When I get the time, I will shoot big holes in this purported history. Much of it is incorrect.
Nevertheless, you basically admitted that you are incorrect and I am correct. Your citations start in 1777, which was over 100 years from the time that the Pilgrams landed in Plymouth. Over one third of them were wiped out by disease and famine. They persecuted no one. On Wed, Dec 4, 2013 at 1:47 PM, plainolamerican <[email protected]>wrote: > yes they did. > > > http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/Americas-True-History-of-Religious-Tolerance.html > > The much-ballyhooed arrival of the Pilgrims and Puritans in New England in > the early 1600s was indeed a response to persecution that these religious > dissenters had experienced in England. But the Puritan fathers of the > Massachusetts Bay Colony did not countenance tolerance of opposing > religious views. Their “city upon a hill” was a theocracy that brooked no > dissent, religious or political. > > In Massachusetts, only Christians were allowed to hold public office, and > Catholics were allowed to do so only after renouncing papal authority. In > 1777, New York State’s constitution banned Catholics from public office > (and would do so until 1806). In Maryland, Catholics had full civil rights, > but Jews did not. Delaware required an oath affirming belief in the > Trinity. Several states, including Massachusetts and South Carolina, had > official, state-supported churches. > > In 1779, as Virginia’s governor, Thomas Jefferson had drafted a bill that > guaranteed legal equality for citizens of all religions—including those of > no religion—in the state. It was around then that Jefferson famously wrote, > “But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or > no God. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.” > the Puritans supported the Old > World<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_World>theory that sanctioned it: the > need for uniformity of religion in the > state. > > Once in control in New England, they sought to break "the very neck of > Schism and vile opinions." The "business" of the first settlers, a Puritan > minister recalled in 1681, "was not Toleration, but [they] were professed > enemies of it." > [3]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_religion_in_the_United_States#cite_note-3>Puritans > expelled dissenters from their colonies, a fate that in 1636 > befell Roger Williams and in 1638 Anne > Hutchinson<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Hutchinson>, > America's first major female religious leader. > > Those who defied the Puritans by persistently returning to their > jurisdictions risked capital > punishment<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment>, > a penalty imposed on the Boston > martyrs<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_martyrs>, > four Quakers <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quaker>, between 1659 and > 1661. Reflecting on the 17th century's intolerance, Thomas Jefferson was > unwilling to concede to Virginians any moral superiority to the Puritans. > Beginning in 1659, Virginia enacted anti-Quaker laws, including the death > penalty for refractory Quakers. Jefferson surmised that "if no capital > execution took place here, as did in New England, it was not owing to the > moderation of the church, or the spirit of the > legislature."[4]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_religion_in_the_United_States#cite_note-4> > Founding of Rhode Island Expelled from Massachusetts in the winter in > 1636, former Puritan leader Roger Williams issued an impassioned plea for > freedom of conscience. He wrote, "God requireth not an uniformity of > Religion to be inacted and enforced in any civill state; which inforced > uniformity (sooner or later) is the greatest occasion of civill Warre, > ravishing of conscience, persecution of Christ Jesus in his servants, and > of the hypocrisie and destruction of millions of > souls."[5]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_religion_in_the_United_States#cite_note-5>Williams > later founded Rhode Island on the principle of religious freedom. > He welcomed people of religious belief, even some regarded as dangerously > misguided, for nothing could change his view that "forced worship stinks in > God's > nostrils."[<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_religion_in_the_United_States#cite_note-6> > > > > > On Wednesday, December 4, 2013 12:04:37 PM UTC-6, KeithInTampa wrote: > >> Plain Ol' wrote: >> >> *"[t]hen immediately started persecuting and killing people of other >> faiths."