The Puritans BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Puritan Settlements  There were no permanent European settlements north of St. Augustine, FL until around  1611 – Jamestown report showed that colonists could survive in America as a permanent colony. (Virginia)

Pilgrim v/s Puritan? What’s the difference?  Both groups are part of Puritanism, an activist movement after the English Reformation.  Puritans are reformers, and their aim is to reform the Anglican Church from within.  The Pilgrims are Puritans who believe that they should not compromise in their “purification” especially in the entities of Church and State.  Due to conflicting interests, these Puritans, who called themselves Pilgrims, were discontented and decided to leave England and form their own churches.  Pilgrims are also referred to as Separatists. When they couldn’t reform the church, they separated from it.  Pilgrims are the Separatists who were once Puritans but were discontent with the reforms.

Separatists (Pilgrims)  Came first – Plymouth Colony  Puritans who were critical of the church of England and sought to change it. When they couldn’t “purify” the church, they separated themselves from it. They settled in Plymouth, MA.

Reformers (Puritans)  Came a decade later - Massachusetts Bay Colony  They tried to reform the church from within. They intended to form John Winthrop's “city upon a hill,” a community guided entirely by the Bible. (Theocracy)

Theocracy – definition  A state under the immediate guidance of God.

Daily Life of the Puritans  Hard existence to simply survive under the conditions.  They lived plainly, and their daily life was filled with work from sunup to sundown.

Decline of Puritans  By 1792, the Puritan religion was in decline and they were being replaced by the Protestants, who were more liberal.  Puritanism vanished entirely by the time of the American Revolution.

Puritan Literature  Puritans wrote to provide spiritual insight and instruction.  They wrote in a plain style (Puritan Style) in which a clear statement was the highest goal.  Flowery words and descriptive embellishments were considered vanity, which was a sin.

Puritan Personal Writings  Mostly journals – were for self-examination and reflection and were usually serious in nature.

Puritan Beliefs  Included a strong belief in education for both men and women.  1636 – Founded Harvard University  1647 – Free public schools were established.

Why did they survive?  They valued hard work and self sacrifice.  They also honored material success.  They valued family life, community service, art, and literature.  They established the first printing press, free public grammar school, and college (Harvard)

Intolerant and Arrogant  On the other hand, they were arrogant in religious faith and intolerant of different viewpoints. Their beliefs were basically:  Human beings are inherently evil and so must struggle to overcome their sinful nature.  Personal salvation depends solely on the grace of God, not on individual effort.  The Bible is the supreme authority on earth.