How Did Puritans Influence John Winthrop's Utopian Society

The Puritans were one of the most radical groups that left England; they were extremely pious and wanted to create a safe haven for themselves to be able to practice their religion, beliefs, and ideals freely. Puritans main reason for immigrating to America was to create their "City Upon a Hill" , since they were persecuted in England for their beliefs, and because they wanted to reform the Anglican church. They didn´t immigrate for economical reasons, like many of their brethren did in the Chesapeake Bay colonies. Puritans instead wanted to create their model Christian society based on the principals of high morality, and strong family and community lives. Puritan society was based on certain morals and principals which enabled the Puritans to successfully establish a colony; these same morals and principals had a profound impact on the New England colonies in a similar way as well.

John Winthrop´s utopian Puritan society is presented in "A Model of Christianity Charity."(doc. A) A friendly community who suffered, worked, and rejoiced together. John Winthrop was an idealistic man who believed God had a plan for his Puritan colony. His "City Upon A Hill," sermon was also
B). This shows how nearby towns in the New England region were influenced by Puritan values. As the map presents, Puritan communities were very close-knit and are now the memory of how we picture small communities and towns to be like. Puritans believed in a society where simplicity was valued and excessiveness was frowned upon, everyone was reliant on each other, and everyone was active in the community. Consequently, many laws were enforced in New England which were based on a strict moral code, including prohibited drunkenness, required church attendance, and no critic on Puritan principals was allowed, and if these laws weren´t followed there were harsh punishments, including banishment from the