Theocracy: The Puritans In The Massachusetts Bay

310 Words1 Page

The Puritans were a group of people that withstood a government called Theocracy that consisted of several different advantages and disadvantages to the lives of the followers. In the 1630s a group of english Puritans in the Massachusetts Bay conformed to a self government, that was extremely religious. The lives of the participants were intensely moral and theoretical. In the Massachusetts Bay it was known as a mens world, correlating women had zero participation in town meetings, or in new church rules. “Puritans ministers furthered male supremacy in their writings and sermons. They preached that the soul had two parts, the immortal masculine half, and the mortal feminine half”(Independence Hall Association). Man lived a life of thriving

Show More
Related

  • Stephen Foster's Puritanism And Democracy: A Mixed Legacy

    551 Words  | 2 Pages

    The puritans traveled from England on the Arabella in January of 1630 to escape to a place where they could instill their own religious and political values into their society; Stephen Foster writes about the puritans in the narrative entitled Puritanism and Democracy: A mixed Legacy. Stephen grants the puritans with creating a society based off of religious freedom and reformation of the English church. Their social constructs consisted of hierarchies and accepted inequality. The puritans are credited with laying the foundation to the democratic system of America along with early aspects of political and social constructs found in current day America.

    Read More

  • The Puritan Dilemma Analysis

    662 Words  | 2 Pages

    Edmund S. Morgan's book, "The Puritan Dilemma", is an account of the events encountered by John Winthrop's mission of creating a city on a hill. Winthrop leads and directs the Massachusetts Bay Company, to the new world, while trying to find a solution to the Puritan dilemma, which was how they were going to live in the world while trying to live up to the ideals in the Bible. These ideals lead John Winthrop to propose the creation of a “city on a hill”. His proposition involves reforming the Church of England, in the new world, by purifying the church of all its flaws. It would create a citadel of God’s chosen people, the kind of society that God demanded of all His servants. According to Winthrop, "They should be purified of their unregenerate members, their heretical clergymen, their unwarranted ceremonies, their bishops, and archbishops, but they were nevertheless churches and must be embraced as churches". (Morgan, 27) Winthrop continues to emphasize that they have been selected by God, like Israel of old, to serve as a model society to others; they would be a “city on a hill” for everyone to see and observe.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast The Thirteen Colonies

    1142 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Puritans settled this colony and had strict religious beliefs and rules and harsh punishments as well. Church was mandatory and missing it could result in a fine. The church was also patrolled by a man who held a long pole; one end consisted of feathers used to tickle the chins of old men who fell asleep and the other end was a hard wooden knob to alert children who giggled or slept. The Puritans believed that God decided each person’s fate at birth and nothing could be done to change it. Hangings and whippings were common punishments in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. In addition, the church held almost all of the power. Even though ministers were not allowed to hold political office, the clergy made the majority of the important decisions. Lastly, the Massachusetts Bay Colony was truly a man’s world. Women were not included in town meetings or decision making. They were to be patient, prudent, silent, fruitful, etc. The overall attitude of the Puritans seems to be that they are better than everyone else. They considered themselves “a model of Christian Charity” and stated their purpose to be “as a city upon a hill, the eyes of all people are upon us.” These traits seem to be characteristic of the oppressive ways of England that many colonists were trying to be free from. As a woman who enjoys her rights and freedoms, I would not want to live in the Massachusetts Bay

    Read More

  • The People of Boston and Their Connection to God

    768 Words  | 2 Pages

    Because of the destroying angel standing over the Town, a day of prayer is needed that we may prepare to meet our God.'' – Cotton Mather, 1721

    Read More

  • William Bradford

    416 Words  | 1 Pages

    The puritans were very religious. They wanted to show everyone what happens if you are good and believe in god and the heavens. If you do bad things you would be punished or be killed. If you do good things you can be hand chosen to go to heaven.

    Read More

  • The Puritan Family

    670 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Puritan religion had a surprisingly strong claim for the men and women who are hypersensitive to the disturbing forces that transform England in the middle of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Marriages remain far longer in their lives also the Puritan’s family in the beginning of the seventeenth century New England was more stabilized, adapted, and connected unit also the young Puritans was taught in mixture of constructive parts and the girls was taught as a housewife just like their mothers their lives were complicated.

    Read More

  • Religion in Colonial America

    1514 Words  | 4 Pages

    Religion was the foundation of the early Colonial American Puritan writings. Many of the early settlements were comprised of men and women who fled Europe in the face of persecution to come to a new land and worship according to their own will. Their beliefs were stalwartly rooted in the fact that God should be involved with all facets of their lives and constantly worshiped. These Puritans writings focused on their religious foundations related to their exodus from Europe and religions role in their life on the new continent. Their literature helped to proselytize the message of God and focused on hard work and strict adherence to religious principles, thus avoiding eternal damnation. These main themes are evident in the writings of Jonathan Edwards, Cotton Mathers, and John Winthrop. This paper will explore the writings of these three men and how their religious views shaped their literary works, styles, and their historical and political views.

