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Religion in early colonial America
Religion in early colonial America
Short note on puritanism
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Recommended: Religion in early colonial America
Between the early to mid 1600’s, British outcasts had begun to venture out to North America to seek religious freedom. However, many of these settlers weren’t making the perilous voyage across the Atlantic for solely religious reasons. The colony of New Haven was an organized settlement that was both religiously and economically inclined. However, despite their unity and good work ethic, the colony was unable to achieve much significance by the turn of the century. Ever since the colonists arrived in New Haven, they encountered many difficulties that at first thwarted them from creating a thriving economy, and eventually shattered what hopes they had of creating the strong and influential haven they had imagined (10,14).
Although New Haven did not develop into a prominent and successful colony, it began as a very organized and well-prepared undertaking. The settlers first came together in 1637 when John Davenport, a pastor persecuted by both the English and the Dutch due to his radical puritan beliefs, ultimately came to the conclusion that the optimal course of action would be to flee to the New World (1, conn the book pg. 47). Davenport yearned to pursue his beliefs somewhere his ideas would be accepted, and knowing that many were considering the same course of action in England, he recruited a group of Puritan families in England who were both devoutly religious, yet also were focused on making money. The group of 500 people that he eventually created consisted mainly of wealthy merchant class families who desired to practice their religion freely, while maintaining their comfortable lifestyle (14, the story of conn. Pg. 100). Once John Davenport had gathered a group of settlers who shared the same goals and beliefs, he h...
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Prince, Karl E. "NEW HAVEN COLONY." In Dictionary of American History, 59-60. 3rd ed. Vol. 6. NY, NY: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2003.
Shuman, R. Baird. John Davenport. http://history.salempress.com/doi/full/10.3331/GE17_1541016022?prevSearch=new%2Bhaven&searchHistoryKey=&queryHash=1048eb84cef3aefb01a9c6a3e46d93a2.
State of New Hampshire. "A Brief History of New Hampshire." New Hampshire. Last modified 2011. Accessed March 22, 2014. http://www.nh.gov/nhinfo/history.html.
Waters, T. F. "Blue Laws." In Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia. 6th ed. N.p.: Columbia University Press, 1962.
———. "John Winthrop, 1606–76, Colonial Governor in America." In Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia. 6th ed. N.p.: Columbia University Press, 1962.
———. "Theophilus Eaton." In Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia. 6th ed. N.p.: Columbia University Press, 1962.
Smith, Carter. Daily Life, A Sourcebook on Colonial America: The Millbrook Press, Brookfield, Connecticut 1991
A fundamental difference between the New England and Southern colonies was the motives of the founders. In 1606, the Virginia Company was formed, motivated primarily by the promise ...
John Winthrop was given the role of Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, which was the first major settlement, and his original aim as governor of this land was to make the colony a democracy. The Massachusetts Bay Colony was a successful settlement thanks to the group of governors and leaders the colony had. Even though Winthrop did not succeed making the Massachusetts Bay Colony a democratic colony he was still a great leader because of his leadership skills, he was one of the most educated men in “the new world”, and his determination for success, which helped push the colony in a positive way.
This chapter, “Three Old Worlds Create a New, 1492 – 1600,” covers the social, political and economic events that occurred in the worlds that made up America between 1492 and 1600. This chapter explores the history of the small societies that became the United States in broad contest of European exploration and exploitation. There existed conflicts between European kingdoms and this led to interest in colonies that strengthened the emerging nations. The curiosity of Europeans helped introduce them to African and American societies that had evolved over the centuries. The social and cultural collisions of these worlds changed and profoundly influenced Western history.
Smith, John. "Settlement Of Jamestown - 1607." The National Center for Public Policy Research. http://www.nationalcenter.org/SettlementofJamestown
Winthrop’s Boston: A Portrait of a Puritan Town, 1630 - 1649 by Darret B. Rutman seemed to be a long and excruciating read. The book had a great deal of information that the reader could learn from it, but most was lost when trying to stay awake to read it. On the other hand, Rutman had the concept down. The importance should be put on the idea behind the book because if you are interested in the idea you will gain knowledge. Nonetheless this book shows you the circumstances that Winthrop faced, what the founder of Boston fought through to create “The City on the Water”.
