Puritan Roots, Economy, Relations with the Natives, Culture/Social Structure/Everyday Life, Government

 Persecution in England:  The Church of England did not allow for religious freedom of the Puritan faith.  Puritans practiced their faith underground or moved to Holland where there was more tolerance.  Why did the Church of England dislike the Puritans?  They challenged the authority of the Church of England.  In the Church of England, the absolute authority in the Church is the King or Queen, just like the Pope is the absolute leader of the Catholic Church.  Puritans Believe in The Absolute Sovereignty of God  Only God has absolute power and authority over mankind and all of creation  Supreme Authority of the Bible  The Bible is God’s word given to Mankind and should be followed strictly and absolutely.  Humans should do ONLY what the Bible COMMANDS.

 Predestination  God is all-powerful and all-knowing.  Therefore, he already knows if a person is going to Heaven or Hell.  In other words, from the beginning of time, the soul of every Human is PREDETERMINED by GOD to be saved or condemned.  Nothing that you do on Earth changes your destination because your destination has been predetermined.  Therefore, mankind is completely dependent on God for salvation; it cannot be earned.  So why do the Puritans behave if their behavior had no impact on their salvation?

 In order to avoid temptation and sin, Puritans tried to live as purely and as simply as possible.  Their entire colony was set up as an experiment to create a “City Upon a Hill,” or a shining example of purity that all of the world’s Christians could look up to and imitate.  They believe in hard work, piety, education, faith, and family.  This attitude fundamentally shapes New England.

 Farming and Ranching  Relatively poor soil and difficulty in removing trees and rocks led to small farms.  Animals such as sheep and pigs did better than large animals.  Trade  Plenty of hardwood trees  lumber  shipbuilding  shipping  trade  ports  cities  Fishing

 Good Relations  Initially, the relationship with the Natives was good  Squanto and the first Thanksgiving  Praying towns: Natives were encouraged to give up their “evil ways” and to settle in towns modeled after the Puritan towns where the Natives could learn to live like Christians.  Roger Williams:  Founder of Rhode Island.  He wanted to treat the Natives fairly, pay them for the land that he and his followers settled on, and live in peaceful proximity to the Natives.  Bad Relations  Pequot War:  started as the white settlers began to encroach into Native lands and ended with the virtual annihilation of the Pequot tribe.  King Philip’s War King Philip’s War  Started on the frontier with a series of coordinated attacks on English settlements  Slowed English settlement and spread, but ultimately it devastated the Native population.

 The Puritan Church was the central aspect and driving force in early New England  Education:  All New Englanders were encouraged to learn to read so that they could read the Bible  America’s first public schools were in New England  Harvard was America’s first university and was founded to educate future clergy members  Art:  Art was frivolous and unnecessary  Literature: poetry and literature were generally frowned upon unless they were personal and spiritual in nature  Music was also limited because it led to sinful acts such as dancing and cavorting

 Social structure centered around the family and the Church.  Men were higher than women  Parents were to be obeyed by their children (who were to be seen and not heard)  Church members (Saints) were higher than non-Church members (Sinners)  Masters ranked higher than servants  Wealthy were ranked higher than those with less money, but the ability to gain wealth and prestige was NOT restricted to a certain group of people. Hard work mattered more than birthright.  SO … who is the highest rank?  Who is the lowest rank?

 The first New England colonies were charter colonies.  The Mayflower Compact was the first form of government and it allowed for a sort of democracy in which the group would come together to make decisions that affected the whole group.  Town Meetings grew out of the Mayflower Compact mentality.  Voting was restricted to Church Members.  Political office was also restricted to Church Members  The Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth were Theocracies, but Rhode Island, Connecticut and New Hampshire were not. ALL of the New England Colonies were heavily influenced by their religious beliefs.  Blue Laws Blue Laws