    Read More

  • A Model of Christian Charity

    1596 Words  | 4 Pages

    In 1630, the Massachusetts Bay Company set sail to the New World in hope of reforming the Church of England. While crossing the Atlantic, John Winthrop, the puritan leader of the great migration, delivered perhaps the most famous sermon aboard the Arbella, entitled “A Model of Christian Charity.” Winthrop’s sermon gave hope to puritan immigrants to reform the Church of England and set an example for future immigrants. The Puritan’s was a goal to get rid of the offensive features that Catholicism left behind when the Protestant Reformation took place. Under Puritanism, there was a constant strain to devote your life to God and your neighbors. Unlike the old England, they wanted to prove that New England was a community of love and individual worship to God. Therefore, they created a covenant with God and would live their lives according to the covenant. Because of the covenant, Puritans tried to abide by God’s law and got rid of anything that opposed their way of life. Between 1630 and the 18th century, the Puritans tried to create a new society in New England by creating a covenant with God and living your life according to God’s rule, but in the end failed to reform the Church of England. By the mid 1630’s, threats to the Puritans such as Roger Williams, Anne Hutchinson, and Thomas Hooker were being banned from the Puritan community for their divergent beliefs. 20 years later, another problem arose with the children of church members and if they were to be granted full membership to the church. Because of these children, a Halfway Covenant was developed to make them “halfway” church members. And even more of a threat to the Puritan society was their notion that they were failing God, because of the belief that witches existed in 1692.

    Read More

  • Winthrop and Rowlandson: Common Puritan Ideals

    1986 Words  | 4 Pages

    During the 17th century, many Puritans set sail for New England in order to escape religious persecution and re-create an English society that was accepting of the Puritan faith. John Winthrop, an educated lawyer from England who later became governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, was one of the first in North America to advocate Puritan ideals and lifestyle. Winthrop delivered his sermon A Model of Christian Charity, in hopes of encouraging his shipmates to establish a truly spiritual community abroad. Almost fifty years later, a Puritan named Mary Rowlandson, daughter of a wealthy landowner and wife of a minister, wrote A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson, describing her 11-week captivity by native Indians after an attack on Lancaster. Rowlandson recounts her story with heroism and appreciation for God. Although John Winthrop and Mary Rowlandson were in entirely different situations when composing their literary works, both writings reflect many of the same ideals that characterize the Puritan mind, such as the belief in God's mercy, the acceptance of one's condition in life, and the importance of a strong community.

    Read More

  • Women and Families of Puritan Society

    612 Words  | 2 Pages

    Woman and family roles are considerably different today than they were back in Puritan times. Puritans thought that the public’s foundation rested on the “little commonwealth”, and not merely on the individual. The “little commonwealth” meant that a father’s rule over his family mirrored God’s rule over creation or a king over his subjects. John Winthrop believed that a “true wife” thought of herself “in [weakness] to her husband’s authority.” As ludicrous as this idea may appeal to women and others in today’s society, this idea was truly necessary for colonies to be able to thrive and maintain social order.

    Read More

  • Intolerance and The Puritans

    1083 Words  | 3 Pages

    When facing fear, the human race is more predictable than it would like to think. People act irrationally when confronted with threats from an unknown enemy, and quickly try to identify the source of their fear, by blaming others. These others are often outcasts, or people that are different than the norm, which is defined by society. The reaction to these adversaries is quick, and often very harsh. This type of intolerance has occurred throughout history, first in the Salem witch trials, then the Red Scare and McCarthyism, and most recently, the war on terror.

    Read More

  • Puritan Challenges

    398 Words  | 1 Pages

    How many people in this current generation like to complain about the difficulty of living without a privileged need? There are multiple people out there who actually complain. In fact, the Puritans faced multiple challenges in the beginning of their arrival. The greatest challenges the Puritans had to face were the lack of medical supplies for illness, shelter, and food.

    Read More

  • The Foolish Puritans of The Scarlet Letter

    1782 Words  | 4 Pages

    by the Puritans result in a fit of outrage by Pearl. One reason that the

    Read More

  • The Katherine Branch Witch Trials

    318 Words  | 1 Pages

    One important aspect of Puritan society was their close knit sense of community. In Stamford, Connecticut, a town of only 500 people, many houses were bundled together near the meeting house so that the neighbors would be able to easily look after each other. The trials soon divided many of the once close neighbors.

    Read More

  • Puritanism Research Paper

    529 Words  | 2 Pages

    Religion was a priority in the lifestyle of Puritan Salem. Puritanism was a worldview of devout conformity. Puritans believed that each person had a divine mission that could only be discovered in a zealous manner. They thought the nature of man is of moral deficiency and corruption inheritably by Adam and Eve. They valued simplicity, forbidding excess and luxury. Puritans established autonomous, parish churches and a system of government that was based on the moral code of God through reward and punishment.

    Read More

More about Theocracy: The Puritans In The Massachusetts Bay

Open Document