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Puritan Influence 1630's -1660's

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Puritan Influence 1630's -1660's
In the 1600s, when America was a mysterious land inhabited by even more mysterious people, a handful of brave souls ventured to this strange new world. These brave souls were known as the Puritans. This special group of people sought refuge in America to practice their religion freely, without the ‘corruption of the church’ back in their homeland. Puritans believed that the law, economy and social lives of the people should be completely controlled by their one God. These Puritans had a strong developmental impact on New England and lead their society on a religious foundation. The strict foundation had a distinct impact on the political, economic, and social development of the New England colonies from the 1630s through the 1660s.
Puritans developed early New England politics on religion-based beliefs. Puritans sharply leaned towards a more theocratic, repressive model that enforced a strict moral code. John Winthrop, an early Puritan leader, delivered his famous ‘City Upon a Hill’ speech on sight at the Puritan established, Massachusetts Bay Colony; as seen in document A. The speech was Winthrop’s outline for the colony that emphasized the colony would serve as an example of the model society the Puritans desired to create. In hopes to create this ideal society, New England fell under the Puritan law, which were sternly and primarily based on the teachings of the Catholic Bible. This law also delegated harsh punishments such as death or banishment for anyone who disobeyed their holy law. Theocracy was now the center of New England’s politics and moral principles overruled rationality. This morality the Puritans enforced with an iron fist, led to debates within the colony. These debates thus lead to banishments and the banishments even lead to new colonies, Rhode Island, started by Rodger Williams in 1636, is an example of a colony created from this. With new colonies and political views arising, Puritans felt they were loosing their grip on New England
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