Catholic Americans: Experience Of Discrimination

One reason for the Colonial Americans’ growth in faith is the fact the era was abundant with religious figures who strove to lead people to God and created guidelines for them to live by. The people of Colonial America were blessed to abide in an “enchanted world of wonders.” These wonders were no doubt brought on by the hand of God, and the recognition of this fact caused new religious leaders to rise up and help people focus on living Godly lives despite the secular distractions that they were presented with. One Puritan leader, John Winthrop, stated, “That which the most in their Churches maintain as a truth in profession only, we must bring into familiar and constant practice, as in this duty of love we must love brotherly without dissimulation, we must love one another with a pure heart fervently we must bear one another’s burdens…” Winthrop not only wanted each individual person to maintain a stronger focus on faith in daily life, he also wanted them to use their faith to unite together, and his Model of Christian Charity showed the people how to accomplish that. Many people tried to abide by these teachings and pass them onto their children before they made their own way in the changing, confusing world because many parents feared their children would “Fall un’wares in Fowler’s snare.”

Madi Baumann Mr. Govaars APUSH 4 9/12/17 Chapter 3 Summary 2.) The main theme of Chapter 3 - Settling the Northern Colonies- is Culture. Throughout the chapter, religion’s effect on the development of the Northern American colonies is mentioned repeatedly. For example, German friar Martin Luther, who wrote and nailed the 95 Thesis to Wittenberg’s Cathedral, helped spur the “Protestant Reformation” into action. Other key members in the Reformation were John Calvin, who elaborated Luther’s writings and created ‘Calvinism’, and Henry VIII, who broke ties with the Catholic Church and made himself the leader of the Church of England.

Thesis: Although religious tolerance introduced religious diversity to the middle colonies and fragmented the Massachusetts colony, it did not change the dominance of Protestantism, whose predominance as a major faith remained irrefutable

Many religious peoples were being persecuted, and they were looking for a new place to put down their roots. Others fled the poverty of Europe to search for a better life in the Americas. No matter their reasons for leaving, people of all different backgrounds, origins, and religions came to the New World bringing with them their social and cultural traditions. The New World created a unique opportunity for people who used to be adversaries to come and coexist with the hope of a better future just as the Huguenots and English Catholics did. Seventeenth and Eighteenth century America was already showing signs of becoming what they would later be known as “the Great American Melting Pot”. Cultures from all over merged together, creating a uniquely American culture- taking influences from all the different colonists that settled there. There was no longer the Quakers, the Germans, or the Huguenots, they were all just American, and that’s what drew people to the New

The Native American Party, renamed the American Party 1855 and commonly known as the "Know Nothing" movement, was an American Nativist political party that operated nationally in the mid-1850s. It was an anti-Catholic and anti-immigrant movement, often taking the form of a secret society. The movement briefly emerged as a major political party in the form of the American Party. Adherents to the movement were to reply "I know nothing" when asked about its specifics by outsiders, thus providing the group with its common appellation The "Know Nothings" believed a "Romanist" conspiracy was afoot to subvert civil and religious liberty in America and sought to politically organize native-born Protestants in the defense of traditional religious and

The Protestant Reformation made some really big impacts on the settlement of the New World and the Western Hemisphere. One factor that helped push the settlement of the New World was all of the religious conflicts going on at that time. The Reformation was mainly focused on reforming the Catholic Church. Before the Reformation Catholicism was the most widespread and accepted religion in Europe. Martin Luther was a Catholic church that saw the corruption of the church He gained many followers of the Protestant movement simply by posting his 95-theses on the door of a church. In his 95-theses he spoke of how he thought it was wrong that people’s sins could be hidden or bought off of God with money. He believed that everyone should be allowed

Although many of the people who came to the new world were from a similar English origin, what they found in the colonies they settled determined what they could and could not do. Factors like temperature and geography played a huge role in things such as farming. In the south, the un-unified people failed to create as stable a colony as those in the North. Large flocks of servants came to the Chesapeake region to work the plantations, these men came seeking riches and glory but most found neither while few grew very Rich. New England did not have this type of workforce.

