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.

Some of the Puritans’ main focuses were spreading their culture and faith. They thrived on the belief that they were sent from God, who expected them to study and live by his scriptures in the Bible. They believed stories in the Bible could be applied to every aspect of their lives. A big part of the reason they left England to have a new start in America is so that they would have an opportunity to purify the Church of England that they were accustomed to.

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

With religious reforms causing controversy in England came the Puritans, known for their simplicity in their way of life. They wore basic clothing and were against consumption of alcohol and sex (unless married). With the disagreements of the religious conflicts happening in England, the puritans “wanted to purify the Church of England from within.” The sole reason the idea sparked to settle a colony in America was in search of a Puritan lifestyle and the freedom to do so. On March 4, 1629 King Charles gave the Massachusetts Bay Company a charter while not knowing the true nature of what this colony was to become and for the reasons behind it. Still, the Puritans left for America in March 1630. In contrast to the type of people who immigrated to Virginia, the Massachusetts population was mostly nuclear families, meaning husband, wife, and kids. Also differing from the colonists in Virginia, the settlers in Massachusetts Bay worked together for the common good of the colony. Along with their lives and beliefs, their government and politics were religiously based as well and soon they decided upon a Congregationalism form of church government. Their churches were a matter of choice but in order to become a member they had a strict regulation “In order to join one (a church) a man or woman had to provide testimony–a confession of faith–before neighbors who already had been admitted as full members.” Because religion was the bases behind Massachusetts being colonization crimes and religious disagreements called for serious

Puritans believed God had made a “long promised summons” to them. Creating a society in every way connected to just God was challenging enough for the Puritans but also the need to spread His words to other people. The Puritans’ priorities were centralized on their religion and the teaching of it. This shows their focus in education to them was to teach children religious and moral beliefs. No doubt that the educational life of a Puritan began at home. In keeping with covenant household, the salvation of children and their spiritual being was in the heart of every parent. Parents prayed that their children would become a source of glory. The Puritans started the Old Dilutor Act: to teach children to read and write so they can understand the

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 New England colonies developed rapidly throughout the early 1600s. Their development was largely influenced by the Puritans, who had emigrated from Britain and helped found most of the region’s colonies. The philosophies, ideas, and values of the Puritans greatly shaped the development of the colonies in a number of distinct ways. Politically, the idea of a united, representative government, which later became a staple of the United States, was derived from Puritan ideals. Economically, the ideals of fair pricing and the celebrated “Yankee frugality and thriftiness” originated from the Puritans. Socially, emphasis on church, religion, and education was another lasting influence of the

Influence of the Puritan faith existed massively in social development of New England and brought great changed in the social standings. This can be seen through the emphasis on church and education. Visible in Doc B, a map of a colonial New England town shows the center of a average Puritan town, containing a village green surrounded by multiple buildings. Prominent in the surrounding buildings are the church and the school. The church was the religious and ultimately social center of a Puritan town. Puritan followers strived to comprehend the ways God. This belief also caused the Puritans to think themselves better by destiny; as stated by William Bradford, following the Pequot War, “…and they gave the praise thereof to God…who had wrought so wonderfully a [victory]” (Doc D). Some

The development of the New England colonies from 1630 through the 1660s greatly reflected the Puritans’ fundamental ideas and values in result of the large Puritan settlements in the region. The Puritans were deeply religious colonists who fled Britain in hopes of a better life where they could practice their beliefs freely. As a result of their practices in the region, they politically influence the values of the limiting power of the government, separation of church and state, and direct democracy. Economically, Puritans influenced the hard-work ethic, self-efficient farms, and fair business transactions in the region. Not only that, socially, the Puritans’ values led to greater emphasis on education and racial prejudice. As the Puritan

A division of English protestants, called the Puritans, wanted to purify the Church of England’s unbiblical ways. When their efforts only led to persecution, their desire to worship God biblically compelled them to leave England. They had to to brave the fierce Atlantic ocean so they could reach the New World, where they could worship freely. Once there, they founded New England. The Puritans shaped the New England colonies through their democratic assemblies, hard work ethic, and God-fearing communities.

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?

The Puritans dream was to create a model society for the rest of the Christians.. Their goal was to make a society in every way connected to god. Every aspect of their lives, from political views and employment to recreation and dress, was taken into account in order to live a more pious life. But to really understand what the aspirations of the puritans were, we must first understand their beliefs. The Puritans believed that a man’s only purpose in life was “to glorify God on earth and, if he were especially fortunate, to continue the good work in Heaven.” For the puritans, to glorify god meant keeping him in mind at all times, working to the best of their ability at whatever job god had had set fate for them to do, and following a

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.