1. Encounters and Foundations to 1800s
The puritans
Encounters and Foundations to 1800s

2. Who Were The Puritans? Puritans wanted to purify the Church of England
Many suffered persecution in England
In 1620, Mayflower Pilgrims landed at Plymouth
They led exemplary lives, valued self-reliance, hard work and discipline
These qualities helped them build a new society in a vast and unfamiliar land

3. What did they believe? Puritans believed in pre-destination.
This is the notion that God had chosen the souls that would be saved before a person’s birth, and that people were saved by grace, rather than by their actions.

4. Beliefs continued
Because of Adam and Eve’s sin of disobedience, most of humanity was damned
They believed that Jesus was sent to earth to save particular people, “the elect.”
Hard work and worldly success are signs of God’s grace
People should live in a thrifty, self-reliant ,and simple way
Puritans were intolerant of other religions

5. Review and analyze

6. New Relationships
English settlers began relying on Native Americans to teach them survival skills

7. Battling New Diseases
The new settlers exposed Native Americans to diseases that sometimes killed off an entire village.

8. The Smallpox Plague
In the 17th and 18th centuries smallpox was like modern day AIDS epidemic
The disease spread rapidly
It disfigured its victims
It was often times deadly

9. A Cure…Finally
Cotton Mather was a Puritan minister who advocated for Inoculation
Inoculation involved deliberate infection of the smallpox virus
A doctor would inject a healthy person with matter from the sores of a person who had the disease

10. Characteristics of Puritan Writing
The bible provided a model for Puritan writing
Diaries and histories were the most common forms of literary expressions
Puritans favored plain style writing
They avoided complicated figures of speech

11. The Bible Puritans believed the bible was the literal word of God
Because the bible was such a huge necessity, Puritans strongly believed in education
Harvard College was founded in 1636 to train Puritan ministers

12. Do you remember? Puritans believed that humankind was ….
How did Cotton Mather combat the smallpox disease?