Preview

What Role Did Religion Play In The First Colonies

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
871 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
What Role Did Religion Play In The First Colonies
The present is created from the past. In order for the world to get to where it is today, it had to have a past. Spin the globe backwards and see how America was formed with colonies and religion. Religions played a huge role in the settling and government of New England and Chesapeake. New England was one of the first colonies to be settled in.

The desire for a settlement in the new world was a huge thing. During the time of King James I of England, the Virginia Company allowed Separatists to be in their territory once they got to the new world. When they finally reached the new world with the puritans, they missed their landing spot and decided to just form their own colony. They settled down and called it New England. During this time, Puritanism was the main religion in England, so this was the religion of New England. After the first winter, many left, but the separatists stayed and now the colony was for non puritans. In 1691, New England was still charertless and only made of seven thousand …show more content…
The clergymen were the most important and everything they did was based off of religion. They believe that God’s law was the way to go. Their law was based off of this and they on let certain people be “free”. These people were the puritans who were eligible for church membership. There were quakers that lived in the colonies who did not have it easy. If they did not do as the clergymen said, they were banished, flogged, taxed insanely, or even hanged. They also became very strict on who would be part of the government. Salem Minister, Roger Williams, believed that they should break away from the Church of England. He also believed that civil government should not regulate religious behavior. That resulted in him being banished. Their government was purely based on religion and there was no other way for them to rule over their
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    Ne vs Chesapeake Dbq
    • 985 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Ne vs Chesapeake Dbq

    In 1607 the first colony of the Chesapeake region was colonized. Under the rule of King James I, the English Settlement of Jamestown, Virginia was formed. Eventually the Chesapeake Bay consisted of Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey and Delaware. Men ranging from ages 14-50 began immigrating to Virginia, in search of economic ventures (Document C). During the early years of the Jamestown Colony, the conditions of the Chesapeake Bay were brutal, many died of starvation, the cold and serious conflicts with the Indians. In this case the Powhatan Indians. Men from England who would reach fifty years old were considered lucky. The winters were called “Starving time” because of the lack of food and bitter cold that merely killed all the settlers (Document F). The Immigration to the New England Colonies was for more Religious Reasons. The base of this Region is on the emphasis on Puritanism. (Document A). Some may call them “religious bastards,” for leaving England because they thought they were too good. There were Puritans that wanted to purify the church, by separating the saints and the damned. Extreme Puritans, or Separatists, wanted to separate completely from the Church of England because they felt the church was beyond saving. The “Pilgrims” ended their pilgrimage in Plymouth Bay in 1620. This was the beginning of the New England Colony. The whole region included the Massachusetts Bay colony, Plymouth, Rhode Island and Connecticut.…

    • 985 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Puritans Influence On New England Colonies Dbq Research Paper
    • 547 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Puritans Influence On New England Colonies Dbq Research Paper

    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
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Although New England and the Chesapeake Region Were Both Settled Largely by People of English Origin, by 1700 the Regions Had Evolved Into Two Distinct Societies. Why Did This Difference Occur?
    • 688 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Although New England and the Chesapeake Region Were Both Settled Largely by People of English Origin, by 1700 the Regions Had Evolved Into Two Distinct Societies. Why Did This Difference Occur?

    In contrast to the mercenary nature of Virginia, New England was founded out of altruistic and religious reasons. The Separatists, and later the Puritans who arrived in 1630, came primarily so that they might practice their religion as they wished, free of royal interference. As John Winthrop wrote, the settlers saw their colony as a noble experiment, a "city upon a hill" which was being watched by the entire world. The settlement would be a Christian community in which all would labor together for the common good, and everybody would help his neighbor in every way. Clearly the two regions had very different outlooks in life.…

    • 688 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    DBQ French and Indian war
    • 331 Words
    • 1 Page

    DBQ French and Indian war

    The New England colonies had many different types of migrants that traveled there. Many families with kids, mostly all under the age of 10 years migrated to the New England colonies (Document B). People mainly traveled to New England because of the large amount of landmigrants recieved no matter of their social rank. The right to practice any religion was a huge pull factor to the New England colonies. New England was destined to be a perfect society for all the world to look up to (Document A). They were more focused on religious freedom than the Chesapeake region. Puritans wanted freedom from persecution in England and the amount of puritans who settled in New England was mass because of the discontent they had with the church of England and sought religious, moral and societal reforms. This also explains why the New England migrants were less concerned with relations with England than the Chesapeake region migrants were because of the trade relations the southern regions needed with England to continue to keep succeeding in farming.…

