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The puritans in america
Essay on puritans
Puritan and the impact it had on England
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More handpicked essays just for you.
The puritans in america
Essay on puritans
Puritan and the impact it had on England
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Historical Puritans The puritans created the Puritans religion were created to cleanse the corrupt and sinful practices in England and enforce public morality. The puritans believed that churches specifically Roman Catholic were full of hierarchies and so the Puritans escaped England and to gain religious freedom “They [puritans] contended that The Church of England had become a product of political struggles and man-made doctrines. The Puritans were one branch of dissenters who decided that the Church of England was beyond reform”(Kiser). The Puritans headed for america and created a “pure” religion and lifestyle. They strictly followed the bible and were calvinist.
Puritanism was a religious reform movement that wished to purify the Church of England of the remnants of the Roman Catholic faith. The Puritans were persecuted by many denominations across Europe and around 1620, King James I, a member of the Church of England, began oppressing the Puritan community as well. This led the Puritans to flee England and come to the New World where in the words of John Winthrop they were to build a “city upon a hill”. The Puritans settled in the Massachusetts Bay Colonies, more specifically just north of Boston. The most prominent members of this time were John Winthrop.
However, they were never successful in doing so. In nearly all of colonial America, there was some religious intolerance, with the exception of few colonial areas. In a quite ironic manner, the Puritans displayed and acted out much religious intolerance, even after facing much scrutiny concerning their religion, in England. This statement is proven, when “Puritan New England: Kahn Academy”, mentions “Although many people assume Puritans escaped England to establish religious freedom, they proved to be just as intolerant as the English state church.” The main and pretty much only, exception, would in this case be Rhode Island, seeing as though it was founded by former Puritan Roger Williams, who had been banned from the colony (in opposition to being executed), as a result of the questioning of their actions towards local Native American tribes, he decided to create Rhode Island, as a place of refuge for those seeking religious tolerance, or who had simply been banned from the previous colony they had resided
Puritans are known for being extremely religious they practice strictness, simplicity and severity in how they live and conduct themselves; they are strong supporters of modesty, propriety, and decorum but strongly oppose any forms of pleasure (6). The community of Salem considered anyone who practiced witchcraft a felon, it was a crime in the 17th century and they saw it as going against the government (1). Puritans believed the devil could provide you with supernatural powers to harm others in return for loyalty (4). After several incidents that occurred in the town people believed that the devil was roaming the streets of Salem, numerous outbreaks of small pox and fights with the Native Americans led the townspeople to believe so (9). Witches
In England, the Puritan’s desire was to reform the Anglican Church, and do away with the remaining traces of Catholic standards. They didn’t break with the church like the Pilgrims did, but were dissatisfied with the reforms that were in place. They did not consider them to be sufficient. The Puritans were likewise dissatisfied with the lack of religious freedom they had. As a result, they journeyed to America hoping to practice their religion and live
According to Five myths about Puritans - The Washington Post, “But the Puritans didn’t leave England to found a society where all religions would be tolerated. After all, they were granted the pejorative moniker “Puritan” in England because of their efforts to purge Catholic influences from the Anglican Church. They sought religious freedom only for themselves.” This emphasizes how Puritans didn’t care for other people’s religion, they just wanted to be able to practice their own. Despite what they went through to get the freedom to practice their religion, they only wanted it for that specific religion.
The Puritans were the founder of the northern colonies of New England although, not all New England Colonists were Puritans. The Puritan religion was an influence in the seventeenth-century. Then there were Quakers, who believed that neither preachers nor bibles were necessary to worship god. Which was the complete opposite of what puritans believed. There is one major difference between the two.
For those who did not share their same religious approach were not welcomed at all. What made it more difficult for people who were not welcomed was the lines between church and state were very blurred. The citizens of these colonies would often take matters into their own hands such as taxes and even consequences for people who did not fit their way of life. These punishments included civil penalties, exile, disqualification of voting and even death. Puritans also believed in witches and demonic possession which fueled the fire for what we know as the Salem Witch Trials which lead to many imprisonments and executions of people accused of witchcraft.
Children growing up in Puritan New England were raised with different expectations and values compared to children in today’s society. We often consider Puritan practices as cruel, but such practices were not uncommon and were viewed differently in the seventeenth century. Children were raised with the Puritan belief of simplicity, taught to respect and obey their parents without question, and were given an education to allow them to prosper in later years as well as strengthen their religion. Sources one and two provide portraits of Puritan children, Elizabeth Eggington and Henry Gibbs, in the seventeenth century. Portraits were often made at the request of how parents wanted their child to be seen.
The Puritans were brave individuals who set out to alter the way their religion should be. Expanding to America was the way to escape the ills of the Catholic Church. Puritans felt that expanding was their right, and it was the only way to uphold God's word. The Roman Catholic Church was headed towards a path of destruction, and this was not what God wanted for his people. In Matthew 5:14, we find one of the major basis of the Puritan belief system.
The values held by the Puritans influenced the political, economic, and social development of the New england colonies in many ways. The Puritans were very strict when it came to religion. Massachusetts was sought out to create a holy commonwealth. In the New England colonies only member of the church were allowed to vote. The Puritans were so strict that some colonist formed other colonies after being expelled from Massachusetts.
The Puritans though that brotherhood, community, and religion to be the most important social standings in their colonies, yet were violent towards non-Puritans. The New England colonies were very religiously active compared to other colonies like Virginia, were religion was an afterthought. Because of the Tobacco craze in Virginia, it was only until the mid-1700’s when religion actually became a part of the colony. In general the Puritans were extremely intolerant of other beliefs that were not theirs, and history shows that they could become quite violent towards non-believers. Anyone who was an outsider or deemed non-Puritan would be banished or executed; in Puritan society, the fear of outsiders was ingrained into the mind of Puritan followers,
The Church was a vital source for them. The Puritans believed that the men were the superior ones. The women were not allowed to attend the town meetings and were also prohibited from making decisions for the church. Attending church for the Puritans was mandatory for the people that missed church had to pay a fine. The church official typically had the ultimate power even above the judge.
In New England, there was no such thing as religious tolerance. Everyone was required to be part of the Church of England whether they believed or not. This led to a disagreement among those who believed that those who were not “visible saints” should not be allowed to worship in the same place as those who were. These colonists were referred to as the Separatists because they eventually separated from the Church of England. Those who chose to stay with the church were called Puritans, although that term could technically be used to describe both.
More than 80% of Americans have Puritan ancestors who emigrated to Colonial America on the Mayflower, and other ships, in the 1630’s (“Puritanism”). Puritanism had an early start due to strong main beliefs that, when challenged, caused major conflict like the Salem Witch Trials. Puritanism had an extremely rocky beginning, starting with a separation from the Roman Catholic Church. Starting in 1606, a group of villagers in Scrooby, England left the church of England and formed a congregation called the Separatist Church, and the members were called The puritans (“Pilgrims”).