Puritan Influence On The New England Colonies

In the 1630's and the 1640's, the Puritans traveled to the colonies to detach from their opinion of a convoluted Church of England. They set up towns and started new lives that were all based on their idea of a pure religion. The Puritan's definition of a pure religion did not include many of the ideas of the Church of England. They built the colonies and made a system based upon the idea that God was the most important aspect of life. Puritan ideas and values influenced the political, economic, and social development of the New England colonies from 1630 through the 1660’s by spreading their beliefs into every facet of daily life. Politically their ideas regarding what was considered sinful behavior and how power was separated among the

Both New England and Chesapeake regions took the initiative to strive for a successful social, economic, and political system. Socially, colonists that occupied the New England region and those that settled in the Chesapeake area were opposites. The New England community was in control by Puritans, which created a strict social code but help develop a prosperous economy. The Puritan valued social equality, and as John Winthrop, the governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony wrote, ““…[Yet] we must be knit together in this work as one man...willing to abridge ourselves of our superfluities, for the supply of others’ necessities…labor and suffer together... The eyes of all people are upon us…” (Document A) This belief created social unity and closeness in the New England area, an aspect that was not available in the Chesapeake and Southern colonies. Many that travelled to the North often arrived in the New World with family. Arriving with such family helped with the increased height of the Great Migration. With many people it would be easy to organize towns and villages. The families in these areas would seek order and stability to help one another. We can see the primary purpose of Puritan society, is built on large, unified families that will

Puritans’ Effects on New England Colonies Throughout the 1600s, the New England colonies rapidly developed in many aspects. The development of the colonies was greatly affected by the Puritans— a group of English Reformed Protestants hoping to model a perfect Christian society. Their values and philosophies led to the political, economic, and social development of the New England colonies. Politically, the Puritans’ representative government would later result in the establishment of the governing system still in place in the United States today. Economically, the idea of a part-to-whole ratio for Puritan communities was recreated throughout the colonies.

As England became increasingly unbearable to a variety of faiths, people such as the Puritans began to look to the New World as a haven. Eventually multitudes of Puritans flooded the east coast, mainly inhabiting the New England colonies. Though many factors contributed to characteristics that defined the New England colonies, Puritan values caused the colonies to grow and expand throughout the 1600’s. Their belief in a driven and productive lifestyle gave New England surprising economical success that was the envy of the English empire. Additionally, Puritan values of religion and the importance of education affected their social interactions with the Native Americans and intelligence of the New England community. Finally, Puritan values

In the new colony, Puritans could make and enforce their own laws. These laws included things such as; Meeting houses in the middle of villages, children were required to go to school to be able to read the bible, and many other laws they saw were necessary in their community. They established their government as a theocracy, meaning there was no separation in religion and state. Puritans also enforced anyone living on their land to have the same religious beliefs or they were not allowed to own land. This caused issues between the ingenious people living in the area, such as small tribes including; Wampanoag, Pequot, Nipmuck, and the Massachuset. They saw the Native-Americans living in the area as inferior but were convinced they could convert

The Salem Witch Trials was an event that took place in colonial Massachusetts between 1692 and 1693. During this time, more than 200 residents were accused of practicing and participating in the Devils magic better known as witchcraft. Out of these 200 people, 20 were put to death. After these horrible events had been carried out, the colony admitted the trials were a mistake and helped salvage the families that had been effected by the events. So why did these trials take place? It had everything to do with the events that were happening within the Puritan community beginning in the 1300s. During this time in history Puritan beliefs and religious practices were held so high to their community

Church was the foundation of life in New England. People in Massachusetts were Puritans colonists seeking freedom and religious acceptance by leaving England. The Puritan lifestyle was self-controlled and firmly enforced. Since Puritans were expected to live by a resistant code; they believed that all sins committed should be punished and that God would punish sinful behavior. When someone went against their codes, Puritans saw it as God’s will to not help them. In keeping up with the Puritan code of obedience, the many women to be accused of witchcraft in Salem were seen as divergent and social

The Salem Witch Trials brought havoc among the citizens of Salem, Massachusetts starting in 1692. Many of the people within the town continued to have strong loyalties to their new Puritan religion and their old king back home. The church of England had moved away from the Catholic religion with the help of King Henry VIII and the Puritans were a new group of people who accepted the split from Catholicism but still believed that the church of England had a lot of aspects that remained with the Catholic religion. Despite this, loyalty to the king remained strong because the Puritans were not looking to break off from the Church of England instead they wanted to reform the religion and make it their own. These loyalties stretched to such an extent that any sin committed was also considered an act of treason and thus punished. The Salem community was constantly searching for evil within their town to prove their righteousness to God which lead to high rates of fear and paranoia in their daily lives. The strict Puritan religion soon became the root cause of the monstrous imagination that started to form within the community of Salem. Many people still feared the presence of Catholic ideas within their communities and in response were willing to go to any extent to irradiate these views. Some historians also account the beginning of the trials to divisions within the two towns of Salem that lead to tensions and turmoil between the townsmen. But without the increased belief in their new religion, women around town wouldn’t have been persecuted. The strict belief in the Puritan religion and culture was the root cause of fear and paranoia that led to the mass execution of many women and townspeople during the Salem Witch Trials.

