Puritans In The 17th Century

Areesh Areesh 23) Puritans: A group of Protestants, of the late 16th and 17th century, who wanted to purify the church. The Protestant Reformation was initiated by Martin Luther, who challenged the teachings and adulterated practices of the Roman Catholic Church. The Puritans didn’t agree with the reformations of the Church of England under Elizabeth and demanded the simplification of doctrine and worship, and greater strictness in religious discipline. They believed education to be of the utmost importance as it meant being able to read the bible and receive salvation, as did the Protestant Reformers. Beginning in 1630, Puritan leaders were threatened with “extirpation from the earth" if they did not conform to religious practices, by leaders

The Pilgrim fathers aboard the Mayflower were uneasy as they prepared to set foot on North American soil in late 1620. Their concern was rooted in two issues: their voyage had landed them near the mouth of the Hudson River, instead of Provincetown Harbor as the intended settlement site. The fathers doubted they’d be able to govern a colony in the region. Along with that, the separatist, weren’t the only ones aboard the Mayflower, Strangers, sd the separatist called anyone who wasn’t a part of their congregation, were also in attendance. Thus to resolve this lack of authority, the Mayflower compact was constructed and signed by 41 males aboard the ship. The agreement first acknowledged the colonists' loyalty to King James I, and then bound them in a "civil Body Politick" for the purpose of forming just laws for the entire community. This led to a governing body within the community upon the consent of the governed. The Compact is often regarded as the first written constitution in North

In 1629, the Massachusetts Bay Company obtained a charter from King James 1. This charter was suppose to prove beneficial for England: the crown intended for the company to be of commercial interests with stockholders, officers and directors. The patentees, both the Virginia Company and the Massachusetts Bay company, decided to transfer the management and charter to Massachusetts. This move paved the way for local management and the assumption that a charter for a commercial company could in turn be a political constitution for a new government, obscure dependence on the imperial one in England. Under John Winthrop, one of the founders, Puritanism was availing in Massachusetts and people with differing beliefs, like Roger William of Salem and Anne Hutchens of Boston, were banished. The charter was revoked due to estrangement between the colony and England and in 1691 a new charter merged both Plymouth and Main with