Puritan Influence On New England

The Puritan community of the Massachusetts Bay colony was primarily focused around church and faith. In 1630, a mass exodus of Puritans moved from England to the colonies in an attempt to isolate themselves and focus on their own religion. Puritans believed that they had a covenant with God, meaning they were predestined for heaven.

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.

The New England colonies developed rapidly, largely due to the influence of the Puritans. The Puritans came to the new world seeking religious freedom and helped found most of the colonies in the New England region. The Puritans wanted a United government that will later become the basis for the Unites States, they believed that the overall well being of the people was more important than the well being of the few, and the Puritans believed that religion, church, and community were important aspects of the people’s lives. The Puritans’ religion allowed them to prosper in the political, economical, and social development of the New England Colonies in the 1630-1660’s.

In early 1600's, Puritans followed the Pilgrims to America then they landed in Massachusetts bay. The Puritans started the colony because they wanted to escape religious persecution. The only religion was the Puritans.In the early 1600's of, Massachusetts there was only one Indian tribe,and that was the Wampanoag. Puritans tried to purify the Anglican church because they wanted to make services simpler and taking ranks of authority

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

Therefore, the Puritans strived to work towards religious and moral reforms, and to do so, first escaped persecution from the Church and the King. As a result, a group of non-separatist Puritans led by Thomas Dudley and John Winthrop established a colony in Massachusetts Bay, mainly in order to have religious freedom, but also to maintain British cultural influences (before they had ventured to North America, they lived in Holland for a few years, but decided to leave in order to settle “as a distinct body of themselves” in the New World). Unlike in the Chesapeake Bay regions, religion was at the forefront of everybody’s mind, as every settler was a devout follower of God (at least at the beginning). Therefore, the cardinal principle in their community was a sort of religious exclusiveness as the Puritans held their spiritual beliefs, which translated into certain “community laws” and customs, highest. On the other hand, religion was a negligible motivator for colonists settling in the Chesapeake Bay regions.

The New England colonies development was influenced upon the arrival of the Puritans. The Puritans brought with them many ideas and values to help better the colonies. One of the political ideas the Puritans had were town meetings which was a form of democracy. Economically, the Puritans were big on trading, fishing and farming. Also one of the main reasons the Puritans came to the New World was to purify the churches which impacted the colonies socially. The ideas and values of the Puritans influenced the development of the New England colonies politically by having the first pure form of democracy, economically by trading and farming, and socially by purifying the churches.

The Puritans were a religious group that came to North America in search of religious freedom, and, in the process, greatly impacted the North American church, government, education, social mores, and economy. Many of the things that they implemented in the first colonies are still seen today in the social and governmental structures of the United States. Their beliefs and traditions are still practiced today and many social mores are still being adhered to, even now.

Puritans first arrived in the new world in order to escape religious persecution from the king in England . The puritans that established Massachusetts were a group of business men who wanted to gain the right to govern themselves . The puritan belief in New England

Dissent always existed in the New England Colonies; the Puritans rarely all agreed on one point. Differing theological opinions forged a schism between groups and lead to the creation of colonies such as Rhode Island. As they stressed literacy, individuals formed their own impressions of the gospel. Minister Roger Williams, for example, disagreed with the Massachusetts Bay Colony’s Indian relations and lack of religious freedoms. Roger Williams wrote this on the matter, “God requireth not a uniformity of religion to be enacted and enforced; which enforced uniformity sooner or later is the greatest occasion of civil war.”

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

On the North American Atlantic seaboard, New England began developing in the early 17th century. After Spain began the mad scramble for American land, other European nations and peoples realized the opportunities the New World provided. New England, or the northern British colonies, were largely settled and so were influenced by the Puritans, a group that emigrated from Britain to escape religious persecution. The ideas and values of the Puritans greatly shaped the development of the New England colonies in many ways, but the strongest influence out of these was their religious values. This influence can be seen in the politics, economy, and culture of colonial New England. Politically, the foundations for limited government and religious freedom in the Americas were developed by the Puritans. The Puritans would create a strong work ethic and a disdain for greed that would influence the growing economy. Socially, the Puritans created an emphasis on faith and education. The religious values held by the Puritans

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.

For the Puritans in the early New England colonies life was by no means easy, but there was the possibility to expand their beliefs free from the persecution from Church of England. They had the opportunity to create their ideal society under God with the bible as their law from which they would define how to live. The Puritans set out to create their model society which could spread and cull the impurities from the church. But how did these beliefs and goals ultimately effect their society?

Over the years, people broadcast the Puritans as a group of people who were extremely legalistic and against anything that would be considered fun in the modern world. This incorrect broadcast of the Puritans has led to many misconceptions about how they lived when they came to the New World and settled in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The Puritans were not legalistic, but rather sought to please God by creating a society that focused on fulfilling their calling through the institutions of family, work, education, and government in a positive environment. This led to a fruitful society when it followed in its original intentions.