The Puritan Government

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 Puritans were classified as a group of people who had become unhappy with the church of England. The three reasons were because of their religion, moral and social reforms. John Calvin gave rise to Protestantism, the church of England had political struggles. Puritans believed that the Bible was Gods true law. They basically wanted to “purify” themselves and the church. Puritans believed in a second life, that is why they want to constantly do good. Every evil had to do with the devil.

Puritans were families from England that followed John Winthrop and his idea of reforming their religion in Massachusetts and spreading their beliefs. Colonists who joined the voyage were those who had disapproved on the way the Church of England went against the will of god and still had some of the rituals practiced by the Roman Catholic Church. Winthrop believed the failure of other colonies was their sins and how god disapproved upon them for their actions.

The Puritans came to America in hopes of finding a religious haven. They were trying to separate from the thought to be corrupt Church of England in the seventeenth century. Although the Puritans agreed with some of the that views the Church of England had, most were too liberal for the them and they needed to start a more conservative church. The best place to start was a blank slate, the New World. Developing a new colony was a challenge for the Puritans, but they persevered in their endeavors.

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.

Puritans were reformers within the church in the sixteenth century who ultimately formed the Congregationalist and Presbyterian churches.

The Puritans greatly impacted the political development of the New England colonies. Firstly, the idea of a representative government was derived from Puritan ritual. Much as the Puritans believed the congregation should elect the reverend, the Puritans also believed that the government should get its power from the people. This experiment in democracy was one of the hallmarks of Puritan influence on the New England colonies. Extending that idea was the idea of unity, politically speaking. As said by John Winthrop, “Wee must delight in eache other, make other’s conditions our own…” [Document A]. The concept of unity and

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.

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

The puritans were a religious group made up of people who wanted to "purify," the Church of England. The puritans were activist that wanted to get rid of the catholic system within the church. However, people in England sought out to remove these groups of people from the area because they saw them as a threat to their religion. This is how the puritans ended up in Massachusetts Bay Colony. The puritans moved to this colony in hopes of recreating and ideal community, a "utopian" society that others could look up to. The puritans ideal community consisted of peace and partnership; they wanted to remove all evil and improve the quality of life. The puritans then became strict to ensure that every person was equivalent in the eyes of God. I think the religion puritans created casted a fear in other people especially in England because they are so used to being ruled under one king. The

With the rise of the puritanism reform movement from the Church of England and the influence of Catholicism in the late sixteenth century, the need to purify souls and cities was strong. The Puritans wanted to rid the church of any Catholic remains and create a new, pure society based on the ideas of, French theologian and pastor John Calvin, during the Protestant Reformation. The Puritans believed that God had created a single agreement with them, that they were to live according to Scriptures, reform the Church and set an example for the rest of society. They believed that the Bible was God’s law that provided a plan as to how they should go about living their daily life. The Puritans stripped away the traditional teaching of the Church of England and the beliefs of traditional Christianity as a way to purify what they believed to be system that had become corrupt. After failed

American Puritanism formed when the Puritans thought the Anglican Church still had much residue from the Catholic Church- so they sought to start their own religion. Because the Puritans felt this way, they moved to America to start a new life with new beliefs. These beliefs- which they thought were the truest form of Christianity- shaped the way the Puritans lived. They wanted to be an example for everyone (it was denoted as the “City on the Hill.”) In, “The Scarlet Letter,” Nathaniel Hawthorne takes a trip back to the 1640’s where he sets the mood around the way the Puritans lived.

The Puritans were a group of religious reformers who came from the Church of England during the middle of the 1600s. Puritans arrived in New England with their families and established small villages of yeomen farmers that

The Puritans had what was known as town meetings, which was where members of the community would come and discuss town issues and would then vote using the principal of majority rule. Another form of government the Puritans had was the General Court, which was the state legislature and also a judicial court of appeals. Puritans were known as Congregationalists; that is when the church congregation is independent and is self-governed. Only elected members could serve in the church; they were known as living saints. Among the first Puritans to arrive in the New World was John Winthrop who was appointed governor and his intent was “to create a city upon a hill”. This city was to act as an example for the rest of the world. Now because of the Puritans we have democracy and forms of congregationalism which took part in politically developing the New England

The original settlers of America practiced Puritanism. Tocqueville considers Puritanism itself almost a form of politics. The Puritans founded the land based mostly on intellectual prowess over aristocracy. They were seeking shelter due to religious conflict in their motherland. The Puritans were of a mind to preserve their genetic culture, but as society progressed, the discontent with the English monarchal government festered. In fact, England was the driving force behind American democracy which really began with Puritan democracy. Puritan democracy was based on a sense of morality, but the downside was the religious intolerance that they founded their settlements on. The idea of a dissenter was distasteful and the Puritans had no problem fining or even executing anyone they thought were breaking their religious code, which for a settlement founded on freedom of religion and freedom itself, contradicts the ideals of both.