Puritans: America's Past And Present

In the 1600s and 1700s, the Puritans were developing a large following in England. The Puritans were a new religious group. They called themselves Puritans because they wanted to purify and cleanse the Church of England. They thought the Church of England was ruined by bad practices from the Roman Catholic Church. The members of one group of these Puritans were known as the Pilgrims. They were convinced they could not fix the problems within England. First, they moved to the Netherlands. But after a while, they looked for a new home on a new continent. In September 1620 they set sail for North America on a ship called the Mayflower. They were hoping to build a new society where they could practice their Puritan beliefs.

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 Puritans who came to America originally in 1620 sought religious reform instead of breaking off from the Church of England versus their counterparts the Pilgrims who had left ten years prior. Puritans were a large factor in establishing and founding the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Their influence in the New English region of America in these thirty years was truly mind-blowing. From their emphasis on organization, family life, education, and a great work ethic is admirable in each every sense. Organization in their towns were a key factor to their lifestyle, with the centralization of the more commonly used buildings show their importance on Church [Document B] which is centered in the town square.

The New England colonies were founded by English Puritans. While most Puritans sought to purify the Church of England from within, and not to break away from it, a small group of Separatiststhe Pilgrimsfounded the first small, pious Plymouth Colony in New England. More important was the larger group of nonseparating Puritans, led by John Winthrop, who founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony as part of the great migration of Puritans fleeing persecution in England in the 1630s.

Puritans should be pat on the back for setting the basic fundamentals for the colonies to follow. “You have to develop ways so that you can take up for yourself, and then you take up for someone else. And so sooner or later, you have enough courage to really stand up for the human race and say, 'I'm a representative.” –Maya Angelou. Politically, the Puritans started out with a limited democracy, mostly male full church member were considered citizens. Later on they developed a representative democracy this became the primary principal for New England. Socially, their society was intolerant of other religions. During this time they did not get along with the Catholics and hoped to purify the Church of England. However, as time grew on, slowly,

Massachusetts Bay Colony settled by a group of somewhat 1000 Puritans refugees from England. The Puritans came up with a theocratic government with the franchise which was limited to church members. Leader were trying to find a way to prevent independence of religious views and other religious views. By the mid 1640’s the population grew to approximately 20,000 people.

Puritan Beliefs in the 1600s Puritans saw themselves as religious role models; this made them shy and judgmental. Making them strict, and in some cases act very rashly. Puritans were viewed by others in the 1600s as devoted christians who followed their Bibles as a guide to daily life. In every way possible they wanted their society to be connected to God. In order to begin learning about the Puritans, it is critical to learn how religion shaped America, the origin of the Puritan beliefs, and the daily religious life.

The Puritans started the American culture as it is today. They came to America with many ideals that have never left the American culture. The most memorable of these ideals are: their belief in predestination, the belief that God directed life, their belief in the Old Testament, their intertwined religion and politics, and their harsh and extreme punishment such as, stockades, public shame, etc. for any trespass that angered those in power. This could have been looking at someone’s wife or committing a sin.

It is obvious to anyone who has a true understanding of the Puritans, to come to

TThe Puritans were a devout spiritual group that left England and traveled to North America seeking religious freedom from the Church of England. The Puritans trusted that the word of God was the law of the land and it presented them with a plan for surviving. Puritans believed in treating one another with respect, having benevolence for the fellow mankind, loving one another as if they were family and God would reward them based on how well they treated their neighbors. The Puritans, who believed all beings must be honorable to one another, hold themselves with high morals in society yet they failed to realize that their actions were not acceptable or Godly like because they took advantage and hurt the natives. They described the natives, as undisciplined savages, beasts and they believed that the natives did not have the right to retaliate. The Natives were certainly justified with their vengeance since their land was being invaded, their way of life was being jeopardized, and they were targets of colonization by the Puritans. The immigrants who traveled land forced harshest treatments on the natives. Everything was taken away for the sake of advancement of civilization, the conversion to Christianity, and displacing of Indian tribes.

Which is more valuable: the needs of the many or the needs of the one? It is a question that has been explored all throughout human history. From the collectivist societies of the Easter Hemisphere to the individualistic cultures of the Western, everyone has his or her own opinion on the subject and it is doubtful that a universally accepted answer will ever be found. The United States of America tends to favor “the one.” The freedom to pursue one’s dreams and desires is one of the founding principles of the nation, as promised in the Declaration of Independence and guaranteed in the Constitution. However, American history reveals that oftentimes the “individuality” that is accepted is the “individuality” that is approved of by the

The way American society is run, especially Christian, can be attributed to the first early colonies of the Puritans. The Puritans left Europe due to religious persecution, and formed many colonies when they came to the new world. The Puritans left a huge mark on our country today with their strict adherence to religion and their hard working attitude. The results of these colonies are a lasting legacy of Christian viewpoints and ideologies ranging from how a government should be run to how you should be as a faithful Christian wife. Religion today in America still takes many lessons from this group.

In the 21st century the American people have the choice to do whatever they want because they are free. Even though the American people have freedom we do have laws to keep us in order.

There are plenty of literary works around the idea of Puritan America, among those are Of Plymouth Plantation, Here follows some verses upon the burning of our house, and Dickinson and Witchcraft. Each of these works has to do with Puritan beliefs. The first example found in the poem by Anne Bradstreet, was when she begins to scold her heart for being overly vain, mourning over her burnt house, and not being patient with what God had planned, ¨Then straight I 'gin my heart to chide: And did thy/wealth on earth abide¨ (37-38). Bradstreet then realizes it all belongs to God and that she has no right to mourn. I believe this ties in with the question because Puritans believe when a bad situation happens and you aren’t patient with God, it’s a

Puritanism was a religious movement that began in the late sixteenth century. The puritans were a group of reformed protestants who sought to “purify” the Church of England during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. However, puritanism was not just a historical movement, it was a lifestyle that the puritans brought to New England. Puritanism can be defined by predestination, calling, covenant, Protestant ethic, and conversion.