"Surely there is in all children...a stubbornness,

and stoutness of mind arising from natural pride, which must, in the first place, be broken and beaten down."

-John Robinson

A Guide To Puritan Life

Who were the Puritans?

• Settlers of Plymouth 1620 and Mass Bay Colony in Boston area

• Wished to “purify” the Church of England– Felt it too closely resembled the Roman-

Catholic Church– Wanted to eliminate all church rituals and

integrate religion into their daily lives in a simple and intense way

• Believed in theocracy

Puritan Doctrine

1. Belief that the Bible is the sole source of God’s law

– Lead the Puritans to simplify religion, removing all worldly trappings, so that individuals could have their own “covenants” with God

Puritan Doctrine

2. Belief in Original Sin• Human beings are inherently evil• People must struggle to overcome

their sinful natures

Puritan Doctrine

3. Belief in Predestination– God decided long ago who would

achieve salvation and who would not.– Grace, which leads to salvation, comes

to a select few as a free gift from God…

– … NOT as the result of human effort.

Puritan Doctrine• Why were the Puritans so concerned with

morality and good works if humans had no real control over their fates?

• Puritans believed those with God’s grace (the “Elect”) would be obvious by their shining goodness and by their deep concern for others.– Dedicated Puritans strove to establish

themselves as part of the Elect in the eyes of the community through their good works.

Puritan Society• The woman’s role: cook, clean, teach, care for the home

• The man’s role: farm, hunt, provide for the family, act as political and religious leaders, represent the family in the public eye, protect the home and community

• Critical of materialism

• Intolerant of differing points of view

• Afraid of the “unknown” (the wilderness, Native Americans, darkness)

• Believed the devil was behind every evil deed. – Words of hellfire and brimstone flowed from the mouths of eloquent

ministers as they warned of the persuasiveness of the devil's power.

• To keep children safe from the devil’s clutches, children were quizzed on the Bible at school (by teachers) and at home (by their mothers).

Puritan Society

Puritan Society

The Dutiful Child’s Promises

Verses / Again

Good Children Must

Learn These Four LinesBy Heart

Discipline“Joseph threw a knop of Brass and hit

his Sister Betty on the forhead so as to make it bleed and swell; upon which, and for his playing at Prayer-time, and eating when [giving] Return Thanks, I whipd him pretty smartly.” ~Samuel Sewall,

Diary, November 6, 1692

Use two sheets of copy paper for this assignment. One will

be for the letter and the illustration, the other one for

the couplet.

A Picture Your couplet goes here