I see far to mamy Atheists buying into this "fleeing from religious persecution" history rewrites. While there are some cases of this North America wasn't founded for that reason, now listen up,,,,
LAND. The opportunity to own your own land and not to serve under a lord, Baron or kingdom and their wars. The fur trade, Gold and Silver, free unrestricted hunting new fishing grounds, undeveloped resources.
And y'all didn't show up in a couple years. Once towns became established the businesses rolled in, often European concerns but the opportunity still existed for private lumber mills, miners and trades of all kinds.
Stop buying into their Christian built country crap, the church mostly came along after communities were established, when there was money to be made. Homesteaders were the first and many had no use for religion, property of their own was their heaven
You were freer as a Christian in Europe then not being one, if it was about religion why were their no huge jewish or Islamic settlements in the beginning? Those were the persecuted ones in Europe.
Europe also still controlled the early immigration of the Americas, there were no secret, dead of night escapes from European docks by groups of persecuted Christians. Early America was occupied by English, French and Spanish troops, clerics and Govenours, they fought for control amoungst each other before you fought to be independant from England.
Americas Fundies have made this "founded for Christ" shit up and it's corrupting the real history of your early years.
