6. Topic: Pilgrims, Puritans, and the Revolution. Thesis: In 1629, in imitation of the Pilgrim's plantation at Plymouth, a small group of Puritans wishing to establish a colony small colony at Salem. Their intention was to practice their religion without interference from the official English church. Within a year a much larger group of fellow Puritans had established the town of Boston which they called "The Citty on a Hill." From that time onward the Massachusetts Bay Colony would be a haven for Puritans and attracted thousands of kindred spirits during the "Great Migration." But the Puritans would be more than just a group of isolated religious refugees, their beliefs and principles, even some they did not realize that they possessed, would have great influence on the development of colonial America reaching as far into the future as the American Revolution.