How Did The Rationalists Influence The Colonial Period?

During the 1600s the colonies in the New World started to develop based off of different factors. The colonies all developed for different reasons, some were gold, some God, and some glory. Yet, all were affected by their location and what it had to offer. Geography was the primary factor in the development of the colonies, because it affected everything from the people that it attracted to the jobs that it provided to the food that they ate.

The Puritan settler’s beliefs in the relationship between individuals, God, and the community during the seventeenth century in New England created a sense of us (the Puritans) vs. them (the Native Americans and non-Puritan colonists), who hindered the idea of a city upon a hill, the perfect Christian community. From John Winthrop’s sermon warning the first settlers of New England about the retributions God would bring to the community if individuals broke there covenant with God (Winthrop 17-20). To the way, those same beliefs, brought over by the first Puritan settlers, affected the future interactions Puritans would have with Native Americans during the times of declension, and their views towards them as seen in Mary Rowlandson’s narrative.

Religion had a powerful impact on Puritans lives. Many Puritan people had faith in a supreme being, God, and the teachings of his Divine Son, Jesus Christ. They’d assume that if you weren’t a good Christian they would suffer in hell, but if you were one would be saved by god. An example would be in the sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” the speaker strongly describes about how being a bad Christian has its consequences and the good things that come of being a good Christian. “Many that were very lately in the same miserable condition that you are in are now in a happy state, with their hearts filled with love to him who has loved them, and washed them from their sins in his own blood, and rejoicing in hope of the glory of God.”(152)This explains how they had a strong feeling towards god’s ways. By being concerned about their religious life and being good Christians.

In early 1600's, Puritans followed the Pilgrims to America then they landed in Massachusetts bay. The Puritans started the colony because they wanted to escape religious persecution. The only religion was the Puritans.In the early 1600's of, Massachusetts there was only one Indian tribe,and that was the Wampanoag. Puritans tried to purify the Anglican church because they wanted to make services simpler and taking ranks of authority

Even though The colonial era and the Age of Reason are separated by by about 100 years they still have more in common than you might thinkThere are many examples to choose from to show the similarities. On of the most prominent is racism or feelings of white superiority.In The colonial era Europeans felt superior to other none white races this lead them to mistreated natives and later on African slaves.In the Age of Reason even tho Natives and slaves began to learn English they were still mistreated do to European belief that they were still superior and that slavery was an important part of their economy.

The government of the Massachusetts Bay Colony was simultaneously theocratic, democratic, oligarchic, and authoritarian in different ways. The Puritans founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1628 and wanted a well-established government, but they ended up mixing all of these together. This colony was important because it was one of the first provincial and true governments to be introduced into the colonies. It also provided an example to other colonies to base their governments on.

Religion played a very important role in both Native American and Puritan society, though their idea’s differed greatly. The puritans were very religious people, and it mattered more of what God thought of them more than anything and what everyone else thought didn’t matter as much. While the Puritans were the very religious ones, the Native Americans cared more about viewing people for who they were as people than their religious beliefs. Although the Native Americans had their own religious beliefs, the Puritans also thought that the Native Americans needed to “prove themselves worthy”, of their religious beliefs. The Puritans did not believe that the Native Americans had any kind of regulation on their own lives. It was very

Religion was the foundation of the early Colonial American Puritan writings. Many of the early settlements were comprised of men and women who fled Europe in the face of persecution to come to a new land and worship according to their own will. Their beliefs were stalwartly rooted in the fact that God should be involved with all facets of their lives and constantly worshiped. These Puritans writings focused on their religious foundations related to their exodus from Europe and religions role in their life on the new continent. Their literature helped to proselytize the message of God and focused on hard work and strict adherence to religious principles, thus avoiding eternal damnation. These main themes are evident in the writings of

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

Dissent always existed in the New England Colonies; the Puritans rarely all agreed on one point. Differing theological opinions forged a schism between groups and lead to the creation of colonies such as Rhode Island. As they stressed literacy, individuals formed their own impressions of the gospel. Minister Roger Williams, for example, disagreed with the Massachusetts Bay Colony’s Indian relations and lack of religious freedoms. Roger Williams wrote this on the matter, “God requireth not a uniformity of religion to be enacted and enforced; which enforced uniformity sooner or later is the greatest occasion of civil war.”

Between 1607 and 1733, Great Britain established thirteen colonies in the New World along the land’s eastern coast. England’s colonies included Virginia, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maryland, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Delaware, North Carolina, South Carolina, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Georgia. Though the colonies were classified as New England, middle or southern colonies, the colonists developed a unifying culture. With this new American culture, the colonists throughout the colonies began to think differently than their English cousins. Because colonial America displayed characteristics of a democratic society and, therefore, deviated from England’s monarchic ways, it was established as a democratic society.

The New England colonies rapidly developed though out the 1600s. This mass of development was influenced by the Puritans, whom founded a majority of the New England and several Middle colonies. The Puritan philosophies and values formed and directed the progress of the colonies. Socially, strict emphasis on church and community was influential in other colonial settlements as well. Politically, unification and representation derived from the Puritans. Economically, ideas such as fair pricing originated through the Puritan minds. It is obvious that the ideas held by Puritans grasped the social, political and economic maturity of the New England colonies in the time period of 1630 to 1660.

The Massachusetts Bay Colony was influenced by Puritan belief and religion(Docs 1,2). John Winthrop gives an idea on Puritan beliefs such that they wanted to, “be knit together in this work as one man.” He explains further that no matter what the differences between those who live in colonies, they are one group that God is watching create an influential establishment. Winthrop’s beliefs are similar to the Articles of Agreement. Their plan was to establish a colony in which everyone, no matter their economic background lived under God’s grace to share the plantation. These Puritans wanted a diverse but unified colony. This was reflected further as the Chesapeake Bay Colonies were falling behind in integration with the other groups that lived in the

Early English settlers came to colonial America to escape religious oppression in England, however, one settling in America they enforced their own religious oppression on both natives, and colonials who dared to question their religion. The colonial hierarchy had a very basic pattern, those who followed the religion of the colony had the most power. Those who opposed were given little to no power, and we often forced to either stay silent or leave the community as a whole in search of land in which they were free to express their beliefs. This religious oppression is a common theme with the Puritan community of New England, where Roger Williams was forced to move to providence due to his beliefs, so called “witches” were murdered with little proof of any wrongdoing, and Native Americans were looked at as impure due to their culture. By sustaining a society of religious oppression the Puritans were able to hold a great amount of power in the Northern colonies of America.

The puritans believed in the doctrine of a “calling” to do God’s work on Earth. One could only be a part of the church clergy if they had experienced a conversion and followed the doctrine of the “calling”. However, Puritans were not tolerant to others that did not share the same religion or beliefs as them.