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Essay on puritans in new england
Puritan society in New England
Essay on puritans in new england
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The Puritan Influence in New England The ideas and values held by the Puritans such as the separation of church and government, no toleration for other religions, the belief in high education, and a hard work ethic, influenced the political, social, and economical development of the New England Colonies from 1630 through the 1660s in many ways. These Puritan ideas and values affected the outcome of the New England colonies in several ways such as the creation of new colonies, the development of towns, the way children were raised, the right to vote, and the right to go to war. These Puritan ideas and values lead to the success of the New England colonies. The Puritan values and ideas had many effects on the development of the New England colonies such as the right to vote and the right to enforce a …show more content…
After the victorious attack on the Pequot’s Mystic River village in 1637, William Bradford said, “But the victory seemed a sweet sacrifice, and they gave the praise thereof God, who had wrought so wonderfully for them, thus to enclose their enemies in their hands, and give them so speedy a victory over so proud, insulting, and blasphemous enemy.” The way the Puritans saw it was that the Indians were not part of the Puritan religion, they did not tolerate any other religions, so therefore, they were an enemy of God, and God made it easy for the Puritans to defeat the Indians and destroy their village. By calling the Pequots so proud, insulting, and blasphemous, they are saying that the Indians are too proud to accept their religion, insulting God by not worshiping him, and being sacrilegious against God. This belief influenced the Puritans economical development because it enabled them to conquer any land that the natives owned because the natives didn’t follow the Puritan’s
The puritans traveled from England on the Arabella in January of 1630 to escape to a place where they could instill their own religious and political values into their society; Stephen Foster writes about the puritans in the narrative entitled Puritanism and Democracy: A mixed Legacy. Stephen grants the puritans with creating a society based off of religious freedom and reformation of the English church. Their social constructs consisted of hierarchies and accepted inequality. The puritans are credited with laying the foundation to the democratic system of America along with early aspects of political and social constructs found in current day America.
Puritans fleeing religious persecution in England settled New England. They were a highly religious people. Document A, John Winthrop’s “ City on a hill” speech, shows how they lived according to God’s will and were very community oriented. Their towns were very planned out with a town/ church meetinghouse in the centre, and land plots for everyone in the community. This is shown in Document D, Articles of Agreement in Springfield Massachusetts 1636. Family was also very important. Since they were very religious and family is highly regarded in the Bible, marriage was advocated and adultery was a huge crime. Adulterers were made to wear the letter A on their clothing. Since they were a very close-knit people, they travelled as big families and sometimes as communities. This mass travel is depicted in document B that is a ship’s list of emigrants bound for New Engla...
The Puritans who were seeking religious freedom were the first to affect New England religiously. Therefore, religion was heavily influential in the New England colonies. This area was strictly Calvinist, and there was little to no tolerance for any other religion. This homogeneity allowed for a rigorous sense of local order. The church was an equally-important partner with town governance in preserving social order (Church and State were not separate!) In every colony except for Rhode Island, law required everyone to attend worship services on the Sabbath and every taxpayer to contribute to the support of the
Religion was a huge part of law, the court, and the state in Puritan New England. The Puritan church was mixed with the state and often they seemed to almost combine. Laws were a combination of the state and religion (Yale 9). Referring to church and state, David Yale wrote, “The distinction is far from clear” (Yale 9). This was in contrast to the Puritan founders who origionally wanted church and state to be separate, but able to work together (Yale 9). The Church had so much power in the state, it ultimately organized the civil government (Yale 9). If a person would rebel against the government and criticize or defy the Puritan rule, it would be considered a sin against God. Religion also had a association with questioning in the courts and religion was part of the prosecution. An example of this is during the examination of Sarah Good by John Hathorne. The examination starts off with this text. “(Hathorne) Sarah Good what evil spirit have you fimiliarity with. (Sarah Good) None. (H) Have you made no contact with the devil. (S G) Good answered no. (H) WHy doe you hurt these children. (S G) I doe not hurt them. I scorn it. (H) Who doe you imploy then to doe it. (S G) No creature but I am falsely accused” (Linder umck.edu). This shows a trait in Hawthorne's prosecution style where he...
They believed they had the right to worship and govern themselves in whatever manner they pleased. Puritan freedom did not include religious tolerance or individualism. John Winthrop 's speech highlighted the concept of what Puritan freedom was. He believed in a civil society where through God 's path stability would be found. Socially, it can be summarized to two ideas, natural liberty vs. moral liberty. Natural liberty was said to be corrupt because it meant doing what you pleased, whereas moral liberty meant only doing what was right. One actions were reflected based upon their position in society. The higher up one was ranked social the more "moral" their actions were and vice versa for actions defined as
The puritans had many religious beliefs. The religious beliefs they held were strong and they were extremely devoted to serving their Lord. Puritans believed that people of God had a teetotal lifestyle, worked hard and were responsible. They also believed that anything and everything that happens on earth is already predestined by God. People would not earn salvation with works of righteousness but through God’s grace. The congregation would make all of the decisions in the church and they would not acknowledge any other religions. When Puritans worshipped, it was very simple and only focused on God. There was no music, stained glass windows or art.
