not enter into the fullest understanding of the present place and
influence of Home Missions as a National Force, or a study of its
immediate future, without pausing to review the background of the
past. For we recognize that growth, organization and development
are all functions of _time_.

The early fathers had no thought of founding a nation when they sought
refuge and a new start on this continent. Jamestown, New York, Plymouth
and their outgrowing settlements were intensely individualistic. They
were the individual Cavalier, Hollander or Pilgrim, only in larger
proportions, bearing all their characteristics.

To appreciate the characteristics and spirit of these colonists,
we must consider the special significance of the age that gave
them birth. They "were the children of a century in which the
human spirit had a new birth in energy of imagination, in faith
in its powers to dare greatly and achieve greatly." [Footnote:
Hamilton Wright Mabie--American Ideals, Character and Life.]

They were inspired most strongly by religious aspirations,
although combining with these impelling political convictions.
In the Puritan colony, "membership in the church for some time
remained a qualification for voting."

"In nearly every document which conveyed authority to discoverers,
explorers, and settlers in the New World, the Christian religion
was recognized." [Footnote: Hamilton Wright Mabie--American
Ideals, Character and Life.]

Their faith was of heroic quality, of rock firmness; their