Puritan Values In New England

Improved Essays
Puritan values impacted the New England colonies’ development from the 1630s to 1660s severely. The intertwinement of the Puritan church and New England government spurred the creation of Rhode Island and Connecticut, the emphasis on family led to the creation of the small family farm as a central facet to both New England society and economy, the twin ideals of hard work and simplicity made excessive profiteering something to be frowned upon and solidified New England’s purpose as first and foremost a religious colony, and the Puritans’ extreme dedication to God led to the passion and fervor with which most New Englanders conducted themselves.
The Great Migration occurred mainly in the time period of 1620-1640. It began when Puritan Separatists
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Divorces were exceedingly rare because New England laws gave permission for it in very few circumstances. Puritans were also deeply dedicated to God, their religious fervor an identifying mark against the less religious southern and middle colonies. Their towns were actually built around the church and town hall, with family farms taking up the surrounding land (D2). Indeed, they viewed apathy as a disgrace, a sign that God had turned away from someone, that they were not saved (D3). This led to New England hosting a deeply passionate people, though sometimes that passion was misplaced. The Pequot wars, for instance, which occurred from about 1634 to 1638 and virtually destroyed the Pequot people, were conducted in the name of God (D4). Because of their devotion to religion, at least in the early days of the New England colonies, the colonists shared a common purpose, binding them together and creating a unique sense of harmony within the colonies. This harmony was spurred by John Winthrop, the governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, in his “A Modell of Christian Charity” sermon he gave to his congregation encouraging them to support one another so as to be a model Christian city and inspire other towns to be like them (D1). (D1, D2, D4, …show more content…
As the church and state were so laced together, religious leaders like preachers wielded an enormous amount of influence in politics. Only male church members could vote, and male church members listened to their preachers attentively. Therefore preachers could influence the voting members of their congregation to further their own political agenda. However, preachers were still under the watch of their congregations. Congregations controlled who was hired as a preacher and what that man’s salary would be; clergymen could not hold political office, either. The check and balance system in America’s government is part of what made, and makes, it so unique. While highly different from the United States’ government, New England managed to introduce this idea to North America, and without even doing it purposely. (Add in something about how they believed in the limitation of government? D5?) (SPECIFIC

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