Although at first glance the arrival of the Puritans in America seemed solely for religious freedom, it actually was deeply embedded in economic trading opportunities. In 1629, the English crown authorized the colonization of a large area of New England by the Massachusetts Bay Company, which was a joint stock trading company. The company was taken over by a group of wealthy Puritans, and they successfully established the Massachusetts Bay Colony under the leadership of John Winthrop in the New World. The Puritans brought the company’s charter with them, which allowed them to bend the charter to their own purposes, transforming the company into a commonwealth.
The puritans were very religious. They wanted to show everyone what happens if you are good and believe in god and the heavens. If you do bad things you would be punished or be killed. If you do good things you can be hand chosen to go to heaven.
Their exemplary lives and faith, contrary to popular myths, are a high point of Christian thinking. Puritan legal history specifies some of their loyalties and compromises. Today, scholars continue their dispute over the degree to which the Puritan colonists influenced American law, morality, and culture. In the area of law, this image is supplemented by lurid accounts of witch trials and corporal public punishments. The best example of this was during the seventeenth century.
The church and Christian beliefs had a very large impact on the Puritan religion and lifestyle. According to discovery education, “Church was the cornerstone of the mainly Puritan society of the 17th century.”( Douglas 4). Puritan laws were intensively rigid and people in society were expected to follow a moral strict code. And because of Puritans and their strict moral codes, any act that was considered to go against this code was considered a sin and deserved to be punished. In Puritan theology, God h...
The world of Puritan New England, like the world of today, was filled with many evil influences. Many people were able to withstand temptation, but some fell victim to the dark side. Such offences against God, in thought, word, deed, desire or neglect, are what we define as sin (Gerber 14).
In the 1600s, the New England colonies were quickly developing because of the Puritans. Many great ideas and ethics were brought to the New World from England in a short amount of time. There was always a sense of order in their society, which was spread throughout the colonies. The importance of unity, education, and money greatly shaped the systematic life of Puritans.
In 1630, the Massachusetts Bay Company set sail to the New World in hope of reforming the Church of England. While crossing the Atlantic, John Winthrop, the puritan leader of the great migration, delivered perhaps the most famous sermon aboard the Arbella, entitled “A Model of Christian Charity.” Winthrop’s sermon gave hope to puritan immigrants to reform the Church of England and set an example for future immigrants. The Puritan’s was a goal to get rid of the offensive features that Catholicism left behind when the Protestant Reformation took place. Under Puritanism, there was a constant strain to devote your life to God and your neighbors. Unlike the old England, they wanted to prove that New England was a community of love and individual worship to God. Therefore, they created a covenant with God and would live their lives according to the covenant. Because of the covenant, Puritans tried to abide by God’s law and got rid of anything that opposed their way of life. Between 1630 and the 18th century, the Puritans tried to create a new society in New England by creating a covenant with God and living your life according to God’s rule, but in the end failed to reform the Church of England. By the mid 1630’s, threats to the Puritans such as Roger Williams, Anne Hutchinson, and Thomas Hooker were being banned from the Puritan community for their divergent beliefs. 20 years later, another problem arose with the children of church members and if they were to be granted full membership to the church. Because of these children, a Halfway Covenant was developed to make them “halfway” church members. And even more of a threat to the Puritan society was their notion that they were failing God, because of the belief that witches existed in 1692.
The Puritan belief system has several guidelines that have been ingrained into the culture of the Massachusetts Bay area and its surrounding area. One of the first leaders of the Puritans was John Winthrop, and on the subject of his mission he stated that he wanted to create a “city upon the hill.” This “city” would be the beacon of example to others. The Puritans believed in model church communities and so religion was meshed with their everyday life. The Puritan religion was so significant, it needed to be taught to others, and so it was preached to other communities including the Native American population. The Puritans also believed in predestination and the power of good behavior, this helped in the overall countenance of the community. Although some of the surrounding colonies adopted various principles from the Puritans, others believed that the lifestyle was too harsh and thus rejected it. When the Puritan lifestyle did not prove successful, Roger Williams, a former Preacher of the Puritans, moved on to start the colony of Rhode Island. This new colony still held some principles of the Puritans but had much more freedom and leeway. Other colonies were influenced by the Puritans’ social structure either through adopting the Puritan principles or changing them to better fit the ideal
The Puritans had a great force of influence upon America. They created the rules, regulations, and laws to keep themselves as the dominant class. They established a healthy economy, a school system, and believed that the political system should be an efficient one. Last but not least, the moral character of America was certainly shaped by the Puritans. America is invented because they were Entrepreneurs and had Capitalism.