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Describe the role Calvinism played in the history of early America.
Calvinism is the belief that the fate of a person is pre-determined by God. Essentially, prior to the birth of an individual it was already declared whether they were going to hell or heaven. Additionally, Calvinism laid the foundation as the core belief structure for Puritans, Pligrims, Huguenots, and Presbyterians. Calvinism would later play a role in government when leaders that followed this belief recommended that the church should be associated with the state.
To what extent did the environment determine the culture of the Southern, Middle, and New England colonies?
New England had intense winters and was the coldest out of all the colonies. Due to this reason, they were limited to their farming capabilities. Instead, they would import goods from other regions and trade them with other countries. Fortunately, they were surrounded by a dense number of trees which they used to make ships. New England colonists would usually work at shipbuilding for this reason. Middle colonies had moderate weather all year around which made for humid summers and mild winters. This climate gave the people an opportunity to take advantage of agricultural benefits. The Middle colonies became popular for their exportation of grains and fantastic farming abilities.
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Why?
Puritans strictly believed that people should live by the rules of the Old Testament. They believed rulers should rule following the guidelines of the “Laws of God”. Anyone who would not follow these rules, would be seen as if they were acting against God. In doing so, they would be classified as unholy and wrong. Considering Puritans had such a strong belief, they believed that the people who did not follow the rules set by God should be criticized for their wrong doings. Therefore, any other religion that came about would be scrutinized by the
Firstly, there were the Southern colonies. These colonies tried to remain true to their roots, the King of England. They made their money by growing cash crops on large plantations: tobacco, rice, and indigo. Colonists came to settle in the Southern colonies mainly to make money. Their social life was based on family status and the ownership of land. Large plantation owners controlled the government, as well as society. The people that lived here were
It is evident then, that geography and climate greatly shaped the lifestyles of the early colonies. The frigid North had the close knit towns, smaller farms and central governing bodies. The moderate climate of the Middle colonies allowed for prosperous farming, trade and, opportunity. Large plantations ruled the Southern Colonies with their scattered settlements and independently-run lifestyles.
While under English control, each of the three regions of colonial America developed its own economic system- plantation agriculture was based in the Southern colonies, but other sectors of the economy flourished in the Northern and Middle colonies (along with some forms of agriculture). The natural resources that were available at the time provided the foundation for each region’s unique specialty. However, one could argue that these economies eventually led to the development of certain social issues within colonial society, such as the cruelty of slavery, the Salem Witch Trials, and even the lack of available labor in Maryland.
The Puritans were "Christians," in that they believed in Jesus Christ yet some may argue that they did not lead "Christian" lives. These fanatics seemed to obssess over a major tenet of their religion, that being "Pre Destination." That is, God Himself chose those destined for eternal salvation in the beginning of time, long before our conception and birth. This pre-ordained number is considerably miniscule, which, at times, the Puritans seemed to ignore.
The three colonial regions blossomed quite differently in terms of economy. English colonists first settled in Jamestown, Virginia in 1607. Failing to find gold, however, people in the southern colonies grew tobacco and rice as marketable commodities. Since tobacco plantation was labor-intensive, a large number of the population was indentured servants and black slaves. Because of the high mortality rate and unbalanced sex ratio, headright system was created in order to attract more settlers. In New England, due to the poor soil condition, people mainly relied on fishing, and lumber. Also, the Navigation Acts stimulated shipbuilding industry. The Middle colonies were based on growing grains and trading with European nations as well as other colonies.
The culture of New England was one unique to New England. The northern colonies of New England were dominated by the Puritans, and settled primarily for religious reasons. The environment of New England consisted of rocky soil, dense forests, and large numbers of fish (Sarcelle, 1965). The culture that developed in New England was appropriate to such conditions.
The Puritans were Englishmen who chose to separate from the Church of England. Puritans believed that the Anglican Church or Church of England resembled the Roman Catholic Church too closely and was in dire need of reform. Furthermore, they were not free to follow their own religious beliefs without punishment. In the sixteenth century the Puritans settled in the New England area with the idea of regaining their principles of the Christi...
