Unit 1: American Beginnings

Puritan New England

Puritan

Puritan

New England today includes Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine and Rhode Island in the Northeast of the United States. The second enduring English settlement was established in Massachusetts Bay in 1620. It was founded by English puritans who separated themselves from the Church of England. As mentioned above, King Henry VIII cut off the political relationship with the Pope in Rome and set up the Church of England, but there was no reform in religious beliefs and practices. A group of people thought that the Church of England was too catholic and wanted to "purify" the church, hence the name "puritans". These puritans were Protestants who followed the doctrine preached by John Calvin. They had some different religious beliefs from the Catholic Church. They believed that God was incomprehensible to man, and the power of God was all-knowing, yet hidden and unknown to man, while Catholics believed that God could be reached through his representative on the earth—the Pope. Puritan salvation was different from that of Catholics. Puritans were convinced that human beings were predestined by God before they were born. Some were God's chosen people while others were predestined to be damned to hell. Therefore no good works could save anyone, and nobody knew if he or she was God's elect. But Catholics argued that a person could confess his or her sin, do good works and give money to the church and buy back his or her soul. Was there any evidence for Puritans to show that some people were God's chosen people? Puritans believed that everyone had a calling, which was given by God. The success of one's work or the prosperity in his calling was the sign of being God's elect. Therefore, everyone must work hard, spend little and invest for more business. Working hard and living a moral life were their ethics. How could Puritans find God's will and establish a direct contact with God? They concluded that the Bible was the authority of their doctrine. So every Puritan must read the Bible in order to find God's will and search for one's individual contact with God. To be able to read the Bible and understand God's will, education was essential for Puritans.

Such Puritan beliefs were heretical to the Church of England, so they were cruelly persecuted. Some of them were thrown into prison and even executed for their religious beliefs. Some of them fought back and started the English Revolution. Oliver Cromwell, one of the Puritans, became the revolutionary leader, overthrew the monarchy, had King Charles I beheaded and founded a

Cromwell			Charles I

Boston City

republic. Some other Puritans thought that England was too corrupted and hopeless and decided to separate themselves from England. They fled to Holland where there was religious freedom. There they were allowed to meet and hold their services without interference. But as foreigners, they were not allowed to join the Dutch guilds of craftsmen, and so they had to work long and hard at unskilled and poorly paid jobs. They were further troubled as their children began to speak Dutch, marry into Dutch families, and lose their Englishness. Some of the Puritans decided to move again, this time across the Atlantic, where they might find an opportunity for a happier living and also worship as they pleased. The leaders of this group of Puritans found the necessary funds for the voyage from some merchants in London. In 1620, 35 Puritans and 67 non-Puritans took the ship Mayflower and left Holland for North America. Before they reached their destination, one of the Pilgrim Fathers drew up an agreement which was called Roger Williams and was signed by 41 of the passengers. They formed their own religious community and set up a civil government for the general good of the colony they were going to found in the new land. They settled at Plymouth, Massachusetts. A much larger Puritan colony was established in the Boston area in 1630 and by 1635 more Puritan settlers were migrating to nearby Connecticut.

Mayflower

Roger Williams

Puritanism in New England changed gradually due to the frontier environment and the mobility of the population. As time went on, many of the new generations no longer adhered to the orthodox Puritanism. Many moved to the West and other parts of the United States. Today, Puritans are no longer in existence. But their legacies are still felt in American society and culture. For example, the Puritans hoped to build "a city upon hill" an ideal community. Since that time, Americans have viewed their country as a great experiment, a worthy model for other nations. This sense of mission has been very strong in the minds of many Americans. New England also established another American tradition—a strain of often intolerant moralism. The Puritans believed that governments should enforce God's morality. They strictly punished drunks, adulterers, violators of the Sabbath and other religious believers different from themselves. Roger Williams, one of the Puritans who protested that the state should not interfere with religion, was driven out of Massachusetts. In 1635, he set up Rhode Island colony, which guaranteed religious freedom and the separation of church and state. The Puritans also have left rich cultural heritage to future Americans. The American values such as individualism, hard work, respect of education owe very much to the Puritan beliefs.

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