4. In the reign of James the First, there were such severe laws against those who did not conform to the church of England, that hundreds of people emigrated to America, and settled themselves in colonies in a wild country, where at first they suffered many hardships and privations; but these colonies, and others, afterwards formed, gradually improved, till they became large flourishing states, now called the United States of America.
5. James the First reigned twenty-two years, and was succeeded, in the year 1625, by his son Charles, whose bad education led to all the miseries of a long civil war, and to misfortunes that fell upon his own head.
6. The quarrels between Charles and the parliament, arose from his taking upon himself the power of raising money by taxes, without the consent of the House of Commons; and in other things he chose to act by his own will, although it might be quite contrary to the laws of the country.
7. Many people were put in prison because they would not lend him money when he desired it; and, at last, he dissolved the parliament altogether, and said he would govern without one, and then the people had no protection from his tyranny.
8. Those who were treated the worst were the Puritans, a religious sect, whose form of worship was very similar to that of the present Scottish Church, which is different from the English, as they have no bishops, do not use prayer books, and have particular rules about choosing their own clergymen.
9. The Scots who hold these opinions are called Presbyterians. The Puritans dressed very plainly, like quakers, and had their hair cut close, and on that account they obtained the name of Roundheads; and those who took part against the king in the civil war, generally adopted that fashion, and were distinguished by that name.
10. After a time, the king began to find that, if he continued to govern by himself, there would certainly be a serious rebellion; so he consented to have a new parliament, and there was an election directly, and as many of the new members were Puritans, they perhaps wanted the king to yield too much, and thus provoked him not to give up so much as he ought.
11. I cannot tell how this might be; but a great many people at length began to think it would be better to have a Republic, that is, a government without a king, and many of the Puritans were of that opinion.
12. Charles had undoubtedly brought all his troubles upon himself, but it was now evident he must either give up his authority as a sovereign, or fight to maintain it; so he chose the latter alternative, and a war was commenced between the king and the parliament. Each party raised a large army.
13. The queen, who was sister to the French king, went to France, to raise money to pay soldiers to fight for her husband, and to bring arms for them. He was supported by most of the English nobility, while the principal commoners sided with the parliament.