How Did Puritan Ideas Influence Society

The Puritans left England, just as the Pilgrims did, as they sought religious freedom that they were not gaining from the Church of England. Families of the Puritans found themselves sailing to the New England colonies, where there hard work and motivation would change the ways of all the colonies, although the Puritans were not in all of them. The Puritans did not sail all the way here for the money or opportunity to live better, they came here to purify the Christian faith since the Church of England was very against the purification of the faith that they had much control over. This caused the Puritans to change the structure of religion in the colonies, and cause the growth of all the New England colonies. As the Puritans created a fellowship of themselves and changed the ways that the Church of England forced upon them, they influenced the political, economic, and social maturation of the New England colonies.

For example, they believed in a limited government in which one person could not have total control over an area. The idea of a limited government was important in making sure that there was no abuse of power. Moreover, it also related to Puritan values, which dictated that men who were given more power than was necessary would use it to his advantage. Religion also played a role in the limited government because God would determine how much power one should have. In Document E, John Cotton’s argument stems from the Puritan belief in God and their need to set an example for the Church of England to learn from. The Puritans wished to purify the Church of England and one way in which they chose to do so was to have a limited government. The intended audience of Cotton’s statement was the public and the Puritans as a whole. As an influential leader, Cotton was informing his audience of how man can take advantage of what he is given if he is given too much of it. As a result, Cotton claimed that man should never be given more power than was necessary. Cotton’s point of view is reliable because he was a minister, or someone who had power, so his relinquishing of a certain amount of power establishes his credibility in his statements. Thus, the New England colonies developed a political system where the leader was not given complete authority over his empire. Instead, there was a

The Puritans peregrination to the New World was to fabricate a society based on their religious beliefs. They wanted to build colonies that were going to worship and practice their religion as they did. A community that was more morally sound and based off of their view of Christianity. They settled in the New England colonies and established Massachusetts Bay as well as Boston. While establishing their “city upon a hill” they impacted the New England region with their political structure and religious emphasis. Their influence lasted throughout the 1600s and affected the society politically, socially, and economically through their spread of Christianity and morals.

The Puritans needed their own government since they fled England, this resulted in the construction of a government that was based on religious freedom and the separation of power. In Document F, it states; ¨God requireth not a uniformity of religion to be enacted and enforced in any civil state,¨ this proves that the Puritans believed God did not enforce everyone to the same religion which was influential because it allowed the citizens to have the religious freedom that the Puritans wanted back in England.

Puritan society had class system much like every colony now which started with the elite or gantry, middle class, indenture servants and lastly the slaves. The Puritans community was on based off strict religious customs. However, the people do have a voice in this society called Public Opinion which is like a jury. Moreover, Godbeer portrayed the Puritans as abrasive towards

The New England colonies rapidly developed though out the 1600s. This mass of development was influenced by the Puritans, whom founded a majority of the New England and several Middle colonies. The Puritan philosophies and values formed and directed the progress of the colonies. Socially, strict emphasis on church and community was influential in other colonial settlements as well. Politically, unification and representation derived from the Puritans. Economically, ideas such as fair pricing originated through the Puritan minds. It is obvious that the ideas held by Puritans grasped the social, political and economic maturity of the New England colonies in the time period of 1630 to 1660.

Although the Puritan's main goal in the Americas was to “purify” the Church of England from the new church values (including indulgences), the Puritans ended up breaking away from the Church, introducing regular worship, thought of a perfect war, and secular ideas. These virtues influence their political, social, and economic development in the New England colonies from the 1630s to the 1660s. Many different peoples migrated/immigrated into the New World, but none of them had a greater impact than the Puritans because of all the various aspects that they proclaimed and spread in the New World.

John Cotton, a prominent Puritan minister in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, advocated the idea that church officials should have limited authority over what will benefit the people because God limited the power of men (Document E). Cotton’s intended audience was the colonists because he wanted them to form a government in which the leader won’t abuse his power to such an extent as like the King of Britain. Like Cotton, other Puritans believed in democracy to some extent, such that the power to govern was the people’s decision. By abusing one’s power, it was a sign of greed, which was highly despised by the Puritans since it represented the idea that the person was not an elect. Furthermore, the Puritans influenced the idea of the separation of church and state because they believed that the church and state were created by God in order to enforce his teachings. For instance, Puritans did not allow ministers to hold any public position. This was because bishops of the Church of England were able to vote on legislation in 17th century Britain. As a result, this allowed the church to accumulate, and

