33. Stuart England and the American Colonial Experiment

The reign of James I and Charles I brought into focus the rising tension between Puritan forces in England and the entrenched power of traditional 'divine right' philosophy. While many of the Puritans stayed in England to work toward a new vision of English polity, others took the voyage across the sea to participate in establishing a 'new' England, and with this venture the American experiment in republican governance got under way. The defining statement of the philosophy of this experiment was captured in one of the most famous sermons ever preached in America, John Winthrop's 'City on a Hill.' This lecture traces this history, and highlights the interests that led to the establishment of the Jamestown Colony, the Plymouth Colony, and the Massachusetts Bay Colony.