Puritans believed everyone was to become a living “saint”. These “saints” basically ran their communities. Only the “saints” were allowed to vote, hold office, or really have any say in anything. To become a “saint” you had to admit all your sins to the community, which was very difficult and embarrassing. This caused many men to disagree with the process and didn’t care if they couldn’t vote or hold office. They believed that they could still…
Puritans were passionate reformers seeking to bring the Church of England to a state of purity in comparison with Christianity at the time of Christ and decided to form their own religious colonies in America. They considered religion to be a complex and highly intellectual affair. Thus, leaders were highly trained scholars with authoritarian positions that developed a “built-in hierarchism” (http://xroads.virginia.edu/%7eCAP/PURITAN/purhist.html#pil, 3). Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson believed and preached “Individualisme”…
John Winthrop, the man who set this goal for the Puritans, used God as a way to form a close-knit society. Winthrop felt that closeness in a community was very important in order to work closely together. (Doc A) Since God was so influential in this situation, then it must have been important for Him to be a bigger part of their society: their government. This led to the development of a theocracy. The “closeness” that Winthrop spoke of was very true in the theocratic government, because ministers were protected, and the church members worked closely with each other. Together, they placed harsh requirements upon the people of Puritan New England. They had to attend church services, pay taxes to support the church, and were therefore bound to the church not just through religion, but also through the government. Their loyalty was also expected by the church. The people could in no form offend the church, they promised to study the gospels, spread their knowledge of Him to their children, and most importantly, acknowledged His power: “…and all this not by any strength of our own, but by the Lord Christ” (Doc C). Because it was assumed that any material success by the people…
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 England. Puritans also placed a high value on education. Education was thought to oppose Satan. The government in Puritan towns in New England was more a theocracy than a democracy. Religious uniformity was very important as they were intolerant of any other religion, and only church members were part of the government at first. Citizens were required to attend Church services as part of the law. Most of the people in New England had been merchants or small farmers in England. In New England however, the rocky soil made it hard for a lot of farming, so the…
In colonial Massachusetts, the Puritan religion touched every aspect of line in the community. The lifestyle was strict and anything that went outside the moral code was considered a sin and the sinner would be punished. Residents were also expected to attend lengthy sermons twice a week and to avoid any activities viewed as sinful. This included…
Puritanism was found by English Protestant leaders with the purpose of providing original unification of spiritual life, church and social life. Due to the fact that puritans in Britain were prohibited to attend the church, they had to move to New England and maintain their power over the continent. After establishment of their colony, the local authorities began to implement laws regulating human behavior in terms of drunkenness, swearing and gambling. This way, they hoped that the colony would build a new and reliable role model. In view of many scholars, although Puritan ambition to create the ideal model of society, based upon the establishment of a covenant with God, was initially rather promising, they did not firmly follow what they…
Puritanism had helped people live fulfilling lives, working hard and studying instead of wasting time with recreations (Document F). The point of view of this text is from a dead man’s will, this is relevant because it illustrates that Puritanism is everything to the colonists, even in death. New England’s economy was affected by this because Puritanism created a great focus on education and work ethic, essentially creating an army of skilled hard workers. One might expect that economics and greed would overtake religious values. However, this was not the case. Puritans believed that you must never forget the original purpose of the colonies, to set a good example, and they recognized that New England was a “plantation of Religion, not a Plantation of Trade” as John Higginson put it (Document G). This shows that Puritans influenced New England economy by working to be successful, while never forgetting the second aspect of religion along the way. Another reason that Puritans would never forget their religion when working is the concept of the Elect. Puritans believed that people were predestined to go to heaven and thus if you were one of those elect, then you would exhibit good behavior during your life (OI). For this reason, Puritans always strived to show these good qualities, never letting economic success get the better of them. New England’s economics…
The Puritans of the New England colonies influenced the development of political, economical, and social areas throughout the 1630’s-1670 with their ideas and values. They had emigrated from Britain in order to express their beliefs and practices freely. Religion was the foundation of the political, economical, and social developments of the Puritans. From government to living conditions to religious acts, the Puritans were trying to purify the Church of England in their own ways. Some things worked and others did not, but religion still stood at each of the peaks of the list.…
The Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement in North America in the early 1600’s. It was formed by Puritan settlers fleeing religious persecution in England. The lands which became the Massachusetts Bay Colony had previously been inhabited by Native Indians. The Company of Massachusetts Bay received a charter to start a settlement in the New World in 1629. The charter granted the company the right to establish a settlement. The passengers of the “Arbella” who left England in 1630 with their new charter had great expectations. They could not practice their religion beliefs in England, and thus, came to Massachusetts for religious freedom and purification. The Massachusetts Bay Colony became the only English chartered colony whose board of governors did not reside in England. This independence helped the settlers to maintain their Puritan religious practices with very little oversight by the King, and Anglican Church.…
They Puritans goal in instituting their religion was to purify Christianity. It is unlikely that they realized just how influential they would be on New England culture in the years to come. Though many Americans might not enjoy this fact, the social and religious ideas that the Puritans held were essential in the shaping of New England colonies. The ways in which the Puritans socially, economically, and politically applied their religion into daily life greatly changed all the people of New England, for better or for worse. This is proven in how people reacted to their strict rules, the Puritan relations with the Native Americans, and in general their church centered society.…
5.) How were the Puritan beliefs reflected in the laws of Massachusetts? Look in particular at the punishments.…
The Puritan society was heavily influence by their religious beliefs. Their religious beliefs accurately describe how they influenced the development of New England. The Puritans believed in a simple economic situation, an equal and democratic political system, and a social system that relied heavily on the patriarchal head of the family. Their values shaped the economic, political and social development in New England colonies from 1630 through the 1660s because of their strong ties to religion.…
The Only Big difference between the Puritans And the Planters was their way of life. The puritans a hard working people the survive mostly on what they grew, made, or hunted. As I said before they were very religious. The planters came over more for the money than anything else. They had indentured servants or slave to do the hard work for them. they have a more lenient religion than the puritans. In John Smith's account "What Happened Till the First Supply" he says that the planters would rather build an expensive bar then build a church with the money left over. So you can see how strict they were.…
When the Puritans set sail for the Americas they were looking to reform the Church of England from within and to reform ideas of the government. The Puritans major goal in leaving from England was to create a Christian utopia that thrived economically, politically and socially. Economically the Puritans believed that it was sinful to have excess, therefore they worked within their means and looked down upon materialism. Politically the Puritans had small towns that had a limited democracy and held regular town hall meetings. The biggest part of the Puritans lives revolved around the church and the community which made for the majority of their Social life.…
From a religious point of view, Puritans left a significant mark in the establishing of the American colonies by becoming the most vibrant Christian civilization. Puritans had a very difficult role in the new society; not only Puritans acted as the first representatives, but also established a series of basic political traditions for the benefit of the community in the colonies. The Puritan culture was spread throughout New England, creating the foundations of a national patriotism. Puritans established political communities in New England under the idea or vision of a Christian devotion. They were hard worshipper and God was their ultimate guidance because they trusted his divine mission. They felt that they were people ‘chosen’ by God, but…