Puritans are generally viewed as religious extremists. Their religious beliefs were extended to all areas of life, and were zealously enforced. This is true for the most part, especially the way they conducted themselves publicly. They believed in public piety to the extent that once, “a young married couple was fined twenty shillings for the crime of kissing in public” (Kennedy, 45). This couple was already married, so one can imagine the people would come to feel that rules like this served no purpose. As Albion’s Seed reads, Puritans “believed that costume should not be a form of sensual display” (140). Their finickiness even included their refrain from wearing the color black because it was too stylish for anyone but the elect. It would be difficult to see how this relates to any scriptural laws of God, therefore, one can imagine how people would grow tired of such pointless restrictions on every trivial choice and action.
Imagine having to leave your home because you cannot practice your religion freely. This was reality for the Puritans in England before they took a long journey to an unknown land in Salem, Massachusetts. There, they struggled to settle into a strict, religious lifestyle. They followed their Bible and went to Church. They also had harsh punishments for treason as well as other forms of crime. The Puritans were people with a strong belief system that led to irrational fears and a confined lifestyle.
Anne Bradstreet's, "In Memory of My Dear Grandchild Elizabeth Bradstreet" is a good example of Calvinism. The references to nature are very pronounced in the writing, making comparisons that it was seen that the child was going to die before she did. As her beliefs states, nature coincides with the life of man. Just as fruit ripens on a tree and falls to the ground and rots away, man dies as he ages (hence the ripening). Also, the belief that our lives are predestined shows here. Basically, as it is common knowledge that the fruit will eventually fall from the tree, it is also known that we are all predestined to die at a certain time, usually at a ripe, old age, and cannot change this fact. I have a hard time believing that before we are born that God knows exactly when we are going to die and that if we watch nature that we can determine when we are going to die. Man has free will to choose his life, even though I do think to an extent that God plays a part in helping us makes those choices.
The New England colonist had a very hard environment to learn and live in. They had a lot of forest and rocky, sometimes barren soil and a good amount of water sources. This made it hard to farm and grow the crops they needed to survive, but they had enough water sources for travel and trade throughout the other colonial regions. Their climate was also, very cold, so winters were long. But, the way their environment was, made it easier to use more of the natural resources for the different jobs.
Puritans were known as strict and devout in their faith. Because of this, they would be shocked if they lived in our world today. Not only would today’s inventions, and new technology astound them, but many of the things we not only allow but accept and even promote, would appall them. Puritans are classified by their unique religious beliefs. “The end is to improve our lives...from the common corruptions of this evil world, to serve the Lord and work out our salvation under the power and purity of His holy ordinances” (Winthrop, 85). As the name implies, Puritans wanted to purify christianity from the way it had been in England. Because the world can, and does sometimes feel antireligious, especially to those who are highly zealous, modern
Calvinism is a simple way of life in which you are to do good for others. The way into heaven was to do the greatest good for the greatest number of people. The. Work is done not for one’s own personal gain, but for the sake of God.
The central assertion of Calvinism canons is that God is able to save from the tyranny of sin, from guilt and the fear of death, every one of those upon whom he is willing to have mercy. God is not frustrated by the unrighteousness or the inability of men because it is the unrighteous and the helpless that he intends to save. In Calvinism man, in his state of innocency, had freedom and power to will and to do that, which is good and well pleasing to God; but yet mutably, so that he might fall from it. This concept of free choice makes Calvinism to stand supreme among all the religious systems of the world. The great men of our country often were members of Calvinist Church. We had the number of Presbyterian presidents, legislators, jurists, authors, editors, teachers and businessmen. The revolutionary principles of republican liberty and self-government, taught and embodied in ...
At the crux of his belief, Weber saw Calvinism as a liberating influence, encouraging the idea of innovation and new ideas in the world. Central to this was the inspiration for worldly action. The main philosophies relating to these regards were the unmediated relationship to God, the doctrine of predestination, and the belief of a calling. The first central feature of Calvinism discussed by Weber is the unique relationship Calvinists had to God. In comparison to other faiths in Europe at the time Calvinism stressed the separation between personal achievement and level of Godliness. Importance was placed upon doing the work rather than the product of the work. As a result, Calvinism represented an idealist as well as an economical revolution. With the importance focused on doing one’s best opposed to the best a Calvinist often had to comprehend and re-evaluate their own abilities in a way not seen before in the world. Calvinists hold the belief that their actions hold no bearing over God’s chosen elect to receive salvation. This is called the doctrine of predetermination and is fundamental to Calvinist