The Role Of The Puritan People In The 1600s

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 New England colonies developed rapidly throughout the early 1600s. Their development was largely influenced by the Puritans, who had emigrated from Britain and helped found most of the region’s colonies. The philosophies, ideas, and values of the Puritans greatly shaped the development of the colonies in a number of distinct ways. Politically, the idea of a united, representative government, which later became a staple of the United States, was derived from Puritan ideals. Economically, the ideals of fair pricing and the celebrated “Yankee frugality and thriftiness” originated from the Puritans. Socially, emphasis on church, religion, and education was another lasting influence of the

have made gigantic advancements in technology, in medicine, and in civil rights. Humanity as a whole has progressed significantly, yet we still have many of the same issues that we did hundreds of years ago. Yes, we may not have slavery or the Jim Crow Laws, but we still have institutionalized racism that allows the shooting of unarmed black men by police officers to go virtually unpunished. Yes, women are allowed to vote, but they still get paid less than their male counterparts. America has made many advancements and one might say is doing better than it had been in the past, but doing better doesn’t mean doing good. One part of American history that we still unfortunately share many similarities with is the Puritan society of colonial America. Although America as a whole has made many advances since the 1600s, we still hold many of the same flaws that the Puritans did.

Puritans were a group of English Protestants who believed that the Reformation of the Church of English was still to stuck on Catholic formalities and wanted to simplify and regulate types of worship. The Puritans left England out of a need to purify the church and their own lives. They followed the writings of John Calvin to America and formed The Massachusetts Bay Colony. The Massachusetts Bay Colony was one of the original settlements, settled in 1630 by a group of about 1,000 Puritan refugees from England, under the guidance of Governor John Winthrop. In 1929, The Massachusetts Bay Colony received a charter from King Charles I allowing them to colonize in New England between the Charles River and the Merrimack River. The Puritans created a government with theocratic rule which was limited to church members. The Puritans initially settled in Boston in 1630. After Boston, they settled in Cambridge, Lexington, Concord, Watertown, Charlestown, and Dorchester. The Puritan population, in New England, rose from 17,800 people, in 1640, to 106,000, in 1700.

Puritanism could be defined by many as a huge turning point of the history of our culture. When we hear the word, “Puritan” it invokes a sense of religion, of strict values and correctness that laid the raw foundation for the different branches of churches today. Not only did they play a monumental part in the growth of Calvinism, but of early colonial government and the movement and spread of people across North America. Although their values and ideals are radical in terms of modern beliefs, our culture would not have formed the way it did without the early influence of Puritans. Most confuse the group of Puritans that escaped England with the Mayflower separatists, but that is not the case. Their cause was not to destroy the Church of England or forsake it, nor its reformed beliefs that they were unhappy with, it was to sculpt and whittle their own place of worship in an area where they could no longer be punished for it, while still clinging tightly to the essentials of Calvinism. This is where their journey starts, with the group of 900 that docked in the New World on June 12, 1630. Due to the group of Puritans lead by John Winthrop, we would eventually come to have an early American culture lead by strong austerity and obedience, and in time those that resulted from the downfall of this harsh society. In the absence of these strict settlers, we would not have such a strong sense of congregationalism and

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

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.”

1. "Describe the Puritans and their beliefs, and explain why they left England for the New World." What the Puritans desired was the purification of the English church. Puritans wished to simplify worship and control the regularity of its occurrence. The protestant reformation which seemed everlasting caused conflict with the Puritans. Some Individuals believed only “visible saints” would be allowed a house in the Church. King James threatened the persecution of the separatists so the fled in search of religious freedom inside of the new found colonies.

The Puritans goal in New England was to create the perfect pure society where nobody sinned and God ruled completely. They attempted this by making laws about and regulating every aspect of life in the colony. To achieve this, the church needed to rule the colony. And if the church ruled the colony, only the real Puritans could be part of the church. They believed only a minority of the population pure enough to be a part of the church. In reality very few people were ever able to give enough evidence that they had completed their part. As a result, two-thirds of the population failed to qualify as church members. The Puritans enacted many laws to keep the non-Puritans living religious lives. They created an official whose only job was to check up on ten families daily to see if anything out of the ordinary was happening and to make sure everyone who was able went to church. Their idea was that everybody, even if they weren’t part of the church, should be very religious. Therefore they created their laws with principles based on the Old Testament. They dreamed of a society where everybody followed the laws and lived a peaceful, god-fearing existence. To make this dream realizable, the Puritans created severe penalties for breaking the laws. These ranged from whipping and being thrown in the stocks for minor offenses, to banishment and death by hanging for serious ones. To be a good Puritan one had to work hard all

Throughout the colonization of America, many different religions and groups found a home in the New World. One of these religions was the Puritans. More commonly known as the pilgrims, the Puritans are a group of very strict, religious persons. Puritans were English Protestants who believed the Reformation did not rid the church of Catholic influences enough (“Puritans” Robinson).

Puritanism is often compared to Western European culture since America was largely founded on the exportation of Puritans from Europe. Puritans then maintained their relevance by making up the vanguard of frontier towns in the push West. Their motivation for that was that fleeing the non-Puritan "sinners" who made up second wave settlers who moved into Puritan towns. Despite that mobility, or their opinions of the later settlers, the Puritans undeniably left their mark in the towns they had originated. When making the comparison of American and Western European culture, it is commonly accepted that Americans are more reserved in their media content. For example, there can be much more nudity in advertisement in France than America. This disparity is typically attributed to the Puritan influence. The idea of Puritans living through religion and government has had a tremendous impact on American society nearly 4,000 years later.

Puritans in England didn't like the English Church and wanted to practice their own religion, so they moved to Holland. It wasn’t what the Puritans were looking for, so 102 of them boarded the Mayflower in 1620, and landed at Plymouth under the lead of William Bradford. On the ship, the people on board wrote the governing document that would be put into place after they landed. Native Americans taught the Pilgrims how to farm and survive in the new world, which lead to the first Thanksgiving. 10 years later, a second group of Puritans followed the Pilgrims, under John Winthrop. Massachusetts was self-governing with some influence from the Bible.

The Puritans that came to New England wanted to escape religious persecution in Europe. They believed in strong family units/relationships and a strong foundation in the church; but they didn’t want to follow the Church in England, they wanted to make their own rules. “The newcomers intended to build a godly “city on a hill” that would serve as an example to the world” (pg 66). A “city on the hill” is an example of status, flawlessness, and godliness (since it is closer to the heavens). They set up tightly knit family communities, farms, and churches. However, their religion was very exclusive and their “guidelines” dictated that everything that happened was according to God’s plan, which meant that they could gamble, get drunk, etc.… In their

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.

Puritanism was a religious movement that began in the late sixteenth century. The puritans were a group of reformed protestants who sought to “purify” the Church of England during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. However, puritanism was not just a historical movement, it was a lifestyle that the puritans brought to New England. Puritanism can be defined by predestination, calling, covenant, Protestant ethic, and conversion.