The Puritan Religion’s Influence on Children

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While the current child considers their life to be stressful and busy, the children of the Puritan religion had much more to be worried about, on top of all of their daily activities. The adults in the community looked down upon the children that represented the devil and his works. Children were born with the burden of Adam’s sin, and they must be broken from sinning. By the time that the children were five, they were put to work, to contribute to the family. Most children were small, and able to help with the weeding of plants and house work. After an early morning work session, most children would attend school. Schooling was very important to the Puritans because they believed that the devil would influence anyone you was easy enough to trick. Schooling was not available for everyone, and only taught the basic skills needed, reading and writing. Since schooling was a privilege, it was much more strict. Meaning that if a child were to mess around, they would be humiliated in front of the class. Even after a long day of; work, bible lessons, and schooling, the children were still allowed a small amount of play time. Once they had learned these basic skills, it was off to work and to follow in their parents tracks. There was no middle stage between being a child and adult, they were forced right into the adult life. This would force the children into a miserable life, that many would hate living. Most children did not want to follow in their parents footsteps, so there was another burden put onto the small shoulders an innocent child. And thus, the tragedies of Salem, in 1692, were caused by the strict rules of the Puritan Religion. The church would become the dictator of the Salem community. There were many rules set in st... ... middle of paper ... ...an Children in Exile. Maryland: Heritage Books Inc., 2002. Print. Norton, Mary Beth. In the Devil’s Snare. New York: Vintage Books Inc., 2002. Print. Gaustad, Edwin Scott. A Religious History of America. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1990. Print. Linder, Douglas. “The Witchcraft Trials in Salem: A Commentary.” University of Missouri-Kansas. October, 2009. Web. 28 March 2014. Campbell, Donna M. “Puritanism in New England.” Washington State University. 4 Aug. 2013. Web. 28 March 2014. None. “People and Ideas: The puritans.” Public Broadcasting Service. 2014. Web. 28 March 2014. None. “Puritan LIfe.” U.S. History Online Textbook. 1 April 2014. Web. 7 April 2014 None. “Salem Witch Trials.” Discovery Education. 2014. Web. 27 March 2014. Sayles, Jameka K. “Child Life in the New England Colonies.” Yale-New Haven Institute. 2 March 2006. Web. 8 April 2014.

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