Thomas Paine was neither a politician nor a civic leader, but simply a talented writer who passionately argued for the rights of colonists. His "Common Sense," (1776) an engaging pamphlet advocating for the rights of colonists against the tyranny of the British crown, was the most widely read piece of writing in the colonies during the mid 1770s. Its widespread popularity was a major catalyst for the politicians and leaders to organize a revolutionary movement.

The quote actually comes from Thomas Paine's pamphlet Common Sense, the most notable argument for American independence and individual rights among the colonists. A key identifier that this is Paine's writing is the mention of both "the cause of America," and the invocation of "natural rights of all Mankind."

The settlers of Plymouth Colony had already sought refuge outside of England on the European continent, but to no avail. They decided to cross the Atlantic because they sought to create a "Separate" church from the Church of England, which they viewed as irredeemably corrupted. This distinguished them from "Puritans," who merely wished to completely "purify" the Church of England.

While the leaders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony were seeking a chance to worship more freely than in England, they did not wish for any true sense of religious freedom. All the political and religious leaders adhered to a strict form of Calvinist protestantism, and wanted to purify the Church of England along Calvinist lines. Citizens of Boston were required to attend church, and every church was controlled by the political leaders. Many dissenters, including Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson, were exiled from the colony.

The quote comes from John Winthrop's "A Model of Christian Charity", a speech delivered to the settlers of Massachusetts Bay Colony before they left their ship the Arabella in 1630. The invocations of God's plan, and the audience's role in the promotion of Christianity clearly indicate that this is a Christian sermon. Further, the mention of New England points to the Puritanism of early New England.

The Puritans were so-called because they wished to "purify" the Church of England of its more high church, Catholic elements such as elevated mass and the use of bishops. Puritans were expressly targeted in England in the first few decades of the seventeenth century, and the Massachusetts Bay Colony was founded by the leaders of England's Puritan community.

While still onboard the Arbella, the ship that brought the original colonists to Boston, John Winthrop delivered a sermon entitled "A Modell of Christian Charity." Popularly known as the "City Upon a Hill" speech for its closing statement, the sermon outlined to the Puritans about to establish Massachusetts Bay Colony the divine providence they thought was guiding them. Winthrop's message was that their efforts would succeed because God was on their side.

Leif Ericson is generally accepted by most historians to be the first European to set foot on the continent of North America. Leif Ericson was most likely born in Iceland, which at the time was part of a vast Nordic-Scandinavian Empire. It is probable that he landed in what is now Newfoundland in the first few years of the eleventh century. 

Universalism, as a sect of Christianity, holds that all mankind—no matter how sinful or ungodly—can achieve salvation. Christian Universalists believe that the divine mercy and forgiveness of God guarantees all humans eternal salvation. One of the earliest and most well known Universalists teachers in colonial America was named George de Benneville. His teachings, that God would grant salvation to all, laid the foundation for Universalism in the United States.  

“Bleeding Kansas” is a term that refers to the armed conflict between Free Soil settlers and Pro-Slavery settlers to determine the composition of the state’s populace between 1854 and 1858.  The makeup of the population became important because the Congress had allowed new states to decide whether to be Free or Slave states with the Kansas-Nebraska Act.