In 1634, a woman that would play one of the biggest roles in the development of early America came to Massachusetts from England. Before immigrating to the New World though, Anne Hutchinson lived in London with her husband William Hutchinson. There, a minister, John Cotton, who believed you didn’t need to follow the laws and rules of society to connect with God, resonated greatly with Anne. The idea that religion is based on personal views would be taken with her to the New World, where she would become an icon for conservative Puritanism and steadfast determination.
Thesis: Francis J. Bremer advocates the need to understand the New England colonists’ struggling attempts to define the perimeter fence - not just their positions - in order to help us define the limits of acceptable behavior and beliefs today. Main Points of Evidence: I. The Puritans had different opinions on how they lived their life. A. John Winthrop believed that they were unworthy of God’s love and imperfect.
In the 17th c., the Massachusetts Bay Company centered around the trade between England and the Massachusetts Bay Indians. Upon the realization that the original company charter issued by the king did not explicitly bind the company’s meeting to England, the Massachusetts Bay Company founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony during the Great Puritan Migration. The Massachusetts Bay Colony consisted of a large group of Puritans-- those who sought to “purify” the Church of England of the remnants of the Roman Catholic papacy whose name was grievously tainted in the late middle ages. The Puritans were fervently loyal to their ministers who were under religious persecution by the Church of England. Therefore the Puritans followed their ministers to
They based their community around the puritan church with strict guidelines and rules (Doc J). The church of Salem had a goal of pleasing God by any means (Doc F). Overall, the New England Colony was based off a plantation of religion and not of trade(Doc B). This shows just how devoutly the people of the New England Colony practiced religion and how much they differed from the
Even though many had originally come to the New World to practice their own religion freely, not all of them were able to allow others to do the same. The Puritans thought that to ignore God's work was completely unthinkable and when “free-thinkers” such as Anne Hutchinson and Roger Williams chose to speak their minds, conflict was inevitable (“Dissent in Massachusetts Bay”). The economic landscape of the colonies was small and isolated. Tension was inevitable because the colonists did not have much, if any, gold and silver.
It demonstrated that a wide variety of beliefs could in fact be found among the Puritans and that achieving religious uniformity in Puritan New England might come at a very high price.” Anne’s bold defiance in the Antinomian Controversy led to changes in the way many people thought about religious
The Great Awakening was a radical spiritual movement that broke the traditional religious standards. Instead of relying on college educated clergy men to enlighten the masses this movement established the importance of commoners to convert the masses by placing the responsibility of educating the nonbelievers on each individual. (115) The Urban North religious revival coincided with a political upheaval regarding paper money and land banks.
The Puritan’s goal of coming to the New World was not to create a new life, but to create the ideal model of living for the “corrupt” inhabitants of England. This was coined “The Errand”, the Puritans desire to establish a City Upon a Hill that others could look up to and imitate in order to receive God’s grace. The Puritans failed at building their City Upon a Hill (creating a perfect religious, economic, and political community), however the long-term effects of their efforts have influenced American moral politics throughout its history. The Puritans forever had the attitude of a community that had successfully established a City Upon a Hill. The Puritan lifestyle was heavily influenced not only by religion, but also inside of that, morality.
Although all the colonists all came from England, the community development, purpose, and societal make-up caused a distinct difference between two distinct societies in New England and the Chesapeake region. The distinctions were obvious, whether it be the volume of religious drive, the need or lack of community, families versus single settlers, the decision on minimal wage, whether or not articles of agreements were drawn for and titles as well as other social matters were drawn, as well as where loyalties lay in leaders. New England was, overall, more religious than the Chesapeake region. Settlers in New England were searching relief for religious persecution in Europe. Puritans, Quakers, and Catholics were coming in droves to America searching for an opportunity to have religious freedom.
Roger Williams was one of the first Puritans in the New World to truly seek religious freedoms for all. Roger Williams had several issues with the power that the Church had over its subjects and the way in which they would impose their views onto others, even when the Puritans themselves had fled England to avoid religious persecution. Williams made many claims that upset those in power in the colonies, one of which being that the English had no claim to the land and that the charter granted by King James did not give them the authority to take the land away from the Native Americans. Williams saw that the Church should stay away from the civil matters of the State, removing the justification that God granted the King the authority for a charter.
Tobin describes how Anne Hutchinson’s views on Puritan belief led to a historical controversy on the matter of religion and feminism in the early colonial establishment of Massachusetts. Anne Hutchinson drew much attention after voicing criticism to the Puritan form of religious views and believed one should focus on their primary relationship with God, rather than their lawful duties to society, “Hutchinson saw God in the spirit and in inspiration” (256). Nearly all of the Puritan minsters were appalled by Anne Hutchison’s criticism toward their teachings. Not only did the minister leaders feel Anne’s actions were out of place, but they also feared for their standing in power of the church. Tobin explains how Hutchison expressed her opinions without doubt or shame due to her sex, which led to growing feminist tension in the times that followed.
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
New England’s economy would also be influenced by the British tax later that would cause Americans to revolt many of which trusted in their faith to guide them The Puritans who settled in Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630 were also motivated by religious beliefs. They believed in the idea of a "city upon a hill," a vision of a holy community that would serve as an example to the rest of the world (American YAWP, 2.6). This belief led to a strict social order and a commitment to the moral and spiritual purity of the community. It also led to conflicts with other religious groups, such as the Quakers, who were seen as a threat to the Puritan social order.
To those living in British America in the 1700’s, religion was a central fixture of everyday life. One’s denomination was intrinsically tied up in one’s ethnic and social identity, and local churches in the mid-Atlantic depended upon the participation and donations of their parishioners to survive. However, as the 18th century progressed, poorer farmers and ministers across the diverse sects of colonial America came to resent the domination of church life by the upper class. In a parallel development, a split had grown between the rationalists, who were typically wealthy, educated and influential men who represented the status quo, and the evangelicals, who disdained the impersonal pretention of the rationalists and promoted a spiritual and
The New England colonies were first founded in the last 16th to 17th century as a sanctuary for differing religious groups. New England was made up of the Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Hampshire. New Hampshire, however, was formed for economic reasons instead of religious ones. The Chesapeake region, which is made up of the colonies of Maryland and Virginia, was founded by the British colonies for the purpose of farming. However, by the 1700’s, despite both being settled by Englishmen, New England and the Chesapeake region had developed differently.