* >> === >> >> No they didn't.....More revisionist history and far left hateful spin..... >> >> >> >> >> On Wed, Dec 4, 2013 at 1:01 PM, plainolamerican <[email protected]>wrote: >> >>> The Pilgrims are celebrated for how they comported themselves upon >>> arrival. In the three months after their initial landing, half of the >>> Pilgrims died from disease and murder at the hands of the native tribes. >>> Those who survived suffered from unspeakable privations. Yet in three >>> months, they managed through their sufferings to establish the first modern >>> democracy, and to build a settlement. >>> --- >>> then immediately started persecuting and killing people of other faiths. >>> >>> On Saturday, November 30, 2013 4:41:21 AM UTC-6, Bruce Majors wrote: >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> ----- >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Israel, the Pilgrims and the Maccabees >>>> By CAROLINE B. GLICK<http://www.jpost.com/Authors/AuthorPage.aspx?id=126> >>>> JPost.com - 11/28/2013 21:04 >>>> inShare1 >>>> Select Language▼ >>>> >>>> These two festivals that have rarely if ever been celebrated at the >>>> same time are similar in key respects. >>>> [image: Maccabee Cartoon] >>>> Maccabee Cartoon Photo: Avi Katz >>>> Back in October 2001 then prime minister, Ariel Sharon, raised the >>>> hackles of the White House when he warned the United States, “Do not try to >>>> appease the Arabs at our expense. We cannot accept this.” Sharon then >>>> invoked the 1938 Munich Pact. As he put it, “Don’t repeat the terrible >>>> mistakes of 1938, when the enlightened democracies in Europe decided to >>>> sacrifice Czechoslovakia for a comfortable, temporary solution.” >>>> >>>> Israel, he said, “will not be Czechoslovakia.” >>>> >>>> Sharon was sharply rebuked not only by the White House, but by leading >>>> American supporters of Israel. They attacked him for daring to make the >>>> comparison. In time, with the US invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq, Sharon’s >>>> warning was largely forgotten. >>>> >>>> The question of whether George W. Bush sought to appease the Arabs and >>>> Iran at Israel’s expense is an open one. Strong arguments can be made on >>>> both sides of the issue. On the one hand, Bush took the fight to terror >>>> supporting regimes. >>>> >>>> On the other hand, Bush refused to face the threat of Iran. And he >>>> forced Israel to remain trapped in the two-state paradigm which requires it >>>> to make unreciprocated concessions to Palestinian terrorists working >>>> towards its destruction. >>>> >>>> While Bush’s legacy remains uncertain, what is absolutely certain is >>>> that his successor Barack Obama is seeking to appease the Iranians and >>>> other Islamist forces at Israel’s expense. The appeasement Sharon accused >>>> Bush of contemplating has become the official policy of the US government >>>> under Obama. >>>> >>>> In the haze of accusations and counteraccusations by opponents and >>>> supporters of Obama’s new pact with the mullahs of Tehran, it bears >>>> recalling that the problem with the Munich pact was not the agreement in >>>> and of itself. If Adolf Hitler had been a credible actor, then the >>>> agreement might have made sense. >>>> >>>> But Hitler was not a credible actor. >>>> >>>> The problem with the Munich pact was that it empowered Hitler and so >>>> paved the way for the German invasion of Poland a year later. >>>> >>>> That invasion, in turn paved the way for the Holocaust, and for the >>>> death of 60 million people in World War II. >>>> >>>> Those, like Winston Churchill and Zev Jabotinsky who foresaw these >>>> events, were castigated as extremists and warmongers. Those who ignored >>>> their warning were celebrated as peacemakers who boldly chose peace over >>>> war. >>>> >>>> So too today, Israel is castigated by Obama and his supporters in >>>> Washington, Europe and the media as a warmonger for realistically >>>> foreseeing the consequences of last weekend’s nuclear deal with Iran. Even >>>> worse, they are portraying Israel as a rogue state that will be subject to >>>> punishment if it dares to militarily strike Iran’s nuclear installations. >>>> In other words, rather than threatening Iran – the leading state sponsor of >>>> terrorism, led by a regime that is pursuing an illicit nuclear weapons >>>> program while threatening Israel with annihilation – with military strikes >>>> if it refuses to cease and desist from building nuclear weapons, the world >>>> powers are threatening Israel. >>>> >>>> British Foreign Minister William Hague made this projection of Iranian >>>> criminality onto its intended victim the explicit policy of the world >>>> powers on Monday during his appearance before the British Parliament. >>>> >>>> Promising that Britain will be “on its guard” to prevent any state from >>>> threatening the agreement with Iran, Hague said, “We would discourage >>>> anybody in the world, including