Puritans And The American Ethos And Democratic Spirit

Today, people describe the Puritans with their biased point of view. It is not unfathomable why people do not like the Puritans. The Puritans’ society and today’s society are very different. Puritan society was very restrained; people could only believe in God and the Bible was the law. Unlike Puritan society, today’s society does not restrain religion. Even though Puritans had bad influences on today’s society, Puritans played a pivotal role in constructing the USA. If you look around more carefully, you will easily realize that some things that you took for granted were actually influenced by the Puritans, and they are very significant and necessary to today’s society. The Puritans’ influences on today’s United States are found in the areas of economy, government, education, church, and social mores.

The decades surged by and thoughts other than religion began to crowd the minds of the American people. The smoldering ideas of independence, enlightenment, and innovation elicited a new mentality in America. Puritan ideals were not held as high, for other religious sects had taken their place. The stringencies of the Puritan lifestyle wafted away as America grew in its diversity, but the Puritan mindset was rooted in the soil and could not be torn away. The words that John Winthrop had spoken on the Arabella were held at the base of the country, “For we must consider that we shall be as a City upon a Hill, the eyes of all people are upon us.”

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

When the first wave of European immigrants faced the hardships of the voyage across the tumultuous Atlantic Ocean, these English Puritans had hopes of a future free from the harsh persecutions and injustices they were subjected to in 17th century England. Puritans values were documented in the writings of such immigrants such as “A Model of Christian Charity”, written by John Winthrop while aboard the Arabella in 1630, and “The Mayflower Compact”, a constitution-like document drafted and signed by the men on board The Mayflower in 1620. In the former, Winthrop emphasized the significance of maintaining unity under God and sharing in the struggles of one another so that the burdens and hardships of one are those of the community as well as the Puritans arrived in the New World. Similarly, “The Mayflower Compact” encouraged unity and equality through the formation of a civil political body to enact governing laws and constitutions that would uphold their societal and religious values to promote equality and justice for all. Despite such principles that the Pilgrims believed they were instating during the formation of the New World, I believe these values were quickly distorted, leading to a biased and prejudiced society that prevails today. Through the analysis of the history of early America, it is evident to me that though the Puritans left England as the persecuted and claimed to aspire to a just society, they arrived in the New World as persecutors of those whose beliefs

In Puritan belief, life was planned according to God, and a society worked to live out that plan. The Massachusetts Bay Colony was a closely integrated group that worked together to fulfill the wishes of a larger community. Puritans religious beliefs produced ideas that God’s will was to lead a community based on peace. God had set high expectations for a happy and trustworthy community. However, if a community did not live up to the expectations, God would destroy the community. Therefore, Puritan leaders felt the need to enforce strict rules so Puritans could not disobey the ideals. If anyone did not conform, they were called an “impostor” who did not belong in the community. If Puritans allowed freedom of worship, dissenters would not be banished from the community because all ideologies could potentially exist peacefully. The only time dissenters existed were in communities that limited freedom of rights.

In Chapter 4, we discuss how the Puritanism changed New England during the seventeenth century. Puritans immigrated to North America to escape the hardships and persecution they faced in England, because of the English reformation. They wanted to form a new, orderly Puritan version in New England. However, many of the New England colonists were not Puritans, Puritanism remained a strong influence in New England’s politics, religion, and community. Many of the New England colonists,settled in new towns and tried to steer clear of the Puritan religion. Eventually to the fatal decline of Puritanism in New England.

Throughout fifteenth century England, Puritanism was severely persecuted. Puritans were forced to go to the Anglican Church where they were also pushed into associating with those that were predestined for Hell. The Puritans wished to purify the Church of England in a way that allowed them to not only practice their religion, but to do so in a different location than the Hell-bound. In 1620, the Puritans left England and settled in Plymouth, Massachusetts, where they were free to practice Puritanism. The ideas and values held by the Puritans influenced the political, economic and social development of the New England colonies from 1630 to 1660.

It is often asked by many to what extent will the puritan influence fade away or endure from the American culture as time passes. However, it is safe to say that after 395 years later, America 's culture is greatly influenced by Puritanism and will remain for many more years. In his article The New York Times, “Still Puritan After All These Years” (2012). Matthew Hutson introduces his argument that Americans cultures are influenced more than ever despite claims to the contrary and that it is time to reconsider why America has a higher tendency to base our opinions on religion more than any other countries. Hutson develops his argument by stating how, “Typically countries become more secular as they develop economically. We haven’t. According to the

The Puritans, arguably the most well-known group of early English colonists settled in the Massachusetts Bay colony in the 1600’s, and are considered catalysts to modern American culture. The Puritans are famous for their theological insights, advances in the sciences, and for the establishment of the first public schools in America. The Puritans however are infamous for their potentially brutal punishment, and harsh discipline. To the devout Puritan punishment was love, this was evident in the ways they raised children, punished criminals, and how they lived. These policies played a major role in shaping American society for many years and in part made America what it is today.

America has been through many changes and alterations over the years. But each change contained content from the age that preceded it. Whether it be a form of writing or a manner of speaking there are always remnants. But what can be learned from the past of America? By looking deeper into America's past. What did the Puritans do wrong what impact did they have in this world? To truly dive deep into America’s past one must think about what is informative about America's past and how it was settled, the way puritans previous actions affect people today, and the impact of speeches given by Puritans.

When we think of the Puritans, we think of a very religious group of people, who strictly follows the ways of God. The Puritans, have very strange ways of showing their religion. They solemnly go by what the bible says, instead of how they feel themselves. One may argue, saying that they should not show their religion, or even practice their religion, but personally, the Puritans, have a right to have their religion, just as well as the other religions.

The Puritan lifestyle rotate around Churches and Christian lifestyle. Region is the most important thing to the Puritans, they followed and believe in everything that was said in the bible. In document 7, Samuel Parris version Christ knowing of things, ¨Our Lord Jesus Christ knows how many Devils there are in his Church¨ became a fact that the people considered to be careful who they were next to, because christ was the only one who knew when evil was around. Cotton Mather was one of New England´s ministers and intellectuals. His word were taken very seriously. Mathew told the people of Salem ¨Wherefore the Devil is now making one Attempt more upon us¨, it was a consideration to the people (Document 11).

Puritan societies are built on the principles of a theocracy. The ideals of a theocracy appear in theory work, but when mortal people claim to be the voices of God, the society will inevitably be unstable. The idea of relying completely on God is good; however, the Christian beliefs of the Puritans are heretical, made up beliefs of the authorities’ creation and are panic- inflicting as well as outlawing individual freedom. Unlike typical Christian religions, Puritans did not believe in happiness or forgiveness to any extent.

One of the reasons why Puritanism should not be practiced in America today is because it was the enemy of freedom in the twentieth century. In “The Hypocrisy of Puritanism” Emma Goldman states, “ It repudiates as something vile and sinful, our deepest feelings: but being absolutely ignorant as to the real functions of

The Puritan values, constructed in the seventeenth century, originated from a movement to reform the Church of England. This particular movement still plays a vital role in the American society influencing the social, ethical, and theological ideas of modern day citizens. These ideas that were put forth were the starting point for the American culture - offering new ideas of how to think and how to live. The writers and thinkers of John Winthrop, Arthur Miller, and Benjamin Franklin make it possible for people to study and apply these laws to their own lives hundreds of years after they were introduced. Even though not all tenets are practiced as strongly as others, the concepts of the value of hard work and a self reliant lifestyle still resonate in the hearts of many American individuals hundreds of years after the birth of this Puritan lifestyle.