Modern Christians looking back into history may find it hard to comprehend the various atrocities that have been committed in the name of Christianity. While religion has consistently been an excuse for one group to claim superiority over another, nowhere was this more apparent than when the Puritans came to America. While the lens of time reveals the Puritan actions against the native population to be both arrogant and cruel, it is important to remember that the Puritans did not view their actions in the same manner. In contrast, their actions were motivated by their deeply held religious belief that it was their divine mission to come to America and begin a colony where they would be free to practice their religion.

             Like many modern-day advocates of religious freedom, the Puritans had a narrow view of the term. They did not seek religious freedom for all, but merely the freedom to practice their own religion, which was actually pretty rigid. The Puritans believed that God had created a covenant with them, and that they were the new Israelites of God's master plan.1 These beliefs had cause a rift between the Puritans and King James of England. The Puritans wanted to reform the Church of England, while King James vowed to force the Puritans to conform to the Church. After determining that they were unable to reform the Church, a group of Puritan separatists went to Amsterdam in search of more religious freedom. Amsterdam did offer more religious freedom than England, but the Puritans still feared that outside pressure would disrupt their group. At this point, the Puritans realized that freedom from persecution was not synonymous with religious freedom, and decided to go to America. .

             A group of Puritans, led by William Bradford and now referred to as the Pilgrims, fled Amsterdam for the perceived freedom of the New World. While it is familiar knowledge that the Pilgrim ship, the Mayflower, landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620, many are less familiar with the fact that the Plymouth Rock was not the first place in America visited by the Pilgrims.