Puritanism and the Salem Witch Trials started in 1692. Many people wonder what the Puritanism and Salem Witch Trials are. Puritanism is the act of colonists who had left England seeking religious tolerance. Puritanism and the Salem Witch Trials were a very important movemnt in history. The Salem Witch Trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. The Salem Witch Trials started due to a group of young girls from Salem Village, Massachusetts.

The Puritans encountered many hardships during the 17th century. These included traveling to the New World, fighting in King Phillip’s War, and questioning their belief in God at times. The Puritans were one of the religious groups who believed The Church of England needed purification. The other group representing this notion called themselves Pilgrims. The Pilgrims differentiated themselves from the Puritans because the Pilgrims believed The Church of England corrupted itself too deeply, and could not be purified from within. The Pilgrims wished to separate themselves from The Church of England, causing the Pilgrims to also be called separatists. The Puritans, however, wanted to purify The Church of England from within. Consequently, the

The New England colonies development was influenced upon the arrival of the Puritans. The Puritans brought with them many ideas and values to help better the colonies. One of the political ideas the Puritans had were town meetings which was a form of democracy. Economically, the Puritans were big on trading, fishing and farming. Also one of the main reasons the Puritans came to the New World was to purify the churches which impacted the colonies socially. The ideas and values of the Puritans influenced the development of the New England colonies politically by having the first pure form of democracy, economically by trading and farming, and socially by purifying the churches.

Religious uniformity was very important as they were intolerant of any other religion, and only church members were part of the government at first. Citizens were required to attend Church services as part of the law. Most of the people in New England had been merchants or small farmers in England. In New England however, the rocky soil made it hard for a lot of farming, so the Puritans turned to the coast. They built up major industries such as shipbuilding and fishing, and established trade routes with England, and the Caribbean. The New Englanders were a very pious and hardworking people, very different from their southern neighbours.

The Salem Witch Trials is an infamous event due to its bizarre and seemingly hysteric circumstances. Eric Foner contributes this incident to Europe’s growing population as well as the replication of English hierarchical social structure in the colonies. I believe that the established social class influenced the Salem Witch Trials to some extent, but the series of trials and executions were caused more by general social and economic tension in the colonies during the 17th century. Those who lived in Salem during 1692 faced numerous hardships. Work was incessant and exhausting- duties including making clothes, raising livestock, and farming in harsh climates and rough terrain. Most families had to be self-sufficient and upkeep strict Puritan values. A recent smallpox epidemic, growing small-town rivalry, and an influx of political conflict in a colony teetering between governments. The constant threat from nearby Native American tribes also magnified the Puritans’ irrational fear.

The Salem witch trials had a drastic affect on the Puritan religion. The trials helped shape and point the direction for the New England Colonies and the Puritan religion. The Salem witch trials outbreak began in 1692. In the past, there had only been about five convictions of people being accused of witchcraft; none of this resulted in any deaths(Wilborn 16). Usually just a fine was given, but by the end of 1692 there was already 150 arrests (17). Whether you were rich or poor, it didn’t seem to matter, anyone and everyone was being accused. No one felt safe at this time (Trask ix).

Puritans left England in large numbers during the 1600’s with the goal of creating a God centered community where citizens worked together in all aspects of life (Butler, Wacker, and Balmer, 2003). Likewise, as stated in Religion in America: A Reader (1998), William Penn planned for Pennsylvania to be a place where people could serve the Lord and Quakers would be an example of Christian values. Although there were differences in beliefs between the two religions, the basic moral values were very much aligned. Whereas the intolerance of the Puritans led to the division of the religion and creation of new factions , the religious tolerance of the Quakers led to contention from within and outside of the religion. It seems that America was founded on religious values and yet the multitude of beliefs led to a diverse culture which saw a diminishing desire to seek and follow the will of God. Has religious freedom led to a stronger America or has religion become so splintered that many Americans lack the desire to serve anyone other than themselves? As Americans we have the freedom to practice whatever religion we choose, but we are a far cry from having religious tolerance as is evidenced by the abundance of hate crimes in the news every day.