Within the colony of Massachusetts, religion played an important role in shaping the community’s people and interests. The reason for the Puritans move to North America was to escape the convictions the Christians of England were placing on them (Divine, 89). Winthrop and his followers believed that in this new land they must create a place where they could come together as a people and build the perfect religious society (Divine, 90). In a speech about his vision for the land, John Winthrop said, “We must delight in each

Since Protestantism was not only a religion but a way of life, and since priests and other clergy members were no longer as necessary in religion, in many countries the state and the church began to fuse, and formed a single, all powerful rule. As a result, many Protestant

As the Protestant Reformation lead to oppression of outside opinions and beliefs, many peoples took this opportunity to start anew in colonial America. However, each region adopted a slightly different religion. For example, New England became a stable platform for Protestants. As the Church of England underwent radical changes, some Englishmen opposed these changes due to their striking similarities to Catholicism, and therefore sought a new religion, Protestantism (Foner p.64). In order to avoid oppression and discrimination of their new religion in England, many fled to America in hopes of seeking religious tolerance. Some settled in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Pennsylvania. Protestantism preached about the importance of sermons, equality, and even adopted John Calvin’s idea of pre-determined salvation (Foner p. 65). Winthrop and the first settlers of Massachusetts set up a Commission in which Puritan beliefs governed society. For example,

Members of this society believed in nativism, which is the favoring of native-born Americans over immigrants. Through the use of secret handshakes and passwords, the members were told to answer questions about their activities by saying “I know nothing.” After the Nativists formed the American Party in 1854, it shortly became known as the Know-Nothing Party. Because they were primarily middle-class Protestants, nativists were dismayed not only at the total number of new immigrants but also at the number of Catholics among them. They believed that Catholic immigrants who had flooded the country during the 1830s and 2840s were overly influenced by the Pope and could form a conspiracy to overthrow democracy. Nativists voted for Know-Nothing candidates while the Democratic Party courted immigrant voters. In the polls of 1854, The Know-Nothing Party did surprisingly well. However, the Know-Nothings split over the issue of slavery in the territories. Southern Know-Nothings looked for an alternative to the Democrats while Northern-Know Nothings began to edge towards the Republican

Throughout history, a variety of religions have came and gone due to dislike and uncomfort. Before 1492, a majority of Europe was a part of the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church controlled every aspect of a human’s life, for example: education, social status, and family matters. In 1517, Martin Luther had created the Protestant Reformation, which limited the power of the Catholic Church. Europe was now religiously divided, which created a larger diversity of religion to the colonies. Reasons such as Henry VIII decisions with the Catholic Church, English immigrants, and religious groups affected the relationship between religion and the colonies.

The 17th century Puritans were known to represent a religious group migrating from England to America in order to practice religious freedom. These groups were determined to “purify” churches of England from Catholic practices. Puritans are known for their religious, social, and political influences on early America. Edmund S. Morgan’s novel The Puritan Family highlights a part of history that many would tend to look over upon- that is, the complex structural life of Puritan Families in the 17th century.

The Puritans tried to purify the Church of England by protesting. They wanted to purify all Roman Catholic practices but were prevented from doing so. In the 1600’s the Puritans started arriving in America to form their own religious freedoms and practices of worship hoping to share the “light” of their religion to the rest of the

In the 17th century church was the foundation of the people of New England. The main religion of the time was Puritanism which carried over when most of the colonist moved to Massachusetts. The main reason that the colonist moved was to find religious tolerance away from the strict Puritan lifestyle. Puritans believed that the smallest sin could result in a huge misfortune. They were also frowned upon for expressing their feelings and opinions, and were expected to have no individual differences. They believed in the devil just as much as they believed in God. The Puritan people constantly struggled between good and evil, which often led to giving into the temptation of Satan. Those who gave into the temptations and followed Satan were considered witches.