Tag: Massachusetts

John Eliot Prepared Indian Converts

  

Here’s a post I received from the Christian History Institute that I think is worth passing on. JOHN ELIOT arrived in Massachusetts from England in 1631. He would become one of the colony’s most famous immigrants. Educated at the University of Cambridge, he was ordained to the ministry before coming to America. In the New World, he temporarily filled a vacant pulpit in Boston before moving on to Roxbury in 1632. That same year he wed Hannah Mumford. They would… Read more »

The Coercive Acts & the Spark of Resistance

  

The Boston Tea Party of 16 December 1773 is what sparked the American Revolution. Yes, many other incidents preceded it, but the reaction to it by the British government led to the armed conflict and, ultimately, independence. George III’s government was so incensed by the Tea Party that it decided to teach Massachusetts a lesson, one that would crush the “rebellion” and warn all the other colonies that they had better not try anything similar. The government’s action, though, had… Read more »

A Constitutional Protest: The American Colonial Example

  

The American colonies used every legal means available to them to protest unconstitutional acts of Parliament. When the Townshend Acts were passed in 1767, taxing tea, lead, paper, and glass without any representation on their part in Parliament, Massachusetts took action. Under the leadership of Samuel Adams, the Massachusetts assembly wrote the Circular Letter, stating that the measures were clearly opposed to all British constitutional precedents. Not only were they being taxed without their consent, but troops had been sent… Read more »

Of Salem & Witchcraft Trials

  

Perhaps the only thing some people know about Puritan history in America is that they executed presumed witches. Americans typically know nothing about how Puritans gave us our first constitution and bill of rights, but they are always told about the Salem witchcraft trials. How does one analyze this episode of Puritan history fairly? Of course, most historians automatically denigrate the Puritans for it because they operate on a naturalistic worldview that says belief in witches is a superstition of… Read more »

The Dominion of New England: Tyranny Averted

  

I’ve been periodically presenting glimpses into American history, and have been writing about the Pilgrims and Puritans for quite some time now. There’s a lot to say. I’ve analyzed the Christian roots of the colonies they started (primarily Plymouth, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, with Rhode Island added in) and have pointed to both the high points and low points of their development. In the 1680s, those colonies, along with New York, faced a threat to their original goals. The new king,… Read more »

Halfway Christians?

  

Any endeavor for God can start out with the best of motives and still go wrong eventually. I have a prime example from Puritan history. If you’ve been following my posts on the unfolding of American history, you may remember that when the Puritans migrated and set up Massachusetts, they had a rule that only church members could vote. It seemed reasonable at the time, especially since they wanted to maintain the Christian commitment that inspired their journey. Three decades… Read more »

Puritan Controversy #3: Quakers

  

The Puritans of Massachusetts Bay had their own reasons for setting up their colony. They sought as much uniformity of thought as possible, which is good in itself, but which also led to confrontations with those who disagreed with the leadership. When Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson went astray from the original vision, and their beliefs threatened the existence of the colony, they were banished. As I mentioned in previous posts, that punishment wasn’t all that severe; they simply wanted… Read more »