Failures Of The Puritan Society

Puritans and reformers of seventeenth century England have been given a bad name for their part in history. This is primarily because they were working against the grain and trying to create change in world that saw change as a threat. The time period was turbulent and there was bound to be resistance in a world that was dominated by Catholics and those that had reformed to abide by their King’s law. The puritans of the time were considered extreme and rubbed people the wrong way because they wanted a world that abided by their morals and ethical codes. For this, they took the blame for the misery that many suffered during this age, but as we see in Fire from Heaven, this is not a fair assessment. The Puritans of this time wanted to improve the lives of the people and society as a whole through morality and purity.

The Puritans arrived in the New World in the hopes of “purifying” the Church of England. They practiced certain principles that they believed in and that centered around the idea of God. The main purpose of their journey to New England was to set an example to others how the Church should be, and so their motive for settlement was solely related to religion. The Puritans positively influenced the political, economic, and social development of the New England colonies from 1630 through the 1660s because they were a “city upon a hill” that served as an example to other parts of the world as a result of their strong belief in God.

In the 1630's and the 1640's, the Puritans traveled to the colonies to detach from their opinion of a convoluted Church of England. They set up towns and started new lives that were all based on their idea of a pure religion. The Puritan's definition of a pure religion did not include many of the ideas of the Church of England. They built the colonies and made a system based upon the idea that God was the most important aspect of life. Puritan ideas and values influenced the political, economic, and social development of the New England colonies from 1630 through the 1660’s by spreading their beliefs into every facet of daily life. Politically their ideas regarding what was considered sinful behavior and how power was separated among the

Above all, Puritans believed that it was their destiny to settle in what was the New World, and set up an example of the ideal community for the rest of the world to emulate. They also believed they were sent by God on a divine mission to escape persecution and spread their religion freely. Since the United States rose to power its people have been convinced that the democratic system, equality, free markets, and its way of life are the most perfected governing methodology to date. The first trace of this was in Monroe Doctrine, then the civil war, followed by the United States? involvement in World Wars I and II, and above all

The church and Christian beliefs had a very large impact on the Puritan religion and lifestyle. According to discovery education, “Church was the cornerstone of the mainly Puritan society of the 17th century.” Puritan laws were intensively rigid and people in society were expected to follow a moral strict code. And because of Puritans and their strict moral codes, any act that was

Their government was in the form of a republic, which later became a model for the United State’s future government. They came up with the idea of two houses of representatives that could pass bills and as we can see in the U.S. government today, their idea stuck (Chamber, ). Even though their government was a republic, the Puritans pushed the principles of democracy. Their ideals, such as freedom, liberty, and religion, became a base for our society today. The Puritans also left a legacy of conservatism which remains an important factor in North American government today (The Social Studies Help Center). What’s more, Puritan influence helped shape North American constitutional and common laws, such as “Congress shall make no laws establishing religion…” (McGowan et al. v. Maryland).

The puritans go create the Massachusetts Bay Colony. They didn’t have strict rules like England, people were not forced to go to church, it all seems great. However, there were many issues. Puritans believed in Calvinism, or predestination. This was the idea that everything is preset by God and nothing you do can change your fate. “Nothing a person did in his or her lifetime could alter God’s choice or provide assurance that the person was predestined for salvation with the elect or damned to hell with the doomed multitude.” (The American

The Puritans encountered many hardships during the 17th century. These included traveling to the New World, fighting in King Phillip’s War, and questioning their belief in God at times. The Puritans were one of the religious groups who believed The Church of England needed to be purified. The other group representing this notion called themselves Pilgrims. The Pilgrims differentiated themselves from the Puritans because the Pilgrims believed The Church of England was corrupted to deeply, and could not be purified from within. The Pilgrims wished to separate themselves from The Church of England, causing the Pilgrims to also be called separatists. The Puritans, however, wanted to purify The Church of England from within. For this reason, the

2. "Explain how the Puritans’ theology shaped the government and society of the Massachusetts Bay Colony." Puritans tried to reform the church from within is support of parliament. They Church in england wanted reformation causing the Puritans to be resented by the leaders of the church. This then lead to the persecution of Puritans which caused them Puritans to escape and search for new life in the colonies. Living by the Puritan lifestyle in the colony society permitted the basic freedoms including the right of voting. The society in the colonies favored the Puritan belief because it allowed the tolerance of religions.

A Puritan defined is “a member of a group of English Protestants of the late 16th and 17th centuries who regarded the Reformation of the Church of England under Elizabeth as incomplete and sought to simplify and regulate forms of worship.” Puritan society in America depended on the belief that all members were working for the glory of God. The Puritans did not allow deviations from the strict code of behavior which would not allow any member to have individuality. They restricted any type of entertainment, except that which was endorsed by the church. They worked and worshipped.

The 17th century Puritans were known to represent a religious group migrating from England to America in order to practice religious freedom. These groups were determined to “purify” churches of England from Catholic practices. Puritans are known for their religious, social, and political influences on early America. Edmund S. Morgan’s novel The Puritan Family highlights a part of history that many would tend to look over upon- that is, the complex structural life of Puritan Families in the 17th century.

Overall the Puritans did succeed in creating a model society. It was through their religious social lives, progressive politics, and self-reliant economics that they obtained this goal. The purpose of building a society that the rest of the world could model themselves was fulfilled by the Puritan

As the Puritans left England to escape religious persecution, they established a thriving society in New England, based on puritan doctrine, virtue, and the church. They intended to create a utopian society that would honor God's laws. They intended for this utopia to be an example to the world. However, as religious dissenters gained a voice, Puritanism seemed to splinter and secular concerns became more important to the citizens of the New England area, the region lost the homogenous culture it once had.

The Puritans' ultimate goal was for their ideal society, their City Upon A Hill, a model Christian society. According to Dr. Terry Matthew in Puritanism in America “They did not come to this country to find a place to practice freedom of worship. Instead, they came to find a place where their true religion could flourish.” They wanted to influence more than just their communities and those surrounding, they wanted to influence the Church of England and further in the hopes of purifying those that had strayed from what they deemed as the true and righteous path all by showing the way by their hard-fast examples.

The Puritans believed that God instituted society and expected to see Christian principles prevail within (173). The goal of the Puritans was not to be legalistic but to please the God who sent His Son to save them from their sins. As a result, they sought to establish laws that aligned with Christian principles. One Puritan, Thomas Cartwright, even said that “the commonwealth must be made to agree with the church [that is Christian principles].” Laws were not instituted to force action of the citizens but sought to ensure that the citizens of the colony followed the commands of God laid out in the Bible. While this motivation to obey the Word of God in all portions does substantiate the claim towards legalism, a deeper study of the term legalism shows that the Puritans were not legalistic.