The Puritan Origins of American Patriotism George McKenna In this absorbing book, George McKenna ranges across the entire panorama of United States history to track the development of American patriotism. Shaped by the Puritan belief in a providential "errand", America's unique patriotism has influenced the nation in both positive and negative ways, sometimes uniting and sometimes dividing its people. George McKenna is professor emeritus, City College of the City University of New York where he taught American government and American political thought for forty years.