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Webisode 3. Segment 1 The Church and the State Freedom in America has meant many things: freedom of speech; freedom from unfair, autocratic government; freedom to strive after personal dreams. But in the eyes of many, the fundamental American freedom has been the right to worship or not worship in any way a person chooses. It was supposed to have been that way from the beginning, Thomas Jefferson believed Back in seventeenth century England, religious freedom didn't exist. You had to belong to the Church of England or suffer persecution. King James I In 1620, 102 brave souls clambered aboard a little shipnamed the Mayflowerand began their sail westward to the new world So they sailed the Mayflower around the Cape to a place that their map called Plymouth. There they dropped anchor. Bradford described what happened next: "Being thus arrived in a good harbor, and brought safe to land, [we] fell upon [our] knees and blessed the God of Heaven who had brought [us] over the vast and furious ocean Once arrived in this land that they called a "new" world, this shipload of diverse people had to find ways to live together peacefully. Not all of them were religious pilgrims or "Saints," as they described themselves. Some, who were called "Strangers," had left England for adventure, or because they were unhappy, or in trouble. All of them wanted a better life. There had been tension between the Strangers and the Saints. It needed to be settled. They had to be able to live together peacefully, with rules and laws and leaders. So before landing they drew up a plan of government, the Mayflower Compact The Mayflower Compact is one of the great documents of American history. Here was a group of settlers able to govern themselves; reasonable people who agreed to live together under a government of laws. William Bradford predicted great success for the colony when he wrote, "As one small candle may light a thousand, so the light here kindled [shall shine] unto many |
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learn more at: www.pbs.org/historyofus © 2002 Picture History and Educational Broadcasting Corporation. All Rights Reserved. |
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