Early American History

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Early American History

Unity within colonies was extremely strong because it was assembled in a primal urge for survival. The colonists were in this entirely new land, so it was natural they would stick together to the familiar, and therefore build strong bonds and loyalty to their colony. Exclusion also excellently describes early America because of the way colonies expelled their own people if they did not follow the colony's strict ‘rules' of life. The primary source documents; "City upon a Hill", "Ann Hutchinson's Trial", "Founding Of The Iroquois League", and "The Mayflower Compact" are all brilliant examples of this contradictory yet surprisingly honest view of early American history. Early American History should be remembered as a time of exclusion and unity because of the exclusion of the crazed "pure" Christians, especially in the Massachusetts area, but also of unity because of the tight connection between each other that colonists needed to survive in this new world.

Early American History should be remembered as a time of exclusion because even though many of the people coming over here were victims of religious persecution, many still did not tolerate any other religions than their own. A prime example of this is the Puritans in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. "We shall open the mouths of enemies to speak evil of the ways of God." from "City upon a Hill" by John Winthrop. This quote demonstrates that the Puritans were of faith that any one who spoke ill of their belief and of their God, were their enemies and were the enemies of God. Thus excluding and prejudicing their colony against anyone of a different faith. In the primary source document "Ann Hutchinson's Trial" there is a quote that states, "Governor: If ...

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...audaciously exists in present day America. That's not to say that over the centuries Americans have gained nothing from these experiences. Americans have learned lessons from those colonies that excluded one another, they failed and withered. Puritan Massachusetts is an epitome of the relation between exclusion and the decline of society. Also, fortunately, Americans have embraced for the most part the unity of the Pilgrims and the Iroquois, leading us to a democracy. Because in unity, there is that sophisticated cycle of cooperation and peace, which are considered to primary points of democracy. If nothing else, this embodies that it is important to study the early founding of our country because therefore we can learn from past mistakes and understand where and when certain ideas and concepts come from, thus enabling ourselves to use these ideas in a better fashion.

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