Is America “A City Upon A Hill”?
The Puritans 1629 - Mass. Bay Co. Purify Anglican church 1630s - Great Migration Who: Cambridge educated Leader: John Winthrop
Beliefs Man fallible, sinful Predestination Salvation unknown Life devoted to God Material prosperity good, but too much bad “Puritan Dilemma”
A Model of Christian Charity 1630 The Word creates world
“History has an ebb and flow of justice, but history also has a visible direction, set by liberty and the Author of Liberty….America, in this young century, proclaims liberty throughout the world and to all the inhabitants thereof.” “Freedom is God’s gift to everybody in the world.” “And I believe we have a duty to free people.”
Fracturing of Puritan Idea 1649 - Maryland passes Religious Tolerance Act Philadelphia - “city of brotherly love” William Penn, Quaker
Roger Williams 1631 - MA Each individual cements relationship with God God not bound by previous covenants 1631 founded Providence, RI
Anne Hutchinson 1631 in MA Good works can’t save you Trial in 1636 Went to RI in 1637
Winthrop v. Williams/Hutchinson Community “We the people” Pete Seer Individual Each person’s pursuit of happiness key Bob Dylan
Great Awakening: NE 1740 Wave of Utopian ideas Jonathan Edwards Yale educated Everyone equal God has power to save or damn Created skepticism of authority Individualism strengthened
Is America “ A City Upon A Hill”? What does Puritan nation mean? In what ways has America incorporated the Puritan ethos? In what ways has it not?