Freedom of Worship + King Philip's War

1636 Freedom of Worship

religious foundations of early Massachusetts; the Pilgrims and then the Puritans were highlt religious and they brought religion to US

Roger Williams and his banishment

* he arrived in Boston in 1631


* initially became a puritanminister, to him this whole colony was not very separatist so he decided to move North, but there he also was seen as too radical
* then he moved to Plymouth and found what he was looking for - separatism; he befriended the Puritans but also Native Americans; he even released a book
* however he started to be too conservative, too separatist so he moved to Salem

Providence settlement

embodied the revolutionary idea of the separation of church from the state —> 12 adults signed an agreement that they are setting out their own colony

(first settlement in US to embody the ideal of separating the church and the state)

1644 - the colony of New Jersey

received the charter (which claimed that no one would be molested, punished or called in question for any religious matter)

1681 William Penn (Pennsylvania)

established Pennsylvania as the haven for persecuted Quakers

1789 The Bill of Rights

freedom of religion, officially came into force in 1791

King Philip (Metacom/Metacomet)

Son of Massasoit. He was the leader in the bloody war against English colonies.

What triggered King Philip’s war?

John Sassamon (a Native American who assimilated himself into the English society, converted into christianity, learned English etc.; at some point he even served as Philip’s interpreter). In 1675 he went to the Plymouth officials and told the English that King Philip was planning a war. Soon after he was found in a local pond murdered.

Three Wampanoags hanged for murdering Sassamon which enraged Philip and his people.

What led to the escalation of the conflict and involvement of tribes far from Plymouth?

* the desire to save their homeland
* The English were in total panic and every Native was a threat to them
* English mistakes (Rhode Island invasion. burning of the Native American villages)
* The Indian attacks included an element of psychological warfare; they knew how to make the English angry, they were even mocking the religious beliefs of English

What turned the course of the war in favor of the English?

* they were better armed, more numerous and ruthless and made alliances with several Indian tribes
* Benjamin Chruch captured Philip’s wife and later on Philip was killed by a Native American under Church’s command (a traitor)
* Philip’s head was left on display for 25 years in Plymouth

Consequences

* English popularion continued to grow, native population continued to decline
* war spread greater unity among the colonists
* It contributed to the emergence of the American identity (advantage)
* a drastic increase in Indian enslavement.