The Puritans history in England begins when King Henry VIII wants to divorce his wife, Catherine of Aragon (who as of yet had not born him a male heir to the throne, in order to marry Anne Boylen.  In order to get this divorce, he needs an annulment from the Pope, who happens to be Catherine's cousin; needles to say, the Pope does not grant him the divorce, so Henry decides to break from Papal authority and creates the Church of England (Anglicans) of which he is the leader. (Henry moves through many other wives in the process of having one boy, who dies young.)

Puritans are a radical offshoot of the Protestants (Anglicans)

in England.  They believe that too much Catholic corruption

remains in the Church. They desire ministers to preach purer

and more energetic gospels in churches stripped of statues,

tapestry, and color. Puritans believe that people have been

debilitated by original sin and place a special emphasis on

conversion. To become a true or genuine believer would

normally entail an intense period of introspection and

repentance followed by the experience of liberating faith. The

converted individual would then have to stand

up and share their conversion experience with the

congregation in order to take communion and be

considered a member of the congregation.

humans exist for the glory of God

the bible is the sole expression of God's will

predestination: John Calvin's doctrine that God has already

decided who will achieve salvation and who will not before the

individual is born.

the elect or saints cannot take salvation for granted.

the devout will search their souls with frequently and with great

rigor for signs of grace.

each individual is depraved because of original sin

good is accomplished only through continual hard work and self-

discipline: "The Puritan Work Ethic"

The first Puritans who came to Massachusetts were actually

Pilgrims, an even more radical offshoot of the Puritans who

decided that the Church of England was to corrupt to be saved,

so they wanted to separate from the Church and start all over

again. The Pilgrims sailed in the Mayflower from September

through November 1620 to arrive at Cape Cod at the onset of

winter. They signed a compact between believers and non-

believer aboard the Mayflower, pledging to share responsibility

and help one another in times of need; this first legal document

in the Massachusetts Colony is known as the Mayflower Compact.

The first winter, known as the starving time, saw half of the

original settlers die. The Pilgrims stern manner and incredible

work ethic help them to survive, however, as by the end of the

1630's, over 20,000 people had come to the colony.

The Plymouth Colony

Flagship Mayflower arrives – 1620

Leader - William Bradford

Settlers known as Pilgrims and Separatists

"The Mayflower Compact" provides forsocial, religious, and economic freedom,while still maintaining ties to Great Britain.

The Massachusetts Bay Colony

Flagship Arbella arrives – 1630

Leader - John Winthrop

Settlers are mostly Puritans or Congregational Puritans

"The Arbella Covenant" clearly establishesa religious and theocratic settlement,free of ties to Great Britain.

Puritans made a lasting impact on American attitudes: their

ideals of hard work, frugality, self-improvement, and self-

reliance are still regarded as basic American virtues.

Do you believe these ideals arepresented in North American societyup to the present days?

How much has it changed? In what aspects has it changed?

Do you know what WASP is?

1. Total Depravity Total Depravity - through Adam and Eve's fall, every person is

born sinful - concept of Original Sin.

2. Unconditional Election Unconditional Election - God "saves" those he wishes - only a

few are selected for salvation - concept of predestination.

3. Limited Atonement Limited Atonement - Jesus died for the chosen only, not for

everyone.

4. Irresistible Grace Irresistible Grace - God's grace is freely given, it cannot be

earned or denied. Grace is defined as the saving and

transfiguring power of God.

5. Perseverance of the "saints" Perseverance of the "saints" - those elected by God have full

power to interpret the will of God, and to live uprightly. If anyone

rejects grace after feeling its power in his life, he will be going

against the will of God - something impossible in Puritanism.

Typology: The belief that God's intentions are present in human action and in natural phenomenon. Failure to understand these intentions are human limitations. Puritans believed in cyclical or repetitive history; they use "types" - Moses prefigures Jesus, Jonah's patience is reflected in Jesus' ordeal on the cross, and Moses' journey out of Egypt is played out in the Pilgrims' crossing of the Atlantic. God's wrath and reward are also present in natural phenomena like flooding, bountiful harvest, the invasion of locusts, and the lightening striking a home.

Manifest Destiny: The concept of manifest destiny is as old as the first New England settlements. Without using the words, John Winthrop articulated the concept in his famous sermon, the Arbella Covenant (1630), when he said: " ... for we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill, the eyes of all people are upon us; ..." Winthrop exhorts his listeners to carry on God's mission and to set a shining example for the rest of the world. From this beginning, the concept has had religious, social, economic, and political consequences. The words manifest destiny were first used by editor John L. O'Sullivan in 1845.

Backsliding: The belief that "saved" believers, those with visible signs of grace, can fall into temptation and become sinners. To prevent this, believers were expected not to become smug, do constant soul-searching, be introspective, and pray constantly. Satan was particularly interested in snaring such believers.

The Function of Puritan Writers

1. To transform a mysterious God - mysterious because he is

separate from the world.

2. To make him more relevant to the universe.

3. To glorify God.

The Style of Puritan Writing

1. Protestant - against ornateness; reverence for the Bible.

2. Purposiveness - there was a purpose to Puritan writing -

described in Part II above.

3. Puritan writing reflected the character and scope of the

reading public, which was literate and well-grounded in

religion.

Reasons for Puritan Literary Dominance over the Virginians

1. Puritans were basically middle class and fairly well-educated.

2. Virginians were tradesmen and separated from English writing.

3. Puritans were children of the covenant; gave them a drive and a

purpose to write.

Common Themes in Early Puritan Writing

1. Idealism - both religious and political.

2. Pragmaticism - practicality and purposiveness.

Forces Undermining Puritanism

1. A person's natural desire to do good - this works against

predestination.

2. Dislike of a "closed" life.

3. Resentment of the power of the few over many.

4. Change in economic conditions - growth of fishery, farms, etc.

5. Presence of the leaders of dissent - Anne Hutchinson, Roger

Williams.

6. The presence of the frontier - concept of self-reliance,

individualism, and optimism.

7. Change in political conditions - Massachusetts became a

Crown colony.

8. Theocracy suffered from a lack of flexibility.

9. Growth of rationality - use of the mind to know God - less

dependence on the Bible.

10. Cosmopolitanism of the new immigrants.

Visible Signs of Puritan Decay

1. Visible decay of godliness.

2. Manifestations of pride - especially among the new rich.

3. Presence of "heretics" - Quakers and Anabaptists.

4. Violations of the Sabbath and swearing and sleeping during

sermons.

5. Decay in family government.

6. People full of contention - rise in lawsuits and lawyers.

7. Sins of sex and alcohol on the increase.

8. Decay in business morality - lying, laborers underpaid, etc.

9. No disposition to reform.

10. Lacking in social behavior.

Some Aspects of the Puritan Legacy:

each has positive and negative implications

a.The need for moral justification for private, public, and

governmental acts.

b. The Questing for Freedom - personal, political, economic,

and social.

c. The Puritan work ethic.

d. Elegiac verse - morbid fascination with death.

e. The city upon the hill - concept of manifest destiny.