How Did The Puritans Influence American Culture

“for wee must consider that wee shall be as a City upon a Hill, that the eies of all people are upon us,” ( Winthrop “City Upon the Hill” 11 ) such was the foundation for the Puritans model religious city in the New World. In 1629 the British Parliament, composed heavily of Puritans, was dissolved when King Charles II decided that he had the right to rule through a concept known as divine right. Angered by this decision along with tensions that had been building over many years pushed around nine hundred Puritans to the New World with the goal of creating a perfect religious haven. While the Puritans beliefs did influence America in various ways including culture and political bases America has moved far from John Winthrops perfect utopia. This movement, however, should not be viewed as a bad development for the nation. On the contrary the beliefs and values of the Puritans held many negative

America has not become Winthrop’s idea of a “City Upon the Hill” due to the fact that the Puritan’s personal beliefs hold little to no importance when looking at the change in the values of the American people in modern times; the decision of whether or not America has become its own “City Upon the Hill” based on today's standards of morality lies individually within her own people.

Pushing for a theocracy Puritans often rejected the ideals and values that American colonists used to form the backbone of the United States."Crossing the Delaware" an oil painting on canvas created by Emanuel Leutze depicts George Washington, first president of the United States, crossing the Delaware during the revolutionary war. Within the painting Washington, as well as the boats are shown moving from darkness to an area brightness which may