AP History DBQ

During the 1600’s, waves of Puritans immigrated to the New World, colonizing in the area of Boston. In contrast to Chesapeake region’s inhabitants, the Puritan settlers did not come for economic interests, but rather for a desire to create a more “pure” society of Christianity. The Puritans had a huge impact on the way the New England region developed. By organizing their society based on their desire to have a government of theocracy, the Puritans made sure their values and ideas had a major influence on the economic, social, and political development of the New England colonies. The Puritans believed that they were favored by God to succeed in life. The Puritans worked very hard to develop a stable economy in New England. However, economy was second to that of religious concerns. Most of the Puritans that settled in New England were wealthy, and made a mercantile upper class. Since they believed that wealth was a sign of being in God’s favor, the Puritan merchants worked hard to secure a spot in the Boston trading area. As stated, New England was founded as “a plantation of religion” (Doc J). Due to the concerns of New England’s social development, the Puritans’ importance on family, education, and community caused the region to develop with an advantage in education. Puritans placed an emphasis on education because they wanted to be “enlightened,” which informed followers of their religious beliefs. The Puritans eventually established Harvard University as a school to train new Puritan minisers (Doc E). However, the foundation of the Puritan society was family. Since Puritans were more likely to come to the New World as families rather than individuals, New England had more families than any other region. In the political development of New England, the Puritans had an idea that the region should be structured by a theocracy. Laws that enforce strict rules ran New England, this included bans on: public drunkenness, the theater, and strict punishments