Puritanism: A Religious Reform Movement

Puritanism was a religious reform movement that arose within the Church of England in the late sixteenth century. They were not perceived well by the monarchy in England, leading to their persecution. This persecution caused Puritains of the time to leave their homes in hopes of freedom in the New World to pray and worship as they like, but many soon after lost focus on this original purpose and moved on to new ones. In the writings of Puritains such as, "Huswifery", "Of Plymouth Plantaion", and other works. you see the transformation from their original purpose, of free worship, for traveling to the New World, to newer purposes such as conversion of non-believers, wealth, and culture. While Puritains came to the New World to avoid persecution …show more content…
Later on, when commmunication between Puritains and Native Americans began to occur, conversion and teaching continued to be a goal of Puritans. The Puritans weren 't just set on converting the Native Americans in the New World though. Puritans tended to differ on their religious views, therefore leading to attempts to preach to each other and spread their views of God to one another. Jonathan Edwards is a prime example of this. A preacher in Northampton, Massachusetts, Edwards had a tendency to create great feelings of fear and guilt within his congregation. In "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God", Edwards says, "Your wickedness makes you as it were heavy as lead, and to tend downwards with great weight and pressure towards hell; and if God should let you go, you would immediately sink and swiftly descend and plunge into the bottomless gulf..." This line is one of many throughout this famous sermons, that enforces the idea that God is angry with everyone …show more content…
Through all their writings, artwork, education, settlements, and related ideas, they all set down foundations that would affect the future of the country Puritans couldn 't begin to understand. Bradford 's writing of "Of Plymouth Plantation" was written to inform later generations on their roots and the hardships faced by those who first arrived, and in it Bradford writes "But here I cannot but stay and make a pause, and stand half amazed at this poor people 's present condition; and so I think will the reader too, when he well considers the same. In that, Bradford addresses the reader, and even attempts at relating with them, in showing how he saw how the newly arrived Puritans responses to reaching land after their grave voyage. Another point Bradford makes is to show the relationship they held with the Native Americans. Bradford wrote "With whom, after friendly entertainment, and some gifts given him, they made a peace with him (which hath now continued this 24 years)...", referring to Squanto and his tribe. Squanto was incredibly helpful to the Puritans, as without them, they would have likely all died, but due to his gratiousness with teaching the Puritans about farming and the land, were able to survive and build from this. Bradford, with this, wanted to show the future generations, how these people saved them and although they