ThePuritans

Background Info

• Not just the Church of England anymore• More factions due to corruption • Don’t want to separate from Church of

England, just “purify” it• King gives a charter to get them out of the

country• Land in New England

Mayflower Compact• Fair & equal laws for the good of the majority• Written by those who were to be governed• honored covenants as part of their righteous integrity and agreed to be

bound by this same principle with the Compact. John Adams and many historians have referred to the Mayflower Compact as the foundation of the U.S. Constitution written more than 150 later.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbjWqsC0Lpk

“…And by Virtue hereof to enact, constitute, and frame, such just and equal Laws, Ordinances, Acts, Constitutions and Offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the General good of the Colony;”

Rules to live by

• Mandatory church attendance• Education/reading is good – if you can read,

you can read the Bible• Live in accordance with God’s will

ACTIVITY

New England Primer

Beliefs & Values

• Ethnocentric – “City set upon a hill”• Predestination – God would save those he had

chosen and would damn the rest• Simplicity• Education – If you could read, you could read

the Bible• Group discipline and individual responsibility

And you thought being grounded was bad….

• Stocks

• The Scarlet Letter

• Branding

• Ducking stool

• Whipping

• Public Shaming

• Gossiping, nagging, scolding

Not on Sunday!

• You could be fined or punished for doing the following on Sunday:– Running– Cooking– Make a bed– Shaving

Gee whiz, Lois! You mean I

can’t make my bed today?

Didn’t these people ever have fun?

• YES alcohol NO drunkenness• YES dancing NO grindage• YES colorful dress ….within reason • YES celebrations & feasts NO Christmas

Noteworthy Puritans

• John Winthrop– Served as governor of Massachusetts for 12 terms– “Founding Father of New England Puritans”?– Model for Christian Clarity – “City upon a hill”

Roger Williams• Criticized the church• he asserted that the civil magistrates may not punish any sort of

"breach of the first table [of the Ten Commandments]," such as idolatry, Sabbath-breaking, false worship, and blasphemy, and that every individual should be free to follow his own convictions in religious matters.

• Three principles: separatism, freedom of religion, and separation of church and state

• believed that soul liberty freedom of conscience, was a gift from God, and that everyone had the natural right to freedom of religion. Religious freedom demanded that church and state be separated. Williams was the first to use the phrase "wall of separation" to describe the relationship of the church and state.

Popular guy?

Puritan Contributions to Life as We Know It

1. Man is an individual 2. Mayflower Compact 3. Regular elections4. Secret ballot5. Compulsory schooling6. Harvard7. Town meetings – self-government8. John Winthrop – beginnings of “separation of

church & state”