ipl-logo

Essay On Puritanism And Democracy

537 Words3 Pages

According to Thomas Brooks, "Sin in a wicked man is like poison in a serpent; it is in its natural place." Many can argue that the Puritan democracy was very corrupt. Stephen Foster, the author of the essay, “Puritanism and Democracy: A Mixed Legacy” states, “New Englanders admitted that no man could read the law of nature alright, that all men were equally corrupt.” Because of this corruptness, Puritans struggled to create a democracy, never viewed others as equals, and even after trying to create a democratic government, they acted as hypocrites. The Puritans broke away from England after trying to purify the Church of England. They eventually became upset after King Henry refused to allow them to make the church pure and departed to the New World. There, the Puritans had to create their own form of government. They formed the Mayflower Compact; a document stating 41 men will work together to govern the people with religion being the center of the colony. The Puritans tried to create a democracy for ruling the people of the New World, but ruling with a democracy was almost impossible for them. Most of the people living in the New World came from England. These Englishmen had never lived in a state of democracy. The church ran everything. Being creatures of habit, it is no surprise that eventually, England stood as the basis for the Puritan government. Equality also made running a democracy challenging. …show more content…

Anne Hutchinson challenged John Winthrop in his teachings of people’s salvation depending on their good deeds. John Winthrop’s teachings contradicted the Puritan belief of predestination. She was punished by banishment. Anyone who opposed the central government, the church and its ministers, were either banished or left. The Puritans’ ideas didn’t matter to their government. The only opinions worth considering were those of the ministers. Hypocrisy contributed to many problems within the Puritan

Show More
Related

  • How Did Religion Affect The Puritans In The 1600s

    354 Words  | 2 Pages

    Religion was very important to the Puritans in the 1600s. John Winthrop a member of the Puritans gentry, wrote to his wife the ‘I am verily persuaded God will bring some heavy affliction upon this land.” A year later he went and lead a group of a group of puritans to New England. By the 1630s another twenty thousand Puritans would come to America. When John became governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, he told immigrants that will have to guide people toward this holy ideal or they were not welcomed.

    Read More

  • Massachusetts Bay Colony: Founded By John Winthrop

    361 Words  | 2 Pages

    Massachusetts Bay Colony Goals It was established by a group of puritans led by a John Winthrop with a goal of colonizing a wide area in the New England where they would establish what he referred to as a model religious community in the New World. This was a theocracy that forced people to worship and live in an orthodox way, a theory based on John Calvin’s teachings. John Winthrop was tired of trying to reform the church in England in which he believed there was the need to purify it against the influences of Catholicism. The Puritans had been opposed by both the Anglican Church and the ruling monarch in England. It is for this reason that they migrated to America, established the Massachusetts Bay colony and create their own religious community.

    Read More

  • Angry About The Reformation Of The Church Of New England

    847 Words  | 4 Pages

    This freedom did not apply to religious freedom however. All of the people who lived within the Puritan settlements, such as the Massachusetts Bay Colony, were forced to followed these laws and regulations put forth by the leaders. If people did not conform to these social standards then they would be ostracised from the community. An example of this would be Anne Hutchinson. Hutchinson followed John Cotton’s sermons closely and then began to form her own opinions and beliefs.

    Read More

  • How Did Roger Williams Believe In The Separation Of Church And State

    1203 Words  | 5 Pages

    The puritans believed in predestination and also believed that the church needed to be purified. Among many famous leaders that came to this country in early America, there was one that believed we should all have freedom of religion. Roger Williams, was a puritan and believed in the same ideas, he himself was a minister,

    Read More

  • Puritans Influence On New England Colonies

    46 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Puritans influenced the development of the New England colonies, including Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island, and Connecticut through the Puritans’ extreme theological values and ideas that create the theocracy, their hard work ethic that increases their economic stability, and their resistance to tolerate other’s different opinions.

    Read More

  • Puritan Ideas And John Winthrop's Impact On American Culture

    1394 Words  | 6 Pages

    The ideas constructed by the Puritans were not simply a principal starting point for American culture because they were the first in the country, but because they offered distinct ways of thinking that are still deep-seated in our culture today. Although many of the ideas of Puritans have evolved or vanished over time, it is important to give credit to the Puritan writers and thinkers such as John Winthrop and John Cotton who offered ideas that were new at the time and that stayed with the American consciousness—culturally, socially, and politically. “John Winthrop's legacy can be seen primarily in the fields of government, commerce, and religion. It was religion that would most impact John's life; his religion would ultimately impact the

    Read More

  • The Crucible: The Puritans During The Shakespearean Era

    223 Words  | 1 Pages

    “Background of The Crucible: The Puritans” Origins of The Puritans Who the Puritans were: “a group organized in England” during the Shakespearean era (1600s) Why were they organized: they thought the Church of England was too absurd and wanted to reform it “Purity”: the lifestyle they needed in their own lives Difference between Pilgrims and Puritans Pilgrims: a person who’s taken a journey Settled in Plymouth, Massachusetts “Reform the church by separating” “Individual responsibility” Puritans Settled in Boston, Massachusetts “Reform the church” “Community responsibility” “Conditions in 1692” Government “No governor”or leader, no actual laws, no official documents This led to attacks from other people (“Native Americans and French”) Environment:

    Read More

  • How Did Puritans Influence The Development Of The New England Colonies Dbq

    849 Words  | 4 Pages

    They wanted to create pure, moral Christian society based on moral living. By hard working, integration of religion in politics, and social development of certain lifestyle practices, Puritans had a large influence on the development of the New England colonies from 1630s through the 1660s. Puritans believed in hard work as the pathway of success since they thought they were favored by God to succeed (Doc I). They tried to shun idleness and believed that being lazy is not profitable (Doc C).

    Read More

  • Total Depravity In The Crucible

    614 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Puritans had many beliefs and things that they lived by. They lived by something called Five Principles Of Puritanism. Total depravity, Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace, and Perseverance of the Saints were the five principles. Total depravity states that through Adam and Eve's fall, every person is born

    Read More

  • Colonial Period

    408 Words  | 2 Pages

    They focused on life on Earth, rather than bettering themselves to please a god. The current democracy that is in place in America, although it is much more similar to rationalism than puritanism, hold traits from both governments that could be seen in colonist America. The colonial time period in America was a rather long time period lasting from when the first colony was established in 1607 and ended with the signing of the Declaration of Independence. And during this time period Native American culture was being tampered with, and two very different forms of government, puritanism and rationalism, were being

    Read More

  • How Did The Puritans Influence The New England Colonies

    244 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Puritans in the 1600s had a very important influence in the development of the New England colonies through the 1660s their ideas, values; political, economic and social development would have a lasting effect on the region. The values of the Puritans were greatly rooted in the idea that man was evil and that God alone would save us. By creating this town upon the hill God will reward them for their efforts for trying to reform the Anglican Church. Politically the Puritans were a semi-theocracy that would only allow those who were part of the church to vote. Economically they brought a lasting effect based on their hard work ethic.

    Read More

  • Why Did The Colonists Want Their Independence

    374 Words  | 2 Pages

    The colonists wanted religious freedom. One reason they originally left England was to escape the Catholic Church. Some called themselves Puritans. They wanted the church and the state to be more separate.

    Read More

  • Who Is Dimmesdale's Punishment In The Scarlet Letter

    1362 Words  | 6 Pages

    In 1630, the Puritans came to America and began a theocratic government with the hope of reforming the Church of England. Their politics were based on the citizens’ religion and the government was run by religious figures. The Puritans believed that they needed to abide by God’s law; thus, those who sinned were publicly and harshly punished. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter, Arthur Dimmesdale, a revered minister, and Hester Prynne, a common townsperson, commit the sin of adultery.

    Read More

  • The Role Of The Puritan Society In The Crucible

    999 Words  | 4 Pages

    Despite their deeply religious values, the members of the Puritan Society in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible are equally as sinful as the rest of the world. The Puritans, known for coming to God when given any matter at hand, lay blame on the Devil, regardless of their contradictory values. By putting blame on him for their wrongdoings, the Devil earns power by the Puritans resorting to involving him in a situation whenever any one thing goes wrong. Power is defined by one’s reputation, status, wealth, gender, and age.

    Read More

  • Puritan Culture In The Scarlet Letter

    920 Words  | 4 Pages

    Essentially, Puritans are expected to follow a strict set of religious and moral guidelines from which their actions and morality are derived. According to Hall’s A Reforming People, these moral expectations first introduced by the pilgrims were the driving force behind the power that the Puritan ministry had over society: “Ministers and laypeople looked first to congregations as the place where love, mutuality, and righteousness would flourish, and second to civil society. …Alongside love, mutuality, and righteousness they placed another set of values summed up in the word “equity.” Employed in a broad array of contexts, the concept of equity conveyed the colonists’ hopes for justice and fairness in their social world.”

    Read More

More about Essay On Puritanism And Democracy

Open Document