Puritanical Colonies of

the Northeast

Alycia OvalleEnglish III APHenson 3rd

March 8, 2011

Puritanism Puritanism started in the sixteenth century as a

movement to reform the Church of England. "Puritan" first began as a taunt or insult applied

by traditional Anglicans to those who criticized or wished to "purify" the Church of England

To be born on a Sunday was interpreted as a sign of great sin. Puritans believed that children born on the Sabbath Day were conceived on this sacred day. Sexual intercourse on Sundays was a sacrilege in this austere society.

Superstitions They saw "signs" in any natural event such as meteorites, comets,

or thunderbolts. They used fasting and prayer to relieve the fear and the sense of

helplessness. Witchcraft was considered a sin because it denied God’s superiority,

and a crime because the witch could supposedly make the Devil appear in different shapes.

Daily Routine and Diet In a lifetime, a Puritan might

hear 15,000 hours of preaching.

Private devotions at the hour of rising; family prayers with the reading of Scripture and the catechizing of children and servants; and the keeping of a spiritual diary.

Church services were held every Sunday and all day long, it is considered “The Lord’s Day”

Puritans ate vegetables, meat, seafood, and mostly simple not too decorated or fancy food.

They drank beer with meals and rum at weddings.

Puritan Beliefs God as the awesome Father-God of the Old Testament and

emphasized His majesty, righteousness, and control of the universe to achieve His just ends.

God's maintaining and directing everything in the universe is God's Providence.

Predestination, Jesus, and participation in the sacraments could not alone effect one's salvation; one cannot choose salvation, for that is the privilege of God alone.

All features of salvation are determined by God's sovereignty Distinguished between "justification," or the gift of God's grace

given to the elect, and "sanctification," the holy behavior that supposedly resulted when an individual had been saved.

Dress Their clothing was usually black,

white or grey and they lived a simple and religious life.

Usually very plain and simple. They advocated a conservative

form of fashionable attire. They were modestly cute;

gowns with low necklines were filled in with high-necked smocks and wide collars.

Married women covered their hair with a linen cap over which they might have worn a tall black hat.

Morality Puritans were very strict about their

views, and would not make any changes. Their views on sexual morality and sexual behaviors have been talked about a lot.

Puritans confronted the conscience and wooed the heart as a mark of their practice. They believed that the mind was the most vital source of power and the ‘palace of faith’.

Women Puritan women were

generally literate and often well-read.

The only respectable female vocation in Puritan America was managing a household which generally included large numbers of children, servants, apprentices, and even single men and women.

Political and Social Order They basis of political

order was charity. They imposed a rigid

system of wage and price controls to insure that people did not unfairly profit from goods and services.

Politics were modeled by the theory of a “city on a hill, a light unto the nations”

Authority of husband over wife, parents over children, and masters over servants in the family

CitationsCampbell , Donna M. "Puritanism in England." Literary Movements 21 Mar. 2010: n. pag. Web. 7 Mar 2011. <http://www.wsu.edu/~campbelld/amlit/purdef.htm>.

Niemczyk, Cassandra. "The American Puritans: Did you know?." Christian Today Library 01 Jan. 1994: n. pag. Web. 7 Mar 2011. <http://www.ctlibrary.com/ch/1994/issue41/4102.html>.

"Puritan and Providence." Puritanism 22 Sep. 2002: n. pag. Web. 7 Mar 2011. <http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/novel_18c/defoe/puritanism.html>.

"Puritan Lifestyle and Puritan Beliefs." Living Prosperity n. pag. Web. 7 Mar 2011. <http://www.living-prosperity.com/puritan-lifestyle.html>.

"Religious Source- Puritan Founding." Sources of American Founding n. pag. Web. 7 Mar 2011. <http://users.ipfw.edu/Bartky/Y103/SourcesofAmerFoundFl2004.htm>.