The Puritan Dream

The Puritan vision for a “perfect” society changed over time due to the establishment of the American dream, the development of Colonial music, and the Great Awakening. The various views of the American Dream changed the thought of a “perfect” society for Puritans. The very beginning of the American Dream, was envisioned with the very first Puritan voyage to the Massachusetts Bay area. The belief that the Puritans were a group of individuals that were selected by God to reach new land was highly prevalent and the main mindset of the people on the Mayflower in 1620. In Of Plymouth Plantation, by William Bradford, the God chosen belief is illustrated on numerous occasions. For instance, Bradford states, “Being this arrived in a good harbor, and
The eyes of all people are upon Us, so that if we deal falsely with our god in this work we have undertaken” (TATIL 66). The “American Dream” in the era of John Winthrop and an expanding colony is now a greater cause than the Pilgrims, now that land is acquired God wants expansion upon it. Similarly, music and art were reflected in the major change of the “perfect” society in the Puritan aspect. The Puritans believed in the belief of Calvinism and original sin. The theory of original sin indicates that the mankind is forever going to be considered sinful due to the actions of Adam in the Garden of Eden. The theory of original sin is dark, but evidence from the song “Old Hundreth” indicates that their faith is has joyous themes. The song states, “O enter then His gates with praise; Approach with joy His courts unto; Praise, laud and bless His Name always, For it is seemly so to do”. Predestination is a stern belief, but Puritans found joy in their religion despite their original beliefs of original sin. The Great Awakening changed the Puritan vision for a “perfect society” due to its major challenge in religious
According to St. Jean de Crévecoeur, “He is either an European, or the descendant of an European, hence that strange mixture of blood, which you will find in no other country” (TATIL 149). The “perfect” society that the Puritans imagined had rapidly changed due to the Great Awakening. The acknowledgement of the mix of religion and failure to stay strictly with the Rationalist theory practice was the main contributor to the change of the original Puritan vision. The original “perfect society” of the Puritans changed due to the rapid migration of European individuals, who desired what St. Jean de Crévecoeur mentions in Letters from an American Farmer, to “procure an easy, decent maintenance, by his industry” (TATIL 153). The strict adherence to a religious society dwindles as the desire to create a lucrative lifestyle in America. The original Puritan society based their lives on religion, but each loses appeal to religion. Crévecoeur says, “Their children will therefore grow up less zealous and more indifferent in matters of religion than their parents” (TATIL