The Puritans based their form of government upon democratic assemblies. In the center of each town was a large building called the Town Hall. Its convenient location made it accessible to all the residents of the town. Inside of this building, the Puritans held meetings to decide what to do about almost all aspects of colonial life. These democratic assemblies allowed everyone to have a say in the government of their town. Their idea of democracy can also be seen in the way they refrained from giving too much power to their leaders. Wisely, the puritans concluded that if their leaders had too much power, their leaders would be temped to use their strength selfishly instead of for the good of the colonies. John Cotton stated, “Let all the world learn to give mortal men no greater power then they are content they shall use- for use it they will....No man would think what desperate deceit and wickedness there is

One major important influence of the Purtans was the basis of political systems around education. As stated in Document E Puritans believed that they should educate themselves in order to be able to read the bible and states the importance of how education was guranteed for every citizen from the government. This group believed that to run a successful governemtn itshould be based around the educationf and beliefs of the Bible. It led to the establishmment of laws such as the Old Deluder Satan Law and the establishing of Harvard University in order to guranteed that Puritan followers were properly educated before any worked government positions. The document was written from a Puritan point of view which is interested in education because it was important and there were ties between this and government such as ministers.

The Puritans’ political ideas led to the governing system implemented throughout the colonies. Many aspects of the Puritan lifestyle were even applied when creating the first successful American government. Puritans believed the government should be given limited power, and magistrates and church officials should use their authority only for the good of the people. The belief that God limited human authority plays a vital role in the Puritans’ government. (Cotton).

From 1630 to the 1660s, The Puritans established and shaped the New England colonies, ultimately making the outline for what those societies would be like today. The Puritan ideology held great influence over the New England colonies as it prioritized religious values in order to create a political order with a unified government. These values also assisted in the formation of a social identity based on patriarchal ideals and a stress on the importance of a diligent work ethic to prevent materialism. Throughout New England, the Puritan concept of unity greatly influenced the political development of the colonies.

The significance of themselves was to realize the value of themselves and hardworking. They knew that their mission was to save the whole world. Also, God gave them the lands. So that Puritans should work hard to reply to and reward God. They would like to thank God for their lands and glorify God. They proved their salvation by the industrious work. In the seventeenth century, the economy was depressed and society in turmoil, but the doctrine of Puritans led people to get rescue. That’s because the personal discipline of Puritans and the molarity Puritans ask for, helped and encouraged ordinary people to persevere in studying and work harder in the early seventeenth century. (Alan Taylor, Colonization in New England, 162) As a consequence, the doctrine of Puritans led people to get rescue. The religious value of Puritans also helped the colonists with developing the demanding land, and even making

Puritans were an important religious, social and political group which helped form the opinions, values and direction of the early American colonists. Thus, affecting the formation of our country. Among the most influential and prolific Puritan writers was William Bradford who impacted Colonial values and thinking. Puritan writers not only stirred the ideology of the people of the time but were important historians. The puritan style of writing was simple, logical and pongnant. Carefully selected words and sentences that directly addressed the issues and concerns at hand in a clear concise style. The purpose of Puritan writing was to influence and govern the colonists; providing instruction on how one should conduct themselves; social and spiritual lives. Puritans stressed four main values in structuring their society; Sobriety - a serious attitude towards life, Industriousness - preaching the value of hard work, Temperance - everything

Puritanism could be defined by many as a huge turning point of the history of our culture. When we hear the word, “Puritan” it invokes a sense of religion, of strict values and correctness that laid the raw foundation for the different branches of churches today. Not only did they play a monumental part in the growth of Calvinism, but of early colonial government and the movement and spread of people across North America. Although their values and ideals are radical in terms of modern beliefs, our culture would not have formed the way it did without the early influence of Puritans. Most confuse the group of Puritans that escaped England with the Mayflower separatists, but that is not the case. Their cause was not to destroy the Church of England or forsake it, nor its reformed beliefs that they were unhappy with, it was to sculpt and whittle their own place of worship in an area where they could no longer be punished for it, while still clinging tightly to the essentials of Calvinism. This is where their journey starts, with the group of 900 that docked in the New World on June 12, 1630. Due to the group of Puritans lead by John Winthrop, we would eventually come to have an early American culture lead by strong austerity and obedience, and in time those that resulted from the downfall of this harsh society. In the absence of these strict settlers, we would not have such a strong sense of congregationalism and