The Puritans

The puritans came to the Americas in search of religious freedom but, in their hypocrocy, had no tolerance for the beliefs of others. As was the case of Thomas Morton who was a devout atheist. This was Morton’s only crime, a different religious belief, which lead the puritans to show their true colors, that they were just as intolerant as those who persecuted them in England. Bradford’s account of this injustice has very little evidence against Morton. In his journal, Bradford accusses Morton of disrupting the commonwealth because of his immoral corruption of the servants and American natives but what he did was introduce the concept of equality. Morton made an agreement with the servants to leave their life of servitude and bondage and become partners with him working his plantation. “ He may have been a little excessive in his drunken celebrations but what he did was something the puritans should have already done. He freed indentured servants, who may as well have been slaves, from their masters. Of course this upset the puritans. How dare he take their servants forcing them to do things for themselves. Yes they were supposed to be working to pay the back the cost of their trip to the new world but if the puritans, much like Christians today, truly believe the Bible should they not have taken the verse “35 But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil”? In Morton’s dealings with the native Americans, the thing that really upset the puritans was his trading guns and alcohol and teaching them to use the guns. This should have been seen as an effort to bring technology to those who have none and better their quality of life by enabling them to hunt with more efficientce. This was in fact what Morton was doing but the puritans saw this as Morton giving the Native Americans better means to attack their settlement and