Preview

“the Puritans and Sex”, Edmund S. Morgan

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
772 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
“the Puritans and Sex”, Edmund S. Morgan
“The Puritans and Sex”, Edmund S. Morgan
When the Puritan came to the New World after being rejected in England for their beliefs, they knew the demand of perfection in God’s eyes could never be fully accomplish. Humans could never live up to the standards that God set out. After settling in New England, the Puritan became well aware they needed to have law enforcement with religious obligations, and most importantly the sexual temptations. Knowing that human could never fully obey God’s word and always be tempted, the puritans enforced certain punishments for certain sexual crimes, including fornication, adultery, rape and buggery or sodomy. In 1630, the Puritan established the Massachusetts Bay Colony to practice and love God in their own way. They had a very strict government, with next to no democracy. They believed in hard work and maintaining education. The members who showed weakness and did not practice self-denial would be punished. They also were punished for being guilty of gambling, drunkenness, or enjoying theatrical performances. The most stricted laws of the Puritans were the objectification of sex. They believe in marriage to be a spiritual partnership and for sex to be a minor part. They became to realize though that human could never be able to abide by the word of Lord since the time of Adam. It is human nature to be tempted and sin. For one example most men to came to the New World at that time left their wife and children back in England and would still have sexual temptations. They knew they had to make adjustments for the community to follow the ways of the religion. They enforced laws and if broken would have severe punishments. Throughout the years the Puritans they had many court cases due to the laws on sex out of their marriage. A few would be charged between slaves, some for not being married, which would need permission from the master and others cases included the masters or non-slaves taking advantage of them. Other cases

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    APUSH DBQ

    • 869 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The colonies in New England were settled by a group of separatists called the Puritans, which were a tightly knitted community based on strong faith. This community of New England Puritans influenced religious liberties, education, and obedience in the colonies from the 1630's-1660's by relating them to their religious morals and beliefs. `…

    • 869 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout Edmund S. Morgan's article, The Puritans and Sex, it is argued that the Puritans of New England, although being portrayed across the duration of history as sexually avoidant and even repulsed, were defiant of this image as evidence is shown to have established that sex was an integral part of their society.…

    • 53 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Paper on Puritans and Sex

    • 607 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The article begins by stating that the puritans came to America to set a model for the Anglican Church. In order to accomplish this, the puritans had to have many laws that were supposed to be met with harsh punishment. Among these laws were many against sexual crimes, which were among the most frequent crimes. Despite the numerous laws discouraging adultery and other sexual actions the puritans did not discourage sex, on the contrary the puritans believed that “the use of the marriage bed is founded in man’s nature”(p 18) and that if people were denied sex that it would lead to other, worse crimes such as bestiality. Sex was actually encouraged inside of marriage so much that it could be considered slander if one man said that another was not having sex regularly with his wife.…

    • 607 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    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.…

    • 709 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Imagine having to leave your home because you cannot practice your religion freely. This was reality for the Puritans in England before they took a long journey to an unknown land in Salem, Massachusetts. There, they struggled to settle into a strict, religious lifestyle. They followed their Bible and went to Church. They also had harsh punishments for treason as well as other forms of crime. The Puritans were people with a strong belief system that led to irrational fears and a confined lifestyle.…

    • 815 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Puritanism was found by English Protestant leaders with the purpose of providing original unification of spiritual life, church and social life. Due to the fact that puritans in Britain were prohibited to attend the church, they had to move to New England and maintain their power over the continent. After establishment of their colony, the local authorities began to implement laws regulating human behavior in terms of drunkenness, swearing and gambling. This way, they hoped that the colony would build a new and reliable role model. In view of many scholars, although Puritan ambition to create the ideal model of society, based upon the establishment of a covenant with God, was initially rather promising, they did not firmly follow what they…

    • 801 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Puritan Culture

    • 497 Words
    • 2 Pages

    From a religious point of view, Puritans left a significant mark in the establishing of the American colonies by becoming the most vibrant Christian civilization. Puritans had a very difficult role in the new society; not only Puritans acted as the first representatives, but also established a series of basic political traditions for the benefit of the community in the colonies. The Puritan culture was spread throughout New England, creating the foundations of a national patriotism. Puritans established political communities in New England under the idea or vision of a Christian devotion. They were hard worshipper and God was their ultimate guidance because they trusted his divine mission. They felt that they were people ‘chosen’ by God, but…

