Massachusetts Bay was founded in 1628. The Puritans who believed in predestination and “The Elect”. Formed a colony to be on a “City on a Hill”. The puritans wanted to change the church of England. They wanted to separate but not how the pilgrims did, they wanted to separate because they wanted to make the church of England “pure” how they wanted to do this is they wanted to remove the ceremony and the music.
Massachusetts Bay Colony Goals It was established by a group of puritans led by a John Winthrop with a goal of colonizing a wide area in the New England where they would establish what he referred to as a model religious community in the New World. This was a theocracy that forced people to worship and live in an orthodox way, a theory based on John Calvin’s teachings. John Winthrop was tired of trying to reform the church in England in which he believed there was the need to purify it against the influences of Catholicism. The Puritans had been opposed by both the Anglican Church and the ruling monarch in England. It is for this reason that they migrated to America, established the Massachusetts Bay colony and create their own religious community.
Breaking away from Catholicism rituals, Puritan groups such as Separatists established a colony in Plymouth (Tindall & Shi, 2013). Here they were able to escape the requirements of the Church of England. As additional settlers came over from England, the religious diversity increased requiring additional colonies. The Quakers, the Jews, and the Baptists all had different religious beliefs and to remain harmonious had to settle in a completely different location, one that is now known as Rhode Island (Tindall & Shi, 2013). In this location, the settlers were able to practice their religion without fear of coercion by the government.
It was not until shortly after when the Englishmen decided to set up an offensive small military. As a result of this small settlement in Virginia, the settlers’ persistence would pay off when they would discover how easily the cash crop tobacco grows. In contrast, settlers would come to Massachusetts only to escape the “oppression” they felt. They disagreed with the Church of England in allowing Catholics and “hop[ing] to return the Catholic Church of England to the pope and to restore Catholic doctrines and
Being the first two well-known places in which the English would set out to colonize in 1607 and 1620, Jamestown, Virginia and Plymouth, Massachusetts hold very separate set of beliefs, standards, and outlooks on life then and the future to come. While paving the way for things such as slavery, taxes, ownership of land, inclusion of women, tobacco and government assemblies, John Smith and the people of Jamestown became a classical foundation for new life and economic growth for the new world that is, the United States. On the other hand, William Bradford and his people began to realize the intentions of the Church of England were unholy and had strayed away from God’s teachings from the Bible. With this in mind, the Pilgrims set on a voyage to the new world to seek religious freedom. As we know it, the Pilgrims sought for peace and a new way of living that was fair, just and free from religious corruptions.
In New England, religion played a huge part in there colonies, settlers in Massachusetts
The Pilgrims were interested in gaining wealth once they established their new colony. Years later, the Puritan started a colony in Massachusetts. The Puritans believed that everyone should study Christianity. The Pilgrims believe that everyone has a right to choose what religion that they want to and no one should be forced.
One thing it lacked was freedom. Although they did come to the country to experience a free life from Anglicism and Catholicism, the people who established in Massachusetts were the puritans. Puritans had a different way of life. Puritans were very religious Christian people who only let their leaders be puritans. If anyone in the colony were to disobey their way of life it would have caused great disputes in this colony.
Similar to Pennsylvania, many of the New England states were founded in order to grant people freedom of religion. The formation of Massachusetts was because many Puritans were looking to leave England's oppression; just as Roger Williams, who was against the Bay colony's religious restrictions, wanted to found Rhode Island to leave Massachusetts. The location of the New England colonies prevents settlers from finding many riches and its rocky terrain resulted in poor farming results compared to the middle colonies; therefore, New Jersey and New York's intentions for establishing their colony were far from those of the New England territories. Moreover, the New England colony of Massachusetts's religious motive was very similar to those of New York, while others, such as Rhode Island, were more like Pennsylvania's and New Jersey's. Just like New York's Dutch Reformed Church, the Bay Colony saw the members of their own church, the Congregational Church, as better than those who were not a part of it; They intended to control unchurched citizens.
The colonists wanted religious freedom. One reason they originally left England was to escape the Catholic Church. Some called themselves Puritans. They wanted the church and the state to be more separate.
New England’s founders were strict Puritans who did not have much tolerance for any religion except their own. Over time, as more and more immigrants came with increasingly diverse beliefs, the once stable foundation began to crack. Conflicts broke out and certain religious groups were banished which led to the development of other nearby colonies, for example Rhode Island and Connecticut. In the Chesapeake region, it was easier and there was not as much controversy over religion. The area started out as a refuge for Catholics, but over time many Protestants immigrated there and soon became the majority.
Although all the colonists all came from England, the community development, purpose, and societal make-up caused a distinct difference between two distinct societies in New England and the Chesapeake region. The distinctions were obvious, whether it be the volume of religious drive, the need or lack of community, families versus single settlers, the decision on minimal wage, whether or not articles of agreements were drawn for and titles as well as other social matters were drawn, as well as where loyalties lay in leaders. New England was, overall, more religious than the Chesapeake region. Settlers in New England were searching relief for religious persecution in Europe. Puritans, Quakers, and Catholics were coming in droves to America searching for an opportunity to have religious freedom.
King Charles refused to allow Puritans to criticize church actions” (Holt 46-47). The Puritans chartered the Massachusetts Bay Company to begin a sanctuary. The Puritans, led by John Winthrop set off in search of creating a devout christian community that they could govern and control to fit their practices. The new Puritan colonists were aware that they weren’t facing significant economic achievement by migrating to North America, as a matter of fact it would probably be less economic status than they previously had. Leaving allowed them more freedom to make decisions and govern in their own respect to their Puritan ideals.
New England’s economy would also be influenced by the British tax later that would cause Americans to revolt many of which trusted in their faith to guide them The Puritans who settled in Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630 were also motivated by religious beliefs. They believed in the idea of a "city upon a hill," a vision of a holy community that would serve as an example to the rest of the world (American YAWP, 2.6). This belief led to a strict social order and a commitment to the moral and spiritual purity of the community. It also led to conflicts with other religious groups, such as the Quakers, who were seen as a threat to the Puritan social order.
The, “Freedom from religious persecution motivated the Pilgrims to leave England...and settle in the New World.” [nps.gov]. The settlers did not agree with what the English government made them believe in. They wanted to have independence religiously, with a say, and the only place for this was the Massachusetts colony in the New World. In the colony, the settlers had the ability to believe what they wanted to in harmony without
