Hello fellow historians!
I'm currently reading a book entitled The Fathers of New England A Chronicle of the Puritan Commonwealths by Charles McLean Andrews. In the book Andrews cites several examples of Puritans persecuting and even killing followers of other religious faiths. This book is old but my readings abut the author indicate he was fairly innovative in terms of historical thought and method. I was wondering how the portrayal of the Pilgrims as being seekers of religious freedom and accepting of others compared to how they really were.
It's important to keep in mind that the puritans were kicked out of England because they LOVED to hurt people who didn't agree with them. They controlled England after Oliver Cromwell took over and waged a war of extermination agaisnt the Irish (or any other) Catholics. After they were eventually defeated members of the group fled to the New world to establish a fundamentalist utopia there. If you look at their world view the groups that seem to be the most similar, in the modern era, tend to be viewed as violent religious fanatics.