    • 497 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Puritans and Sex

    • 400 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In the article, “The Puritans and Sex”, author Edmund S. Morgan argues that the puritans were much more freethinking than their conservative stereotype. Most of what things said about the Puritans may have been exaggerated and just like all normal people in the world they would indulge in such things as sex and marriage. Of course according to laws in the 1630s when the Puritans were around, it was required that in order to indulge in such actions of “pleasure” you must first be married. Many male and women servants would have “illicit sexual intercourse” and be whipped by their masters.…

    • 400 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In Massachusetts the puritans did not believe in religious freedom. If you didn’t go with the beliefs of the puritans than they would banish people or imprison them. John Winthrop was leader and governor of the puritans. The Puritans were a group of English men who disagreed with how the Church of England was ran. The extreme Puritans were known as Separatists in England. Finally, these extreme Puritans left for the New World in 1620. The Puritans set up a way of government. It said, "The whole purpose of government was to enforce God's laws." Only the Puritans, the only one's eligible for church membership, could be freemen. The believers and nonbelievers had to pay taxes on the government-supported church. The puritans were very boring people. They thought they were “God’s children”.…

    • 559 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    New England stressed the men overall power within marriage more than the women. The English strongly believe that marriage was more about power and gender roles within the colony than seeking a relationship with outside natives (English). Within the English colony, they enforced the understanding that men held most of the power with the Puritan society. Within a marriage, the men were known as the household leader, while the women just are seen as entitled to their husbands (English). While women in the English colony were seen as property in a way, they had little to no freedom like the Spanish and French women did. Although all three colonies saw marriage in a different light, they each enforced laws and norms that each gender would have to obey…

    • 1430 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    England in the 1620s was filled with tension between the Puritans and King James I and his son Charles I. Their primary goal for their country was to revive Roman Catholicism and rid of any religions that would not conform; so, they mainly targeted Puritans. This intolerance motivated the Puritans to pursue their economic interests (which later turned into religious interests) and establish a place for themselves in the New England colonies in 1630. What they originally intended was to create a colony in which they could practice their religion freely. They did not think of accepting others. Eventually, their society became just as strict as English society: their political, social, and economic advancements were structured and very much parochial.…

    • 1126 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    During the 1630`s to the 1660`s the Puritans had a frat influence on the New England colonies. Puritans were protestants that arose within the Church of England. They demanded to have a greater and more rigorous discipline and were not satisfied with what the Church of England offered.They separated themselves from the Church of England but still considered themselves from the Church of England. when their desires were not fulfilled they left to settle in the Americas.Many spread throughout the colonies and settled in places like New Hampshire and Rhode Island. The Puritans made an impact on the political, economical, and the social development of New England colonies through the 1630`s and the 1660`s.…

    • 547 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Dbq Puritan Values

    • 995 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Puritan society was heavily influence by their religious beliefs. Their religious beliefs accurately describe how they influenced the development of New England. The Puritans believed in a simple economic situation, an equal and democratic political system, and a social system that relied heavily on the patriarchal head of the family. Their values shaped the economic, political and social development in New England colonies from 1630 through the 1660s because of their strong ties to religion.…

    • 995 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Puritan Marriage Bed

    • 284 Words
    • 2 Pages

    It has been discovered through writings that Puritan ministers encouraged sexual intercourse and expelled those who neglected their bed duties for more than what was considered natural from the church.…

    • 284 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The general argument made by Edmund S. Morgan in The Puritans and Sex is that the Puritans did not deny all earthly pleasures including marriage and sex. More specifically, Morgan argues that the Puritans understood that sex was a natural human instinct and were just following their moral codes. John Cotton, a Puritan minister, stated “It is not good that man should be alone” while another minister stated that withdrawal from sex “Denies all reliefe in Wedlock unto Human necessity”. These puritanical Puritans understood that sex was a human necessity and should not be denied. Puritans also knew it was natural for humans to break laws, therefore they had to give punishments to those who broke the rules.…

    • 234 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays