← Articles · History, Religion
A Glance at America's History of Freedom Part 1: The Two Colonies
By PuritanCat ·
When most people think of America, they think of the many freedoms we have. Yet there is a debate among the people of America: What is freedom? And what do we use our freedom for? When people hear the word "freedom," they picture a person doing whatever they feel is good 'as long as they don't hurt anyone,' as Liberals say. Freedom is "not being held back by anyone," they may also say. These statements have truth in them; however, this is just one way of using freedom. The other camp in this debate says you should use your freedom to improve yourself and those around you by following your values and using reason (i.e., It's anti-hedonism). In this article series, we will look at an overview of the history of freedom in America to see what true freedom is and its changing use by Americans.
To understand the story of each of the two colonies that became the foundations of America (Plymouth and Jamestown), we need to examine the motivation and reason why each of the colonies was founded. The forefathers of Plymouth were in a group named the Pilgrims (also called Separatist Puritans); they were very radical Puritans who felt like they couldn't fix the English church and were tired of being persecuted for having disagreements with the Church and State. The Anglicans, Puritans, Separatists, and others in England held that three elements- Scripture (The Bible), Tradition (Church Fathers and church history and councils), and Reason (Common sense, logical thinking, and a little bit of philosophy) were ways to help them know how to live. The Pilgrims used these three as well, with Tradition less so on account of how the government-controlled Church back in England was treating them. The Pilgrims founded Plymouth so that they could have freedom to follow their values (Scripture and Tradition) and use reason to improve the world. 1 Peter 2:15-17 would be their motto: "For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men—as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king" (NKJV). You could say the reason why Plymouth was founded is for was to be anti-hedonism yet also anti-authoritarianism.
Jamestown, on the other hand, was created for the opposite reasons. The British government gave the Virginia Company a monopoly over the entire East Coast (that ended up not happening), and their own goal was to gain as much wealth as possible. A lot of people came just to have the freedom to do whatever they want and make money. Their personal freedom was more important than others' freedom; they imported slaves from Africa to work on the plantations and mistreated the natives and other European colonizers with unfair trade deals and wars. It's important to note that not all the people in Jamestown were like this; there were a few who were similar to the Pilgrims of Plymouth. Jamestown was run by the government-created monopoly that focused on survival and seizing natural resources, but then it created the "House of Burgesses," which at first was owners of the plantations in the monopoly. Later, it changed to be a representative democracy (after the dissolution of the Virginia Company in 1624) and helped the population do self-governance without the British government or monopolies telling them what to do. They slowly changed their ways to be in line with Plymouth.
The story of Plymouth is echoed in the holiday Thanksgiving. It started when the Pilgrims left England and went to the Netherlands in 1609 to have religious freedom away from the state-run Church of England. However, they did not stay for long in the Netherlands because they felt the Dutch people were using their freedoms to do vice and selfish actions, and they didn't want their children to become like the Dutch. Also, the Netherlands was having economic problems because of instability from a war with Spain. Then an opportunity arose for the Pilgrims; investors from London offered to help fund their journey to America in a joint stock company. However, there was an odd catch to the deal: the Pilgrims' colony would follow a "communal" system where land and resources were "owned" by the collective (there was no private property), and people got an equal amount of food no matter how hard they worked. The Pilgrims' colony would be owned by the joint stock. The Pilgrims agreed and went on their way on the Mayflower in September 1620. It was a rough time, and a good number of people died, but there were to get to the New World in November 1620. Before they got off the Mayflower, the Pilgrim leaders wrote and signed the Mayflower Compact (1620). This pact said that they must establish self-government and treat each other right and that they must keep the covenant to God and each other. A month after this, the situation in the colony was dire; it was winter, and the people were freezing to death. They kept running out of food because people were being lazy and didn't have a personal incentive because they got the same amount no matter what. William Bradford (one of the Pilgrim leaders) wrote about this in his book 'Of Plymouth plantation'. Many just didn't know if they grew enough for the communal system. Half of the population died that first winter. In 1621, a native American man named Squanto came to rescue; he showed the Pilgrims how to grow crops more efficiently. The Wampanoag people also helped the Pilgrims by giving them food. Squanto was an interesting guy; he was taken from his lands in 1605 by English people, but then he ended up in Spain and became catholic. In 1619, he was able to go back to his home, but his tribe was all killed by disease. Sometime later, in 1621, the Pilgrims, Squanto, and the Wampanoag people had a big feast, and this became the first Thanksgiving. It was a day to thank God for sending people to help them survive.
In 1623, William Bradford and other Pilgrim leaders abolished the communal system and allowed each family to have their own plot of land and own private property to take care of. William Bradford describes to us the results of this policy: "And so assigned to every family a parcell of land, according to the proportion of their number for that end, only for present use (but made no devission for inheritance), and ranged all boys & youth under some familie. This had very good success; for it made all hands very industrious, so as much more corne was planted then other waise would have bene by any means..." (Bradford, M, p. 178, 1623). The food supply grew, and they were more willing to work because the more they grew, the greater the harvest was. The Pilgrims would end up doing trade deals with each other and the native American tribes that benefited both sides. The Pilgrims had an economy that was built off individual incentives and their values of treating each other fairly and using reason. They held to a principle of non-aggression, self-defense only (The NAP, you could say). They also shared their (Western Christian ideas that helped build self-government and the NAP) that helped the native tribes be more peaceful. Sadly, that wasn't always the case. When the British government gained more say over them and all the colonies over time (and the Plymouth Colony was annexed by the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1691), they were more violent to the native Americans and fought more wars against other European powers (like France in the 7 years' War). The native Americans were not always peaceful; many tribes were deadly to the Europeans and other native tribes.
This early chapter in American history demonstrates to us that true freedom has been sought for at the very beginning of the story. The truth from the Holiday of Thanksgiving is a truth of reason and morals working together. Individual incentives and mutual trade agreements triumph over the collective and government-granted monopolies. Also, that peaceful resistance against the government can work (as long as you keep the NAP). However, if the state pushes too hard and starts hurting people, in some cases, they must overthrow tyranny and the state that makes itself into a false god. Next time, we look at the American Revolution.
References/Resources:
The Mayflower Compact (1620). https://www.gilderlehrman.org/sites/default/files/inline-pdfs/The%20Mayflower%20Compact.pdf
The Holy Bible, New King James Version (1982). Thomas Nelson
Bradford's History of 'Plimoth Plantation' (1620-1647). https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/24950
Raleigh, H (2020). Socialism Failed Miserably For The American Pilgrims, Just Like It Does Everywhere. The Federalist. https://thefederalist.com/2020/11/24/socialism-failed-miserably-for-the-american-pilgrims-just-like-it-does-everywhere/
Jamestown Colony (2026). Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/place/Jamestown-Colony