I'd like to make an addition to one point. There were European settlers who did flee religious persecution of the then-Catholic Church but the real influx came when Henry VIII established The Church of England around 597. His was a conservative protestant church, however, he was seizing assets owned by The Church of Rome at the time. The puritan settlers who came over thought that the Church of England had too many Catholic rituals and practices, making them a splinter group who were absolutely being oppressed by their own government. I could go on about puritanism but I can sum it up with they did start eating their own and becoming religious persecutors in and of themselves once they got settled in here in the US. Kind of a wild story that misses a lotta nuance when it's summarized, unfortunately.
I'd like to make an addition to one point. There were European settlers who did flee religious persecution of the then-Catholic Church but the real influx came when Henry VIII established The Church of England around 597. His was a conservative protestant church, however, he was seizing assets owned by The Church of Rome at the time. The puritan settlers who came over thought that the Church of England had too many Catholic rituals and practices, making them a splinter group who were absolutely being oppressed by their own government. I could go on about puritanism but I can sum it up with they did start eating their own and becoming religious persecutors in and of themselves once they got settled in here in the US. Kind of a wild story that misses a lotta nuance when it's summarized, unfortunately.
Excellent article.