Plucking the Eagle's Wings

Hebrew Parallels Associated with Early American History

while his tribe fell victim to the mysterious illness. He spent years in England and returned to his native land with, of all people, Captain John Smith. After Smith left, other Englishmen came and captured many Indians, including Squanto, with the intention of selling them into slavery. A friar rescued Squanto and introduced him to Christianity. After several years of Christian instruction, Squanto returned to his native land, only to discover that his tribe had been wiped out. Sad as this may have been, Squanto had seemingly been chosen by God to help the Pilgrims in their first years at Plymouth. Bradford wrote that Squanto was a special instrument sent by God for their good, beyond their expectation. Squanto taught them how to fish, plant maize, hunt deer, refine maple syrup, and select the proper herbs for medicines. It was this kind of friendly relationship that led to the first Thanksgiving—a remarkable contrast to the behavior of the Jamestown colonists. This story is also very different from what students are taught today in our public schools about the Pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving! The first person on record (other than an Indian) to use the word "American" with reference to a European colonist was Cotton Mather, a Puritan minister. The Puritans, as distinguished from the Pilgrims, began to immigrate to the New World in 1628. Their trading company, under the jurisdiction of the Monarchy, eventually developed into a theocracy. The Puritans have been mercilessly criticized for their strict adherence to the Bible. The Puritans, probably more than any other group that settled in America, defined what God was looking for in a people and a nation. They also influenced our American system of government. Is it coincidence that the American Revolution began in the area where the Puritans settled? They felt they had been given a divine opportunity to construct a colony that existed and thrived on Biblical principles. Their philosophy of living the Christian life in the New World was covenant based—that is, a covenant between God and man. This covenant nature of living together was expressed in 1776 in the Declaration of Independence. Its closing statement declares: "And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor." Many of the men who signed the Declaration of Independence were Puritan descendants. The Hebrew name for the United States of America can be translated to mean lands of the covenant.

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