Angry About The Reformation Of The Church Of New England

Angry about the reformation of the Church of England in the sixteenth century, a group of extreme separatists known as the Puritans sought the absolute expulsion of Catholicism in their sect of Christianity. Their devotion to their religious practices and beliefs ultimately led the Puritans to emigrate to Holland and subsequently to the new world, where they established a colony in New England. The ideas and mindframes of the Puritans are not important to American history because they were simply the first but because they offered ways of thinking that are still ingrained in the American culture today. In laying a foundation for America, whether they realised it at the time or not, Puritans have influence in present day America in the form

New Englanders rejected what they were force fed to believe when in England and instead made their own Puritan model of education. The leaders of their Puritan society were highly educated men; they had all attended universities such as Oxford and Cambridge in England. In 1630, John Winthrop claimed the society they were forming in New England would be “a city upon a hill”. Another leader of the time period was John Cotton who also believed their community has to be educated to be able to comprehend their basis: religion. In order for the people who were growing up in New England to become well-versed in the Bible, they had to be able to read. Though public education for all children was not yet prevalent, most people learned basic skills. Many poor children learned these skills through apprenticeships without formal education. Those who attended elementary school were taught reading, writing, arithmetic and above all else, theology. Education is still to this day a key factor in the modern society of

A representation of this would be the Mayflower Compact. The Mayflower Compact was the first governing document the Puritans formed. It was drafted by those who crossed the Atlantic Ocean on the Mayflower. Within the document was a set of rules those people would followed and became the first true testament to their self governing society. Within their democratic society the people were able to govern themselves and be free. This freedom did not apply to religious freedom however. All of the people who lived within the Puritan settlements, such as the Massachusetts Bay Colony, were forced to followed these laws and regulations put forth by the leaders. If people did not conform to these social standards then they would be ostracised from the community. An example of this would be Anne Hutchinson. Hutchinson followed John Cotton’s sermons closely and then began to form her own opinions and beliefs. This was fine and dandy until she began to hold her own service in her home. After word got out about this practice she was charged with heresy and then banned from the community. The Puritans were very steadfast in their opinions on freedom. The Puritans were outcasts, in a sense, who did not conform to the status quo in England who then turned around in New England and wanted the entirety of the community to conform to their