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Puritans in colonial america
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Puritans in colonial america
Impact of puritans in colonial america
The impact of Puritans on the
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After reading Native Americans and the “Middle Ground,” I realized how narratives of historians are quick to shame and blame Native Americans in history. This article begins by revealing how European settlement presented the Indians as obstacles. Recent historians, such as Gary Nash, show the Native Americans as being conquered by the Europeans. Author of The Middle Ground, Richard White, seems to be one of the first to examine the culture of Native Americans and the relationship between colonists. White writes about the “middle ground” of the politics and trade that is eventually established.
In Philip J. Deloria’s book, Indians In Unexpected Places readers are provoked with questions. Why is there an Indian on an automobile? Why is she getting a manicure? Why is the young man in football apparel? Indians have been secluded into a stereotype of untamable and wild animals.
George Washington Williams, an African American legislator, and Kande Kamara, an African colonial subject, both experienced some of the most brutal products of European Imperialism. Williams, in the late nineteenth century, toured the Belgian controlled Congo and witnessed the harsh measures King Leopold implemented to maintain absolute control and bleed the country of its resources. Kamara, on the other hand, bore witness to the end result of overzealous imperial ambitions when he was forced to fight for the allies in the trenches of WWI. These two men’s experiences, although considerably different, both shed light on Europe’s colonial philosophy of racism and ethnic superiority and its position of immense power during this period.
Evidence shows that the Puritans had politically influenced their colonies with their religious values. In the New World, a group of Puritans established the Massachusetts Bay Colony. There, the Puritans would create a government that would revolve around their covenant with God. On the way to the New World, John Winthrop, governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, led a sermon, titled “A Model of Christian Charity”, about Puritan ideals (Winthrop). As well as determining Puritan ideals, the sermon urges colonists to unite as a “city on a hill” for others to look up to (Winthrop).
Religion influenced the government of the Puritans. They believed that they each had their own boundaries or power given by the Lord (Doc H). Puritans wanted the church and government to intertwine and aid one another, creating a stronger bond. In addition, the Puritan’s emphasis on religious conformity and the attainment of land for their model society led them to engage in wars with neighboring Indian tribes. For instance, William Bradford fought with Pequot tribe in the Pequot War, believing that God is the source of their victory and therefore praise him (Doc D).
Despite the fact that Penn’s heirs (none of whom shared the religious beliefs which apparently informed Penn’s policies) infamously failed to uphold his high moral standards for dealings with Indians, Native Americans continued to evoke “the same good spirit which possessed the good old Man William Penn.” In other parts of colonial America, encounters between Native Americans and Europeans were mostly categorized by violence and periods of uneasy peace. The religious beliefs on which Pennsylvania was founded prevented Europeans from settling the colony through war and conquest. However, relationships and expectations which this religious culture formed allowed for a different kind of conquest through political maneuvers and deceit. The Walking Purchase is undoubtedly the most famous example of how the noble precedent set by Penn was promptly set aside by “Brother Onas” after his death.
Williams upset the General Court and before being able to be arrested he went off to Massachusetts, later negotiated with Narragansett setup Providence and promised separation of church and state and religious freedom (“The Americans” 52). This opinion was not widely accepted so other colonist considered Rhode Island trash. Either way his ideas on royal charter influenced other colonies like New Jersey and Carolina. If he didn't have such radical ideas today would be a lot different. For example, today policeman or an authority figure in the United States is forbidden to force or reject any religious belief.
In the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the Puritans, at first, established a good relationship with a Native American tribe called the Pequots. These quandaries were compounded by the Puritans' incrementing conviction that the Indians' claims were invalid, because God had bestowed
The Puritan’s goal of coming to the New World was not to create a new life, but to create the ideal model of living for the “corrupt” inhabitants of England. This was coined “The Errand”, the Puritans desire to establish a City Upon a Hill that others could look up to and imitate in order to receive God’s grace. The Puritans failed at building their City Upon a Hill (creating a perfect religious, economic, and political community), however the long-term effects of their efforts have influenced American moral politics throughout its history. The Puritans forever had the attitude of a community that had successfully established a City Upon a Hill. The Puritan lifestyle was heavily influenced not only by religion, but also inside of that, morality.
They’re special and different, another instance of American exceptionalism and the overall overwhelming pridefulness both the United States and the back then Puritan’s share. During this farewell sermon, Cotton also states “In a vacant soil, he that taketh possession of it, and bestoweth culture and husbandry upon it, his right it is.” Upon God’s authority he tells the Puritan’s that what essentially becomes a base for Manifest Destiny, something John Winthrop also preached later
Rachael Goodson Professor Kathrine Chiles ENG & AFST 331 15 February 2018 William Apess In the nineteenth century, America was at one of its peaks of racial debate, with people starting to question whether it was right for the African Americans to stay enslaved, or if it was time to start the process of freeing the slaves and allowing them to live a better life. However, most people did not even question how the Native Americans were being treated or forced to change almost every aspect of their lives to “please,” as if they could ever be, the white people. William Apess’ The Experience of Five Christian Indians is an example of some of the harsh ways that Indians were treated before and even after they were “forcibly” converted to Christianity.
John Winthrop: A Puritan Leader who became the first Governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony. From January 12, 1587/8 - March 2, 1649, John Winthrop led a group of English Puritans to the new world, joined the Massachusetts Bay Company in 1629 and became their Governor on April 8, 1630. He was the major backbone in molding the Colony’s government, also shaping its Legislative policy. Roger Williams: This man typically brought religious and political liberty to Rhode Island, (1603-1683). He acknowledged that, the civil government should punish whoever breaks the law, or poses harm or threat to the community.
In 1655, founder of Rhode Island, Roger Williams documented his views on politics and religious affairs to make them clear to the public. This documentation of his morals and principals was called Letter to the Town of Providence. In his letter he addresses the people and tells them that he is making no mistake by voicing his opinion. Williams takes his position with an analogy. He describes society as a boat.
Essentially, Puritans are expected to follow a strict set of religious and moral guidelines from which their actions and morality are derived. According to Hall’s A Reforming People, these moral expectations first introduced by the pilgrims were the driving force behind the power that the Puritan ministry had over society: “Ministers and laypeople looked first to congregations as the place where love, mutuality, and righteousness would flourish, and second to civil society. …Alongside love, mutuality, and righteousness they placed another set of values summed up in the word “equity.” Employed in a broad array of contexts, the concept of equity conveyed the colonists’ hopes for justice and fairness in their social world.”
A Comparative View of Literature of Native Americans and European Settlers At the point when the European explorers found the New World it was at that point inhabited by millions of Native Americans. Notwithstanding not having a writing system the Native Americans had a huge oratory literary accumulation of culture, history, and religion. The literature of the early explorers was for the most part narratives and letters. These writings portray the New World and the explorers' movements and experiences (Millisaw).