most important values in the Unites States.

00:52

But how well do we continue to uphold this value in the modern United States?

00:57

When religious groups seem unusual or maybe even scary to Americans...

01:01

...we usually give them a pretty hard time. We've called unpopular little religions "cults,"

01:06

...and even chased people with unusual spiritual

01:09

beliefs out of the country on questionable charges.

01:12

When our government didn't like a commune in 1980s Oregon...

01:15

... we suddenly decided that performing marriages without a license was a serious crime and

01:21

deported their leader for that act.

01:23

More recently, after the tragedy of September 11...

01:26

... Arabs and Muslims have become the subjects

01:28

of prejudice and fear for many Americans.

01:31

There is always plenty of political debate

01:33

about whether America is a "Christian Nation"... ... or a "secular nation" that shouldn't

01:39

have any connection to one specific religious tradition.

01:42

In court, people still swear to tell the truth with their hand on a Bible...

01:45

...and that's also how the President takes his oath of office.

01:49

The Puritans and Pilgrims did all they could to bring people around to their way of thinking...

01:53

and believing... But should we really try to govern religion at all?

01:57

Are the by-laws of the Puritans and Pilgrims

01:59

applicable in any way, shape or form to our world today?

02:03

Or are they as antiquated as those funny hats?

02:07

Shmoop amongst yourselves, pilgrim.

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