Puritans were a group of people who believed in Puritanism, a movement to purify the Church of England, started in the 16th century. The purpose of this movement was to simply cleanse the Anglican Church, which they believed was going in the wrong direction. When the number of Puritans starts to increase, they were persecuted in England and many moved away from the country to settle elsewhere in Europe. Later on when the new colonies were being established in the Americas, many Puritans moved from Europe to settle in the continent. In 1629 a colony was founded in the New World called Massachusetts Bay by Puritans.
However, the influence of Puritanism didnt decline from Europe until 17th and 18th century. Besides religious influence, there were many other contributions that were made by the Puritans, such as the development of town meetings, stress on the value education, and enhancement on farming, however, they have failed to maintain their status and influence in the world today. Puritans had a variety of beliefs and many were considered as rules and laws in Puritan colonies. They believed in the total corruption of humans at the point they are born, which is the concept of original sin.
Unconditional Election was also an idea believed by Puritans, which basically means God saves those who he wishes, the concept of predestination. The also believed in Irresistible Grace, which means that whoever God is pleased with, obtains the grace, and in Perseverance of the saints, which signifies that those who are elected by God have the power or permission to interpret His will. Many Puritan writers were very much influenced by their religious studies and many writers tried to make God more relevant to the world and tried to transform His mysteriousness into simplicity that the people could easily understand.
John Winthrop, a Puritan leader started establishing a new colony in 1629 with a thousand Puritan settlers. This colony was situated in Massachusetts and the town was called Salem. Two hundred people died during the winter and another two hundred returned to England in the same year. However, within the next ten years there were almost twenty thousand people living in the colony. From 1640 the colony was on its own without any help from the English authorities and after nine years from when Winthrop died, many new towns in the colony were still being established.
They built great towns like Lexington, Concord, Cambridge, and many others which were considered great Puritan settlements at that time. The Puritans mostly created self-governing communities and their laws insisted on individual liberties. People of higher social standard usually obtained large portions of land compared to the majority of other people in the colonies. Puritans fathers or husbands were considered the main rescuer of the family. They made most of the family decisions and represented their family in the society.
Fathers passed their authority to their sons. In Puritan homes there was generally an hour of discussion between the members of the family, usually on the Puritan religion and beliefs. Families in the society were also investigated by the Puritan magistrates, to maintain order in the colony. There was also a strong regulation of the Puritan work ethic. In the town every one had to work, many middle class people were usually farmers. Every family had to provide a representative of theirs in the society to discuss the main problems in the town meetings.
In a town over a hundred families there had to be a public school for children. There was also a rule in some societies to recite the Bible everyday. Puritans were very keen on religious education and discussions. Although there was a general freedom for the people, Puritan societies did not want to create unwanted problems. Puritan ministers also had a great authority over the towns people. As far as education is concerned Puritans were way advanced compared to other New England colonies. Many Puritans were well educated, and made a great contribution in the development of their societies.
Puritans are also credited for the establishment of the Harvard University in 1636, which was very quick enhancement for a colony which was founded in 1629. The main purpose of the universities was to train ministers, who could vote and hold office in various towns of the colony. Many new laws were also passed associated with the university like the School Law in 1647, which state that in a town over hundred families children should know how to read and write and each child should learn how to read and analyze the Bible. Another law passed in 1647 was the Education Law. Town meetings played a major role in the society.
Puritan ministers and church leaders had a great authority on these meetings. They were held almost every day to discuss the issues of the day. The issues could be about anything, family affairs, religious studies, or farming problems. Every male had a right to attend town meetings, but only ministers and church leaders had the right to vote. Sometimes when the problem was very crucial, almost everyone in the town was invited to attend and it was a kind of an assembly in which new announcements were made and new laws were passed. This kind of institution could be considered very similar to the constitutions we have in the world today.
Puritan literature was a very influential aspect of the lives of many Puritans. It affected their jobs, clothes, food, and several other things. There were many kinds of Puritan literature; the most common being the writings on Biblical teachings that were written by church leaders. Although the Puritans were famous for their writings in horror, at that time many books were written on the issues that were created out of the teachings of Bible. The most famous author of that time was Jonathan Edwards. He wrote books like Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, which was a bestseller.
Another influential form of writing at that time was about history. Many writers wrote about their ancestry and the establishment of colonies. The books like Bradfords History of Plymouth Plantation, were very famous. Poetry was also an adored form of literature, writers like Anna Bradstreet and Edward Taylor helped in the enhancement of poems. The first book of poems in the New England colonies was written by Anna Bradstreet known as Tenth Muse Lately Sprung Up In America. There were also many problems in the Puritan society. One of the biggest issues was the separation of state and church.
In the early 1600s many Puritans tried to bring religion into the state affairs, but later on these issues were resolved as many Puritan leaders established their colonies with the rule of separation of state and church and then this movement influenced many other colonies. Another main problem in the Puritan society is the problem of witch trials. In the late 16th century many young females were accused of witchcraft and many were hung. These trials took place in the city of Salem in Massachusetts. It was a chaos in the city because of these trials, crops were rotting and cows were roaming on streets as their owners were hung in the process.
This issue created a fuss in societies and it was a challenge for many Puritan ministers to handle such cases. In the late 1800s the influence of Puritanism started to decline. People were not as religious as their ancestors and many became more practical in the world and did not give much importance to the Bible, as they used to. This attitude of Puritans was influenced by several things. Such as, many Puritans didnt rely on God that much, the presence of Quakers and Anabaptists changed the Puritan thinking as they introduced their new customs and lifestyles in the society and many Puritans were impressed.
Church laws were violated more often and no one even cared about it because people were losing faith in God. As a result of the witch trials people were so depressed with the innocent deaths that their faith in God became weaker and colonies decided to separate the laws of the church and the laws of the government. Family governing was also becoming unpopular. The sins of sex and alcohol increased as there were no strict laws to stop these practices. Laboring also became uncommon, and societies were greatly lacking proper behaviors.
All these things add up to the decline of Puritanism in the New World. In fact, many Puritans became Congregationalists. The basic belief of Congregationalists was in the practice of baptism. The word Congregationalists means independent and this group became significant in the late seventeenth century. These people were the dissenters of the Victorian society. The group started with 229 local churches in the New World to over three thousand by 1851 in Europe and in America. Congregationalists trust the concept of individual liberty and most of them do not prefer to live in societies, but alone.
Congregationalists were actually settled in England but their influence spread to the New World and it became a populous group. Puritans were an influential group in the New World and their presence created several important things that America consists of today. Puritans did a great job making their religion an influential one in the New World. They have made a great contribution in the development of democracy by introducing institutions like town meetings and documents like constitutions.
They have also influenced the education of today by creating such laws and universities in their colonies like Harvard, which is still famous today. They have been self dependent and had done well in organizing and maintaining their societies even in severe situations. Although this group had a very strong belief in God and Bible, they were unable to pass this strong sense of faith to their children and that is why they are not as famous and influential now as they used to be in the 17th and 18th century.
