How Did The Puritans Influence American Culture

The colony of Massachusetts has had a very rich history since its founding in 1620. Some of the interesting facts are how the colonists interacted with the natives, and how the geography of the colony impacted daily life and the economy. Various myths and misconceptions have come about over the years about Massachusetts as well.

Before the Pilgrims came to Massachusetts, the Pokanoket nation lived here, and once the colonists arrived, their relationship quickly grew negative. According to The Pilgrims - HISTORY, “Soon after the Pilgrims built their settlement, they came into contact with Tisquantum, or Squanto, an English-speaking Native American. … In addition to interpreting and mediating between the colonial leaders and Native American chiefs

According to Five myths about Puritans - The Washington Post, “But the Puritans didn’t leave England to found a society where all religions would be tolerated. After all, they were granted the pejorative moniker “Puritan” in England because of their efforts to purge Catholic influences from the Anglican Church. They sought religious freedom only for themselves.” This emphasizes how Puritans didn’t care for other people’s religion, they just wanted to be able to practice their own. Despite what they went through to get the freedom to practice their religion, they only wanted it for that specific religion. The Puritans disliked Catholics and tried to get all their influences purged from the Anglican Church. Most people don't know about this because Americans like to believe that their founders were amazing people, so they claim Puritans wanted freedom for everyone so they can feel better about their history. As demonstrated in the Massachusetts primary source, the Puritans were so focused on their religion that the first book they ever decided to print and translate was a book of Psalms. According to the Massachusetts Historical Society. “In Massachusetts, the ownership of enslaved people probably was of limited economic importance except in Boston where craftsmen used enslaved people in their trades, but the shipping and sale of enslaved people out of Boston was much more significant.” This highlights the common misconception that the only colonies with enslaved people were the southern ones, but this is incorrect. While it had fewer, Massachusetts still had enslaved people bought and sold, mainly in Boston. This is another myth told to paint the pilgrims in a more positive light and it doesn't tell the perspective of the enslaved people. Many people don’t know about the more negative