The Puritan Impact In The New England Colonies

The New England colonists, except for Rhode Island, were predominantly Puritans who practiced very strict religious lives. The civil government in these colonies dealt quite harshly with those who dared to disagree with the Puritan church. People were being exiled for speaking out against Puritanism. They whipped baptists. They cropped, or cut off, the ears of Quakers. They even went as far as to hang Quaker missionaries. They did all of this in an order to proselytize and convert people to be Puritan.

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.

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

Therefore, the Puritans strived to work towards religious and moral reforms, and to do so, first escaped persecution from the Church and the King. As a result, a group of non-separatist Puritans led by Thomas Dudley and John Winthrop established a colony in Massachusetts Bay, mainly in order to have religious freedom, but also to maintain British cultural influences (before they had ventured to North America, they lived in Holland for a few years, but decided to leave in order to settle “as a distinct body of themselves” in the New World). Unlike in the Chesapeake Bay regions, religion was at the forefront of everybody’s mind, as every settler was a devout follower of God (at least at the beginning). Therefore, the cardinal principle in their community was a sort of religious exclusiveness as the Puritans held their spiritual beliefs, which translated into certain “community laws” and customs, highest. On the other hand, religion was a negligible motivator for colonists settling in the Chesapeake Bay regions.

The New England colonies development was influenced upon the arrival of the Puritans. The Puritans brought with them many ideas and values to help better the colonies. One of the political ideas the Puritans had were town meetings which was a form of democracy. Economically, the Puritans were big on trading, fishing and farming. Also one of the main reasons the Puritans came to the New World was to purify the churches which impacted the colonies socially. The ideas and values of the Puritans influenced the development of the New England colonies politically by having the first pure form of democracy, economically by trading and farming, and socially by purifying the churches.

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 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

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

Puritans Structure and new world have three significant events and one leading man. Puritans on the Mayflower traveling to the Massachusetts Bay colony were led by John Winthrop. In the spring of 1630, John Winthrop composed and delivered what is known to be one of the most famous speeches in American history, “A Model of Christian Charity” and had everyone sign an agreement. The agreement consisted of working together when they reached the new world. Finding success in good planning, substantial capital, and political influence back in England. Winthrop 's core goal, was simple; to create a society out of a tight knit community of towns that were to be economically, politically, and religiously prosperous. Thereby, being a model to the world by adopting the image to the colony was a “City upon a Hill” and where “the eyes of all people are upon us.” Then when the Mayflower arrived in Provincetown harbor, at the tip of Cape Cod, on November 11, 1620, and then moved on to Plymouth Bay colony in early December. The “A Model of Christian Charity” speech that was given on the mayflower was then printed as an essay and widely distributed; the essay then

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

Within the colony of Massachusetts, religion played an important role in shaping the community’s people and interests. The reason for the Puritans move to North America was to escape the convictions the Christians of England were placing on them (Divine, 89). Winthrop and his followers believed that in this new land they must create a place where they could come together as a people and build the perfect religious society (Divine, 90). In a speech about his vision for the land, John Winthrop said, “We must delight in each

A plan for some of the colonists moving to the New World was freedom of religion, such as the quakers (located in Pennsylvania) and pilgrims believed in the freedom of living off of your own specific religion. The puritans on the other hand, settled in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1629 , identified themselves as God’s chosen pure angels because of their belief that they were born saved into the world. They would also turn a blind eye to other denominations and focused on their church to be an Angelic Catholic Church specifically. Which of course if you know anything about their “home” back in Europe. That is their “main” denomination over in Britain and they do required everyone to believe in. The puritans brought over their beliefs from England not trying to make it into their own. For example in England they created various religious laws, that were put into place over from England but now the laws transferred into

The Puritans' ultimate goal was for their ideal society, their City Upon A Hill, a model Christian society. According to Dr. Terry Matthew in Puritanism in America “They did not come to this country to find a place to practice freedom of worship. Instead, they came to find a place where their true religion could flourish.” They wanted to influence more than just their communities and those surrounding, they wanted to influence the Church of England and further in the hopes of purifying those that had strayed from what they deemed as the true and righteous path all by showing the way by their hard-fast examples.

Finally, the puritans believed in Protestant ethic. Protestant ethic was the value attached to hard work in one’s “calling”. The puritans believed that hard work would bring success. Success was a sign that one’s fate was destined for heaven. The New England colonies prospered because of the Puritan’s strong values of hard work.