1. American Literature’s Colonial Roots
The Puritan Legacy
American Literature’s Colonial Roots

2. Remember the Pilgrims? © 2003-2004 clipart.com © 2003-2004 clipart.com

3. Pilgrims and Puritans
The Pilgrims were part of a group of English Puritans called the “Separatists” who fled persecution in England.
The Pilgrims traveled to America aboard the Mayflower and landed at Plymouth in 1620.
Puritans is a general term for English Protestants who wanted to “purify” the Church of England.
The Puritans objected to the rituals, decorations, and organization of the Church of England. They wanted a simpler form of worship and organization.

4. A Puritan Time Line In England In America 1600 1700
1642–1651: English civil wars between Puritans and Royalists
1653–1658: Puritan Oliver Cromwell rules England as lord protector
1660: Monarchy restored under Charles II
1608: Separatists flee England for Holland
1620: Mayflower Pilgrims land at Plymouth
1630: Great migration of Puritans to New England begins
1692: Salem witch trials

5. What the Puritans Believed
Religion is a personal, inner experience.
Humans are wicked by nature, and most are marked for damnation.
A chosen few can be saved through the grace of God.
Hard work and worldly success are signs of God’s grace.
Education is essential in order to read the Word of God.

6. Grace: The Puritan Ideal
Grace—God’s special favor—was the only way to escape an eternity in Hell.
People did not know for certain if they had grace, but they could feel the arrival of grace as an intense emotion.
People who had grace were among the “elect” (saved).
People who did not have grace were among the “unregenerate” (damned).

7. Grace: The Puritan Ideal
The presence of grace was demonstrated by a person’s outward behavior. People with grace displayed
self-reliance
personal responsibility
industriousness
temperance
simplicity

8. Puritan Government In Theory
Every individual had an equal covenant with God.
Laws came from God, as revealed in scripture.
In Practice
Most people yielded authority to those seen as the saintly “elect.”
Conformity and obedience took precedence over individual rights.

9. Puritan Literature What the Puritans Read
The Bible and other religious texts
Why They Read
Puritans stressed individual responsibility for spiritual development.
Every person was responsible for reading and understanding the Bible.

10. Puritan Literature What the Puritans Wrote
Sermons, essays, and poems on spiritual and religious subjects
Diaries and histories that recorded inner and outer events of their lives
Why They Wrote
Puritans used writing to explore their lives for signs of grace and to describe the workings of God in their communities.

11. Plain Style
Puritans favored a plain style of writing. Plain style is a way of writing that stresses simplicity and clarity of expression. Plain style
emphasizes uncomplicated sentences and the use of everyday words from common speech
avoids elaborate figures of speech and imagery
“There is nothing between you and hell but the air; it is only the power and mere pleasure of God that holds you up.”
from “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” by Jonathan Edwards

12. Salem: Believers Run Amok
1692—Girls suffer from mysterious illness in Salem, Massachusetts.
Doctors blame witchcraft.
Mass hysteria erupts; neighbors accuse one another.
In the end, about 150 people were accused, and 20 were executed.

13. What Happened to the Puritans?
The Age of Faith gradually gave way to the Age of Reason.
Philosophers and scientists stressed the importance of using reason, rather than religion, to explain how the world operates.
The Puritans didn’t disappear—their culture was absorbed into the colonial mainstream.

14. The Puritan Legacy In the United States, we generally value
individual rights and responsibilities
equality of individuals
literacy and education
spiritual and worldly rewards for hard work

15. What Have You Learned?
1. Puritans believed that religion was a personal, inner experience.
a. true b. false
2. Those who had grace were among the
a. damned b. unregenerate c. elect
3. A person with grace may display all of the following characteristics except
a. simplicity b. self-reliance c. greed

16. The End