Israel, from taking any steps that would >>>> undermine this agreement and we will make that very clear to all >>>> concerned.” In other words, as Hague, Obama and Secretary of State John >>>> Kerry see things, Iran needs to be protected from Israel. >>>> >>>> The agreement that Britain and the US heroically defend from the threat >>>> of Israeli aggression guarantees that Iran will develop nuclear weapons. >>>> Like the Munich Pact’s empowerment of Hitler 75 years ago, the Geneva >>>> agreement’s empowerment of Iran’s ayatollahs guarantees that the world will >>>> descend into an unspeakable conflagration. And this is far from the only >>>> step that they are taking to weaken Israel. >>>> >>>> As the EU weakens its economic sanctions against the world’s leading >>>> sponsor of terrorism, it is ratcheting up its economic sanctions against >>>> Israel, the only liberal democracy in the Middle East. The goal of these >>>> sanctions is to coerce Israel into surrendering its historic heartland and >>>> ability to defend itself to Palestinian terrorists sworn to its >>>> destruction. >>>> >>>> For its part, the Obama administration is expected to massively >>>> increase its pressure on Israel to make concessions to the PLO that if >>>> undertaken will similarly threaten Israel’s viability militarily, legally >>>> and politically. Obama has promised that if Israel and the PLO are unable >>>> to reach an accord by January, he will present his own formulation, and >>>> seek to coerce Israel into implementing it. Given Obama’s stated positions >>>> on the Palestinian conflict with Israel, it is clear that his formulation >>>> will involve the surrender of eastern, southern and northern Jerusalem, as >>>> well as the surrender of Judea and Samaria and the forced expulsion of more >>>> than a half a million Jews from their homes to enable the surrender of >>>> these areas Jew free. >>>> >>>> And that is not all. Obama is also expected, in the next several months >>>> to place Israel’s purported nuclear arsenal on the international chopping >>>> block. Since entering office, he has already taken steps in this direction. >>>> Now, in his rush to transform Israel into the new Iran and Iran into the >>>> new Israel, it the prospect that Obama will expose Israel’s nuclear secrets >>>> as a means to enable Iran’s completion of its nuclear weapons program >>>> cannot be disregarded. >>>> >>>> In other words, the weekend deal with Iran is not the end of a process >>>> of attempting to enfeeble Israel. It is the beginning of that process. >>>> >>>> The worst is still very much before us. >>>> >>>> It is a fortuitous coincidence that this challenging era in the history >>>> of Israel – certainly the most challenging diplomatic period since the >>>> establishment of the Jewish state 65 years ago – began the week of >>>> Thanksgiving. It is even more fortuitous that in these frightening moments, >>>> the most American of festivals took place during Chanukah the most Jewish >>>> of festivals. >>>> >>>> This is a fortuitous coincidence because if we consider the meaning of >>>> these holidays, we can understand what the basis of our actions today must >>>> be. Just as importantly, we can rest assured that those actions will lead >>>> us to safer shores. >>>> >>>> These two festivals that have rarely if ever been celebrated at the >>>> same time are similar in key respects. Thanksgiving is not simply about a >>>> voyage of religious freedom seekers from Europe to America. The story of >>>> the Pilgrims, who weathered an impossible 65 day journey from England to >>>> Plymouth Rock in a rickety ship called the Mayflower, is not remembered >>>> simply because they landed in the New World. >>>> >>>> The Pilgrims are celebrated for how they comported themselves upon >>>> arrival. In the three months after their initial landing, half of the >>>> Pilgrims died from disease and murder at the hands of the native tribes. >>>> Those who survived suffered from unspeakable privations. Yet in three >>>> months, they managed through their sufferings to establish the first modern >>>> democracy, and to build a settlement. >>>> >>>> Rather than rail against their fate, or abjectly surrender to their >>>> hardships, the Pilgrims gave thanks to God for the meager tools he gave >>>> them to mount the seemingly insurmountable challenges they faced. It is for >>>> the Pilgrims’ capacity to see the blessing in their condition, and to be >>>> empowered by their cognizance of that blessing that they are remembered. >>>> Their faith grounded heroic tenacity is the reason that a small band of >>>> religious rebels formed the cultural basis for the United States of >>>> America, when it was founded 155 years later. It was that heroism that led >>>> Abraham Lincoln to declare Thanksgiving