, 1863-03-23
TIE PURITANS AND THEIR CAL
UMNIAT0RS.
Dcfeneo OF the Purftana by = Puritan
Eptsc0Pal1an.

CHICAGO, March 18, 1855.
Editors Chicago Tribune:
From the character Of the charges preferred
against the Puritans in an article headed
"Antrican Ideds, and tehere they eo1ne from"
recently copied "from m exchange" and
spread before the readers Of the NORTHEASTERN
Church, the conductor Of that journal ap-
pears to be sadly misinformed OF prejudiced
against the people whom that article reTlles.
Upon reading the article referred to, ! Rent
the editor note, ciTilly requesting to be in
formed on Whist authority those chargea rerc
founded. But u he has made no response,I
would solicit The fayor Of An insertion in the
TRIBUNE, Of fen brief articles, selected from
reliable historians, showing ahs and Nhas tho
Puritons sere, tcay thy 1T Europe, and nhat
they Aaes do7ss totaards making 4nserica What
ih.
1t may not be impertinent to premise that
am not induced to make tlis request by any
partially for tbs Puritan doctrines or dis
.cipline; for, as An Episcopalian, dislike
both. But my dislike il not sufficient to rcn-
der me blind to the merits Of the Purftans,
Especially Is these SANDERS are obviously in
tended to allenAte the Northwest from tho
Northeast, and to stir up strife and ciyiI war
bttueen theEs united States.
Also that the article excepted to il LEFT
where il doubtless first appeared, In some dis
loyal partizan sheet, was Of small account.
and unworthy Of serious notice; but whom el--
svAted to the columns OF religious journal,
and introduced to it, readers expressly to
'rtndicate on some point the truth Of hlsto-
rJ,n 1t assumes An importance not It's own.
and sxc1ts4 the inquiry what may be those
truths Of history Whish require the aid Of
fhlsehood and Misrepresentation to Yindicato
them
This honored exchange makes auswer to
his own question, where do Americans get
their national ideas! thus: Last moalh,
sand roiccs ansnersd, I'VE got them ali from
Plymouth Rock. Thsy all came over in the
Nayforer. 4 noble band Of pilgrims fleeing
from persecution in wicked old Europe, cams
oIer to this desert new world, and established
hers freedom to worship God, free schools,
America. That MAS the aus1er 1t all the pill
Efin dinners in December"
Now, observe these sweeping charges: "a
| thousand voices At all the pilgrim dinners pro-
claimed that they got al from Plymouth
Rock-freodom and everything nobls GANG
| ing Misrepresentation. confute themselves. !.
Had their author desired to 'yindicate the
truth Of history" he would, perhaps, have
said that at these pilgrim dinners some Of the
guests were wont 70 drink too freely, and
consequently, to boast foolishly Of their an
ceators' virtues a.d exploits. To that extent
he might have obtained credit for vsracity,
inhsmuch as similar indiscrctions do some:
times appear in the post ptandium speeches
| nj, other jol1ifcati0n dinners, besides those or
Torefathers' Day. But, By attempting to
fasteA the errcra Of 3 few upon al who Assem-
b1ed to commemorate ForeEthers' Day, he
shows himself more ready to circulate false
hoods than to vinaicate the trnth. And such
ns will appear In the sequel, is the character
Of the article which propose to review, ant
which, strange te say, the editor OF q religions
journal in this city has thought worthy of
place in the Northaeatvn Church.
The Potns Ge5e Pfops ss Pu1asa II h
ofadversity. They were no shams, no hollow
hearted pretenders, but real men aud women
such As arc never produced except In the fire
Of persecution, in the times that try mem
souls. It is true, they were not fAultleSs, be
Ing Of like passions with other men, but tn
history Of the world nay to safely challenged
to produce people who hare suffered or dom
more for the canss Of civil and religious free
dom, than the Puritan settlers Of New Eng
land. They resisted the fires Of persecution
1t home, till further resistance became hope
less, and then ahrrpk not from the danger
aid lardshjps Of an exile to tic innospitabl
shores Of A New England wilderness.
The firtt Puritan of note. In the Reforms
tion of the Enplish Church, was Kinr Hcnr,
VIII. In styefin~ the tie which hnnnd hi
erovn .ni] Eiurt'om to III. cro.fer of III
Pone he made long s,r;dc tnwnrds the rirh
Of priyste iudenent. But King Heury'
yieTs were rxcIms;Yc]y sc1f3.h 3m;nr a
prasr IN Ills or1 han;,a fhe snmn a1h;irar
End ahsolnte noncr as thc Ponc bad Hayin;
s-rnred tl,at hr mt sfon 10 Ill fnr+her ~
farms ' - ~ 0AN
II was in th, re3cn If h;s son Edward VI
that lie Enslisll P7otestant Eniscona] Churc
asEumet1 nearly its nrrsent Narn, Cronmo,
Ridley And other d;rnftar;es n the Chnre
Ind pruned It. Of those Popish corruption
: and excrescences which fhev thourht obie{
tionable or exnedient to be Removed Mt tha
. lime. But they retained some Of the badge
and Ceremonies Of Romanism. such as Th
clerical cap and surplIce, boring ut the nam
. Of Jesus, ac., which, although confessed t
he in themselves harmless or indifferent, Jc'
because they we're badges Of POpery, gar
great offensc to others. And hence, fro1
such tribes, arose thst fearful schism in th
The Church, which gradually widening IN
Irritating the parties on both sides. durin
: the reigns Of Elizabeth aud James, till unde
, Charles I it overthTew the govcrnmcn
brought his head to the block, and she'd Il
blood Of more than one hundred thousand
t | his subjects.