The Role Of Puritans In Colonial America

American society in the 1640s was much different then the America we know in today’s time. Protestant Puritans worshiped freely in America, whereas they were persecuted and ridiculed in Europe for their beliefs. They journeyed to America where they could escape the religion they deemed corrupt and sinful; Catholicism. Religion guided how the Puritans lived their lives and how they ruled their establishments. The Puritans set up a way of life in America that included their own literature; beliefs in sin, morality, illegitimacy, guilt, and the justice system; and the religious practices in their governments and their society. Much of the literature written in Colonial America was written by the Puritans and mostly spoke about faith in God.

They believed that every man is sinful but that God, through his mercy and grace, has chosen to save a few people and bless them with eternal life. The Puritans believed in the concept of “Original Sin”; which states that all people are damned by Adam’s original sin and that there are no exceptions to this rule. Some Puritans even believed that babies who died in childbirth were sent to Hell, as that was God’s predestined plan for them (Woodlief). Illegitimacy was viewed as a problem and as a moral disruption in Puritan society. The mothers of the children were often ostracized and ridiculed while their baby received fewer rights and was viewed as an abomination by the surrounding community. Lessons were taught to young children in their schoolhouses to try and dissuade the children from partaking in premarital sex, yet illegitimacy continued to grow well into the 18th

Crimes ranged from murder to failure to attend church, and all those guilty of crimes were punished “accordingly”. Many of the things that were considered crimes were punished by only a slight fine, but more egregious offenders were punished by being ordered to wear an ornate “D” for drunkard or an ornate “A” for adultery (Fisk). The Puritans believed that God forgave sinners but man could only forgive if he saw that the one had had committed the offense had devoted his time to changing himself (Kizer). Forgiveness was the only thing that could overcome a lust, where revenge could only quench that lust for a short time (Flavel). There was a strong connection between church and state in some colonies such as Massachusetts but church law was more prevalent in other colonies. Civil governments dealt severely with those who broke church conduct in Massachusetts. Outspoken criticizers of the Puritan ideology, such as Anne Hutchinson and Roger Williams, were exiled for their beliefs and many Baptists and Quakers were flogged and brutally mutilated by the Puritans for their