a national holiday during the >>>> darkest hour of the Civil War, when the image of the Pilgrims empowered the >>>> Union soldiers fighting for a new birth of freedom. >>>> >>>> As for Chanukah, the Festival of Lights is a celebration of Jewish >>>> religious freedom and national liberation. The Maccabees freed the Jews >>>> from the tyranny of Greece, the world’s greatest superpower, which denied >>>> them their right to remain Jewish. The Maccabees, a small band of >>>> heroically tenacious Jews who suffered extraordinary hardship in their war >>>> against the far superior Greek forces, took strength and comfort in their >>>> faith. It was their faith in God that empowered them to face impossible >>>> odds and emerge victorious. It was their faith in God that gave them the >>>> ability to stand up not only to the Greeks, but to the Jewish elites who >>>> preached submission and appeasement as the better part of virtue, >>>> castigating them as warmongering zealots for refusing to bow before false >>>> gods. >>>> >>>> The faith of the Pilgrims and the faith of the Maccabees was the faith >>>> of free men. It was the faith that formed the foundations of the United >>>> States. It is the faith that has enabled the Jews to survive for four >>>> thousand years. It is the faith that enabled the Jews to do the impossible >>>> and rebuild our homeland after 2,000 years of exile and unspeakable >>>> persecution. >>>> >>>> It is this foundational faith that made the American people feel a >>>> natural kinship with the Jewish people. And it is this foundational faith >>>> that has brought the people of Israel to love America. This bond, based on >>>> the best of both people persists today, even as Obama and his fellow >>>> appeasers push America on the path their founding fathers rejected when >>>> they came to the New World. Thanksgiving and Hanukka teach us that when we >>>> rely on our faith in God, we can surmount impossible challenges. >>>> >>>> Israel has the means – limited though they may be – to meet the >>>> extraordinary tests we face today, as the leaders of America have turned on >>>> us by turning on the shared heritage of faith and fortitude of our nations. >>>> >>>> Both the Israelis and the Americans must take heart from this week when >>>> we commemorate the heroic heritage of free men and women. >>>> >>>> With the providence of God, we will be the loyal children of the >>>> Maccabees, and the Pilgrims. >>>> >>>> And we will merit their legacy. >>>> >>>> [email protected] >>>> >>>> __._,_.___ >>>> Reply via web >>>> post<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/libertarian-alliance-forum/post;_ylc=X3oDMTJyZXQ4dXZ0BF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzIyMzcxMjgEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA1MDYwMTY5BG1zZ0lkAzEzNzI1OQRzZWMDZnRyBHNsawNycGx5BHN0aW1lAzEzODU4MDc1NTA-?act=reply&messageNum=137259> >>>> Reply >>>> to sender Reply to group Start a New >>>> Topic<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/libertarian-alliance-forum/post;_ylc=X3oDMTJlOWhhZmZpBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzIyMzcxMjgEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA1MDYwMTY5BHNlYwNmdHIEc2xrA250cGMEc3RpbWUDMTM4NTgwNzU1MA--> >>>> Messages >>>> in this >>>> topic<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/libertarian-alliance-forum/message/137259;_ylc=X3oDMTM4cDJrdjltBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzIyMzcxMjgEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA1MDYwMTY5BG1zZ0lkAzEzNzI1OQRzZWMDZnRyBHNsawN2dHBjBHN0aW1lAzEzODU4MDc1NTAEdHBjSWQDMTM3MjU5>(1) >>>> Recent Activity: >>>> >>>> >>>> Visit Your >>>> Group<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/libertarian-alliance-forum;_ylc=X3oDMTJldmd2NjA3BF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzIyMzcxMjgEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA1MDYwMTY5BHNlYwN2dGwEc2xrA3ZnaHAEc3RpbWUDMTM4NTgwNzU1MA--> >>>> Subscribe: [email protected] >>>> Unsubscribe: [email protected] >>>> >>>> NB - The Libertarian Alliance does not necessarily approve of the above >>>> message. >>>> [image: Yahoo! >>>> Groups]<http://groups.yahoo.com/;_ylc=X3oDMTJkOGxoNzRjBF9TAzk3NDc2NTkwBGdycElkAzIyMzcxMjgEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA1MDYwMTY5BHNlYwNmdHIEc2xrA2dmcARzdGltZQMxMzg1ODA3NTUw> >>>> Switch to: Text-Only, Daily Digest • Unsubscribe • Terms of >>>> Use<http://info.yahoo.com/legal/us/yahoo/utos/terms/>• Send >>>> us Feedback >>>> . >>>> >>>> __,_._,___ >>>> >>>> -- >>> -- >>> Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. >>> For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum >>> >>> * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ >>> * It's active and moderated. 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