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Pritanism And The Puritan Government

Decent Essays

Puritan Government
What is Puritanism? “Puritanism, a movement arising within the Church of England in the latter part of the 16th century, which sought to carry the reformation of that church beyond the point represented by the Elizabethan (1559), and attempt to establish a middle course between Roman Catholicism and the ideas of the Protestant reformers.” (Funk and Wagnall 1) Very many people think that Puritan government was different than the modern day American administration. Some similarities of the Puritan government and the American democracy include, “Respect(s) the dignity of the individual, stress the importance of education, commit to principles rather than to individuals, (and) reject tyranny.” (Miller and Johnson) The Puritan government has in very many ways influenced the present-day American administration. Nevertheless, the basis of the Puritan government was different then the basis of the current American administration. The Puritan government, also known as Congregationalism, consists of the church, family, and severe, strict laws.
The church had a very large impact on the Puritan government. “The most striking feature in the life of New England is found in its religion. The State was founded on religion, and religion was its life. The entire political, social, and industrial fabric was built on religion. Puritanism was painfully stern and somber; it was founded on the strictest unmollified Calvinism; it breathed the air of legalism rather than

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