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Chesapeake colonies and puritan colony differences
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Chesapeake colonies and puritan colony differences
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In the book “American past and present” written by Robert A. Divine et al. its said “Simply because a person happened to live in a certain com- munity did not mean he or she automatically belonged to the local church” (39). And also they didn’t have the freedom to have an opinion to make their colony better “The mag- istrates elected in Massachusetts did not believe they represented the voters, much less the whole populace. They ruled in the name of the electorate, but their responsibility as rulers was to God” (39). Citizens of the colony were living there with out any choice of how the rules have to be.
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.
The Virginia Colony vs. The Massachusetts Bay Colony Throughout the 17th century, England sent many colonists to settle in the New World. Later on, the two colonies formed the nation America. This doesn’t mean they began with the same ideals and motives. The motivations and reasons for the founding of the Virginia and Massachusetts Bay colonies varied greatly.
The Puritans of colonial times were rapidly increasing and experiencing a time of great success in the implementation of a large scale Puritan community, but their achievement did not happen overnight. With religious zeal the Puritans sought to create an ideal society in the New World where the their way of life was law and they could become a model christian community for the world. In order for the Puritans to achieve their goals they needed a united and, therefore, strictly controlled community, and they found that community in New England. In New England they organized a unified and strictly controlled political, economic, and social structure dominated by religion in order to achieve the Puritan dream.
The New England colonies were made with the aspiration to escape commotion and disorder of England, with their sights set to found a formal, clean, Puritan society. Their society was strict conformity, fines were issued for breaking Sabbath by smoking or even stopping by to see friends. Strict dress codes were given, including a ban on wearing flashy ceremonious clothing to your own wedding and a ban was put on all games, such as: cards and dice. The land was distributed between wealthy families and the government was considered to be ruled by the people, well, the men; considering they were the only people allowed to vote. This was called a self government and was managed primarily by the male church members.
In creating a new community, the citizens cannot be constantly worried about perceptions, and sometimes have to put the good of the community over their own personal agenda, something that was lacking in the creation of Massachusetts Colony. An additional problem that the Puritans faced was the importance and influence that money had over the community. Money was seen as a sign of God’s grace, so the more money any individual had the more they believed that God favored that individual. This created an unhealthy image of money and distorted the previous genuine piety that citizens of the Massachusetts Colony had in their
Their government was a blend of theocracy and modern democracy. They wanted to build a government in which church and government had the same power: “In the creation of their colony the Puritans wished to be sure that the same sort of situation where the church was dominated by the government would not occur in their colony as it had in England, however at the same time they wished to create a ‘city upon a hill’” (The Puritans: Church and State).Puritans wanted to create a city that everyone else in the world looks up to. The colonial law provided some basic laws that let people elect their leaders only if they were a member of the church. All the members of the government had to attend church and pay their taxes to the church.
The New Englanders took religion seriously, making unitary laws according to Puritan standards. John Winthrop, later chosen as the first Massachusetts Bay Colony governor, was seeking religious freedom. Wishing to inspire the colonists to dwell in brotherly unity, he summoned them together to remind them “that if we [colonists] shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken, and so cause Him to withdraw His present help from us, we shall be made a story and a by-word through the world.” On the other hand, those in the Chesapeake region came for the wealth that America promised. They were there to become prosperous or die trying.
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.
The Puritans were a strong unified religious community that centered their lives and their community on a specific set of beliefs. They believed that life was a test and those who passed this test would not only be successful, but also be delivered to holy blessedness all their lives and in the next. On the other hand, those who failed this test would face the consequences of a life damned by the devil. Notably in addition to that belief, they were God’s advocates and God’s law were their political laws. One specific facet of the Puritan belief system discussed in this paper is religious exclusiveness.
With these words, John Winthrop succinctly laid out the covenant he and his congregation was making with God: God had given the Puritans this New Land, had given them His blessing, and in return expected them to carry out His mission. The Puritans viewed the New World “...simultaneously as a nourishing mother and an undefiled virgin...providing material plenty, perennial good health, and moral purity against a backdrop of Edenic Lusciousness” (Bercovitch, 137). If Winthrop's congregation failed their mission, then “the Lord will surely break out in wrath against us, and be revenged of such a people, and make us know the price of the breach of such a covenant“(Winthrop). This holy mission uniquely assigned to the Puritans in the New World represents the foundations of American Exceptionalism, that America is a special nation, unique in purpose, superior in morality and action, and blessed by God Himself: America is part of God's plan, and America has vital roles to play and missions to
The Puritans believed that God defeated the Natives for the Puritans to save them from harm. Although both writings depict this all-powerful version of God, they characterize God vastly differently. In “Of Plymouth Plantation,” God is described as merciful and benevolent. The Puritans were convinced that their safe arrival in America was because of God: “Being thus arrived in a good harbor, and brought safe to land, they fell upon their knees and blessed the God of Heaven who had brought them over the vast and furious ocean, and delivered them from all the perils and miseries thereof” (4) They immediately praised their kind god for protecting them from the sea. Furthermore, when the Puritans found seeds of beans and corn left by the Natives, they praised god for not letting them starve.
Puritans were Christians who had to follow their lives according to the bible. In Winthrop’s speech, he informs the people that God is with them, but like England if they failed to create a godly society than they will face the “wrath of god.” Winthrop’s focus in this speech is to urge people to be caring, loving, and selfless for the sake of the godly mission; So they can truly succeed. He also wants to have equality among everyone in terms of wealth to create natural community of faith so that religious believes are not forced upon anyone. Winthrop continuously tells people to become caring, loving, and selfless, instead of saying that they already are all those things.
He still insists that, the civil government should not interfere with religious affairs and never should the promotion of religion rely on the use of force. Part 1 1 The purpose of the establishment of Massachusetts Bay Colony was to have an attempt to Religious Freedom, to enjoy religious leadership in matters of worship. They had their purchases extended three miles north of the Merrimack River, and three miles south of Charles River, and east and west from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean.
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.”