It was not until the 1700s that the thirteen colonies finally started to flourish on their own. The east coast of North America was soon booming with success. But the Northern and Southern colonies’ did not take exactly the same routes in order to reach success. The Southern and Northern colonies began to show similarities in immigration and social structure and began to show differences in their economy.
New Haven and Connecticut were two other colonies founded exclusively for Religious purposes. Many of the Separatists in Massachusetts felt that the religion was too liberal inside of the colony. They felt that the beliefs were not being enforced enough and that the people were not living through literal interpretations of the Bible. These Separatists further separated themselves from Massachusetts and formed a new colony, New Haven.
Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1998. Cook, Don. The Long Fuse: How England Lost the American Colonies, 1760-1785. New York: The Atlantic Monthly Press, 1995. Cummings, William P., and Hugh Rankin.
Stick, David. Roanoke Island: The Beginnings of English America. Chapel Hill: U of North Carolina P, 1983. Print.
As the regions began to expand and develop, their motivations for settlement helped to mold their societies. New England was a place where men sought refuge from religious persecution and was established as a haven for religious refugees. Despite this reason for settling, the New Englanders still attempted to spread their own beliefs of religion. As illustrated by John Winthrop in his Model of a Christian Charity, he preached to his fellow colonists that “we shall be a city upon a hill” (Doc A) exemplifying the Puritans’ aspirations of a Holy Utopia. He and countless other New Englanders practiced the belief that they must all work together. They were determined to “mourn together, labor and suffer together, always having before our eyes our commission and community in the work.” The Articles of Agreement plainly laid out the basis for the New England region. These articles made New England a cosmopolitan mix of rich and poor families, all being in possession of land and resolute in doing God’s work (Doc D). However, while the New Englanders settled to create a Holy Utopia, the people of the Chesapeake were concerned not only with their religious freedom, but also ...
...ve Indians. From the copious use of examples in Winthrop's work, and the concise detail in Rowlandson's narrative, one can imbibe such Puritans values as the mercy of God, place in society, and community. Together, these three elements create a foundation for Puritan thought and lifestyle in the New World. Though A Model of Christian Charity is rather prescriptive in its discussion of these values, Rowlandson's captivity narrative can certainly be categorized as descriptive; this pious young woman serves as a living example of Winthrop's "laws," in that she lives the life of a true Puritan. Therefore, both 17th century works are extremely interrelated; in order to create Winthrop's model community, one must have faith and closely follow Puritan ideals, as Rowlandson has effectively done in her A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson.
Born in Austerfield England in 1590, William Bradford, orphaned at an early age, raised by several relatives, and with no formal education, became one of the most influential men of the original American Colonists, and is credited as the “Father of American history,” with his diaries of the Pilgrims’ journey and struggles to America. “Of Plymouth Plantation” the journals of William Bradford are still one of the major resources used for historians for this time in history. (Schoenberg, 2001)
In “ A Description of New England ”, Smith starts by describing the pleasure and content that risking your life for getting your own piece of land brings to men. On the other hand, Bradford reminds us how harsh and difficult the trip to the New World was for the p...
The Sovereignty and Goodness of God is a primary source document written in the 17th century, by a well-respected, Puritan woman. This book, written in cahoots with Cotton and Increase Mather, puritan ministers, tells the story of her capture by Indians during King Phillip’s War (1675-1676). For three months, Mary Rowlandson, daughter of a rich landowner, mother of three children, wife of a minister, and a pillar of her community lived among “savage” Indians. This document is important for several reasons. First, it gives us insight into the attitudes, extremes, personalities and “norms” of the Puritan people we learn about in terms of their beliefs, and John Calvin’s “house on a hill”. Beyond that, despite the inevitable exaggerations, this book gives us insight into Indian communities, and how they were run and operated during this time.