The Puritans: The Religion That Built & Broke America

Bailee and Ashley take a historical detour—unpacking how the Puritans didn’t just influence early America, but laid the ideological groundwork for today’s alt-right evangelical movement. They trace the through-line from 1600s moral rigidity to modern Christian nationalism, purity culture, and the political power structures we still feel today.

From the myth-making around the “First Thanksgiving” to the Puritans’ obsession with control, conformity, and divine exceptionalism, they break down how these roots continue to shape American evangelical identity.

Sources:

•  Bradford, W. (1856). Of Plymouth Plantation, 1620–1647. Houghton, Mifflin and Company.
• Cave, A. A. (1996). The Pequot War. University of Massachusetts Press.
•  Karr, R. D. (1998). The violence of the Pequot War. The New England Quarterly, 71(1), 26–49.
• Lincoln, A. (1863). Proclamation 103—Day of Thanksgiving, Praise, and Prayer. The American Presidency Project. Retrieved from https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/proclamation-103-day-thanksgiving-praise-and-prayer-august-6-1863
• Morison, S. E. (Ed.). (1967). Of Plymouth Plantation, 1620–1647. Houghton Mifflin.
• Winthrop, J. (1630). A Modell of Christian Charity. Retrieved from https://teachingamericanhistory.org/document/a-model-of-christian-charity-2/

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