Roles Of The Puritan Society

Puritans and reformers of seventeenth century England have been given a bad name for their part in history. This is primarily because they were working against the grain and trying to create change in world that saw change as a threat. The time period was turbulent and there was bound to be resistance in a world that was dominated by Catholics and those that had reformed to abide by their King’s law. The puritans of the time were considered extreme and rubbed people the wrong way because they wanted a world that abided by their morals and ethical codes. For this, they took the blame for the misery that many suffered during this age, but as we see in Fire from Heaven, this is not a fair assessment. The Puritans of this time wanted to improve the lives of the people and society as a whole through morality and purity.

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

The mother's role was to take care of her husband, children, and home. The children were to respect the parents, help with chores, and get an education. The Puritans also believed that hard work was always expected, there was never a moment to rest because slothfulness was a sin that God disapproved of and hated. The households seem to be a serious life for that reason. Having fun was against the Puritan religion, there was no time to have fun, the time spent having fun could be used to accomplish more work. In the Puritan town, the church and school were always at the center. Education was a major part in the life of the Puritans. They felt that education would help in the understanding of what was expected of them by God. By allowing them to read the Bible and interpret it themselves it allowed for them to add to the perfect society that they were trying to accomplish. Harvard, the first university, was established by the Puritans to provide for more training for new ministers. Puritans believed in predestination, that God knows what choices you are going to make in life and what the outcome will be. They also used their religious belief to justify their treatment of the Native American population.

A Puritan defined is “a member of a group of English Protestants of the late 16th and 17th centuries who regarded the Reformation of the Church of England under Elizabeth as incomplete and sought to simplify and regulate forms of worship.” Puritan society in America depended on the belief that all members were working for the glory of God. The Puritans did not allow deviations from the strict code of behavior which would not allow any member to have individuality. They restricted any type of entertainment, except that which was endorsed by the church. They worked and worshipped.

The migrants have came all the way across the ocean to with the help of God, and were very pleased with the safety that He exhibited. The Puritans put building worship center for Christ right with the necessary means for life (food and shelter). This document shows the importance of worship in their social lives. They started their educational values and schooling based from the virtues of the original Church. This led their political concepts to be dominated by the beliefs of the Church, and even though some people began to start to break away from Puritanism and tried to run for office, they were not successful in their mission. This document was written with the purpose to inform the reader that they were pursuing education to not enter an illiterate Ministry. Many people would just assume that the Puritans were just creating their colony to spread their religions, but with this article people can realize that the Puritan’s education was vital to the creation of their politics and social

Seventeenth century Puritans had several aspirations, successes, and failures when it came to creating a model society. They had many successes in their society, some examples are their education system, their advancements in equality for women, and the way they created a tight knit close society. Although they had many achievements, the Puritans also did fall short in many aspects of their society. They ultimately did fail at their perfect society, and that is a very important aspect since that was their main goal. They also were very strict about their policies regarding the church. Once the generations progressed, they had to create new rules to allow people basic religious rights such as baptism. They also fused church and state, which was necessary in a society such as this, but it ultimately hindered progression such as allowing non church members to vote. As the years progressed more and more non Puritans entered the Puritan society, this hindered society because eventually the small majority was making the most riveting decisions. Ultimately the Puritans had both failures and successes when attempting a model society, but the weight of the failures simply outweighed the successes.

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.

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 Puritans were a group of people with strong beliefs, ideas and values in the 1630’s to the 1660’s. Their ideas influenced society in multiple ways during this time including politically, economically, and socially. Politically, they believed in having a theocratic government , economically, they used the value of hard work to run the economy and stimulate prosperity and also, socially the influence of the religion and the need for a tight knit communtiy influenced New England in many more ways than one. All of these influences were part of the ideological belief of the Puritans to attain a “City Upon a Hill” society where they would have the perfect community and established ethos for other communities to later follow in their footsteps.

Women, in general, were expected to be able to run their homes, taking care of their spouses and children in whatever form was needed at the

Supporting Argument 1 D. Topic: The British colony was not hierarchical because easy availability of land and outsider status, while in the Spanish colony there was hierarchy and dependent laborers. (p.633) a. Evidence 1: Men in Puritan New England became independent heads of family farms, a world away from old England. (p.633) b. Evidence 2: While Puritan Christianity extolled the family and a woman’s role as wife and mother, it reinforced largely male authority as Boston minister Rev.Benjamin Wadsworth said “Since he is husband” “God has made him the Head and set him above thee”. (p.634) III.

The Puritans were settled in Salem, Massachusetts. They left England to seek freedom, and the ability to believe in a separate religion. Once they had left England, they decided that they wanted their civilization to have a common belief. As they developed their culture, there rules became stricter. In churches, many ministers wrote about male supremacy, in sermons and writings. Women and children were considered very low in society. Women were portrayed as “instruments of Satan”, and children were viewed as the property of their parents. They thought, that the only job a women could do, was be a good wife. This mentality, in the Puritan social-system was one of the base causes of the Salem Witch Trials.

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?

This essay addresses the questions: What is Puritanism. What is the meaning of puritanism in American history? What is the Covenant as Puritans understood it. How were their ideas about the Covenant applied to their experience in America?