Puritan New England

The Puritan Plan for SuccessPuritan DevotionPuritan Society

The Great Migration Catholic King James I was oppressing Puritans in the 1620’sPuritans feared that their children were losing their way and leave to the New World

A Better StartUnlike Jamestown the Massachusetts Bay Colony was not located near swamps and had a cooler climateIt also had a large clean water supplyThere was an absence of mosquitoes that carry malaria

The Puritan Plan for SuccessPuritans learned from the mistakes made by Jamestown colonists but supplies spoilMost are families that come, but half die on trip or are scared by the sight of wildernessPuritans agreed to live in an orderly society, male members signed an agreement called a covenant

Puritan DevotionPuritans have been portrayed as uptight Protestants but in actuality were:

devoted to their God but they should not get lost in life’s pleasures (they enjoyed good food, drink, had sex with their spouse, music but in moderation)They took every aspect of life seriously and gave great effort to whatever task they facedStrongly believed that they had a covenant with God, if they followed it then they were saved if not then they would face God’s fiery wrath

A Bad Rap for Puritan Devotion?Puritans strongly supported the idea that church and government should work together to promote spiritual holiness and material successPuritans had the opportunity to create their own society, so why not fulfill their covenant with God by using government

A Bad Rap for Puritan Devotion?

Most, not all, Puritans were in fact rigid and not tolerant at allThey believed that they were right and were not going to change views

The Puritan Family

Wives and children were expected to obey their husband/fatherChildren were expected to do chores and could be spanked for not doing what they are told to doFamilies were expected to go to church and children were expected to get an education

Puritan SocietyValued education because it was necessary in order to read the bibleIntolerant to those who challenged or opposed Puritan authorityValued hard work, individual independence and moderation

Militia Defense, 1637

Organized a militia in 1637 to protect colony from Indian attacksRequired males from 16 to 60 to report for drills once a weekMilitia was not paid and served willingly to protect the community

Massachusetts Bay Colony1629 the Massachusetts Bay Colony is given a Royal CharterA Royal Charter is a document issued by a king giving a person/persons a legal right to engage in business Puritans notice that under the charter’s rules they do not have to answer to the King of England