How Did America Begin?

        The alarm sounded,  "Indian!" He walked into the small settlement alone.  The tall Indian kept walking, up to their log cabin meeting house,  through the open door,  finally stopping before the Pilgrim men meeting him.   Breaking the silence,  he said "Welcome!" in English, and then,  "Have you any beer?"

       The astonished Pilgrims replied, "No, our beer is gone... would you like some brandy?"  The Indian's name was Samoset and he readily accepted their offer of brandy and food.     Samoset  along with another English speaking  Indian named Squanto,  would go on to help those struggling settlers they met that day in March, 1621.   Without their help most of the Pilgrims would have died.  Squanto taught them much,  like how to plant corn the Indian way,  how to fish for cod,  how to stalk deer,  find herbs for healing,  and  more.    102 Pilgrims had survived the dangerous three month journey from England;  by the time the Indian visitors came, 47 had died from starvation,  just three months after arriving.

        The chance of friendly,  English-speaking Indians going out of their way to help this small band of settlers in an unknown,  large wilderness "just happening" couldn't have occurred without God's intervention. And the Pilgrims hadn't wanted to settle there,  (near what is now Cape Cod,  Massachusetts)  having been blown off course almost 100 miles by a  long lasting storm when sailing to America.  Samoset and Squanto came from different tribes.   Samoset had learned English from some of the first English fishermen exploring the New England coast.   Squanto had been captured by European explorers,  made a slave,  sent to a slave market in Spain,  but later managed to make his way to England and years later,  back to America. 

        Other settlements were begun in the raw wilderness of America.  Some of the  others, such as in Virginia,  failed because of corruption, feuding, and unsuccessful schemes to find gold.   The most notable success among the others also began as a Christian settlement -- the Puritans.   Fleeing persecution and moral decay in England,  they came to America in 1630 with a charter  from the King legalizing their settlement,  but more importantly,  with a covenant  to Jesus Christ and to each other.  Essentially,  a covenant is like a binding contract.  They covenanted to Christ to be faithful to Him and to love each other,  all for the purpose of establishing a truly Christian nation that would shine before the world.   In dedicating all they had to this cause and to each other they were something like missionaries.   

        Settlements in America,  beginning in the 1580's,  were begun by different groups for different reasons.  In time those settlements begun by Christians in New England became the most successful,  with less Indian attacks,  famine,  and disease,  and more economically stable.  They were among the very first to arrive and came to freely practice their faith,  to prosper,  and to spread Christianity. Their example of town governments representing the people,  leading to colonial legislatures,  greatly influenced our first national government upon independence from England.

        While other faiths were permitted to be practiced in colonial America,  the country was Christian to a degree that today would seem radically different to modern Americans.  Many examples can be given.  Not only did students regularly pray in public schools,  but Bibles were used as textbooks to teach reading.   The original state consitutions of the first 13 states required public office holders to be professing Christians!  An example would be Massachussetts constitution,  drafted in 1780,  requiring in Chapter VI,  Article 1 for office holders to swear the following: "I, ____,  do declare,  that I believe the Christian religion,  and have firm persuasion of its truth."   

        For more of our Christian foundation,  click on "Were the founding fathers Christian?"