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GED Social Studies 1.1 Civics and Government
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Puritans and Pilgrims 6411 Views
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Description:
Not everything was as gravy as Thanksgiving decorations make it seem. Get the real scoop (of mashed potatoes) here.
Transcript
- 00:07
Puritans and Pilgrims, a la Shmoop.
- 00:10
Howdy pilgrims.
- 00:12
You see, Puritans were English protestants with funny hats.
- 00:16
And Pilgrims...
- 00:17
Pilgrims were separatists... with funny hats.
Full Transcript
- 00:22
The Puritans and Pilgrims came to America because they were persecuted in Europe.
- 00:25
No, not for the hats. They followed a different religion than most
- 00:29
people in Europe... ... and because of that they weren't treated
- 00:32
like everybody else. America was a land of opportunity.
- 00:36
It was mostly unsettled, and they knew that nobody would persecute them over there.
- 00:43
Because Puritans and Pilgrims were among the first American settlers...
- 00:47
... Freedom of Religion became one of the most important values in the Unites States.
- 00:52
But how well do we continue to uphold this value in the modern United States?
- 00:57
When religious groups seem unusual or maybe even scary to Americans...
- 01:01
...we usually give them a pretty hard time. We've called unpopular little religions "cults,"
- 01:06
...and even chased people with unusual spiritual
- 01:09
beliefs out of the country on questionable charges.
- 01:12
When our government didn't like a commune in 1980s Oregon...
- 01:15
... we suddenly decided that performing marriages without a license was a serious crime and
- 01:21
deported their leader for that act.
- 01:23
More recently, after the tragedy of September 11...
- 01:26
... Arabs and Muslims have become the subjects
- 01:28
of prejudice and fear for many Americans.
- 01:31
There is always plenty of political debate
- 01:33
about whether America is a "Christian Nation"... ... or a "secular nation" that shouldn't
- 01:39
have any connection to one specific religious tradition.
- 01:42
In court, people still swear to tell the truth with their hand on a Bible...
- 01:45
...and that's also how the President takes his oath of office.
- 01:49
The Puritans and Pilgrims did all they could to bring people around to their way of thinking...
- 01:53
and believing... But should we really try to govern religion at all?
- 01:57
Are the by-laws of the Puritans and Pilgrims
- 01:59
applicable in any way, shape or form to our world today?
- 02:03
Or are they as antiquated as those funny hats?
- 02:07
Shmoop amongst yourselves, pilgrim.
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