    • 331 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Pilgrims: The New England Colonists
    • 406 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Pilgrims: The New England Colonists

    The New England Colonists highly valued religion and rules. Some well known colonists are the Pilgrims. The Pilgrims came to the New England Colonies for freedom of religion. They believed that the Church of England had gone to far beyond Christ’s teachings. There way of dealing with serious crimes was execution. The lesser crimes were handled with fines. There was one law on guns, if you did not bring a loaded gun to church you were fined 12 shillings. The church building itself had no significance to the Pilgrims, and was usually called simply the "meetingplace" or "meetinghouse". The meetinghouse was kept drab, and had no religious icons. The pastor was not essential to the church. Another well known group of colonists are the Puritans.…

    • 406 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Differences between New England and the Chesapeake Regions
    • 797 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Differences between New England and the Chesapeake Regions

    New England is composed of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Hampshire. The founders of this region were families with many children (Document B).They sought religious freedom and a place to worship how they wanted. To New England, religion was considered to be most important thing before anything else. They also had a strong participation towards religion. In the beginning of the formation of this region, many people referred to themselves as Puritans. New England farmed, but not to receive money. The land was not very good for farming, so they produced just enough crops to feed themselves and their family. Also, because New England wasn't a good place for farming, they didn't need slaves to do their field work. Since farming wasn't the way to receive their income, they had to find other ways to make money. Some jobs they had in New England were blacksmiths, whaling, fishing, and ship building. Blacksmiths made anything from locks to silverware. The items made were used to improve your home-life. Fishing and whaling were an efficient way to make money. They could catch enough sea-life to feed themselves and sell for money. Whaling also produced whale oil which was good for making soap and candles. The best way to fish was to have a boat, which led to ship building. Ship building was also used to sell to fisherman, traders, and even sold to England. Another big thing in New England, was education. Everyone wanted to be…

    • 797 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Roger Williams And Anne Hutchinson Individualism
    • 870 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Essay On Roger Williams And Anne Hutchinson Individualism

    Puritans were passionate reformers seeking to bring the Church of England to a state of purity in comparison with Christianity at the time of Christ and decided to form their own religious colonies in America. They considered religion to be a complex and highly intellectual affair. Thus, leaders were highly trained scholars with authoritarian positions that developed a “built-in hierarchism” (http://xroads.virginia.edu/%7eCAP/PURITAN/purhist.html#pil, 3). Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson believed and preached “Individualisme”…

    • 870 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    New England Colonies Dbq Analysis
    • 1126 Words
    • 5 Pages

    New England Colonies Dbq Analysis

    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
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    What Role Did Religion Play In The Colonies
    • 220 Words
    • 1 Page

    What Role Did Religion Play In The Colonies

    Religion played a very important role in the establishment of the England colonies. Communities were developed as business related ventures, allowances for the monarch, a disciplinary community, and also considerably for religious reasons. The most critical role in certain communities was played by religion. The communities that religion was extremely authoritative against were Massachusetts and Plymouth Bay, also Rhode Island and Maryland.…

    • 220 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    What Role Did Religion Play In The 13 Colonies
    • 137 Words
    • 1 Page

    What Role Did Religion Play In The 13 Colonies

    Throughout all of history and even today, religion has played a major role in the lives of many people and society in general. A time in history where this is prevalent is in the 17th and 18th centuries; the colonization and the building the original 13 colonies. In fact, religion played such an important role in the colonies that religion was sometimes the stem of inner conflict in the colonies. However, on the same hand, religion also had a way of being common ground among the colonists. Religion united the colonists when all were free to worship what faith they wanted and how they wanted to worship and a direct result of this religious freedom was emerging political ideas;however, when religious intolerance, or concern for only one particular…

    • 137 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    What Role Did Religion Play In The American Revolution
    • 156 Words
    • 1 Page

    What Role Did Religion Play In The American Revolution

    Between the years of 1500 and 1760, religion played a pivotal role in the exploration, settlement, and early movements for independence in the American colonies.…

    • 156 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    How Did Religious Toleration Increase In The American Colonies
    • 688 Words
    • 3 Pages

    How Did Religious Toleration Increase In The American Colonies

    One man established complete freedom of religion. An extreme Separatist, Roger Williams separated from the corrupt Church of England as a young man. He then challenged the legality of the Bay Colony's charter,…

    • 688 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Colonial Religion
    • 672 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Essay On Colonial Religion

    This allowed for more of a tolerance of different religions. The Chesapeake colonies had a melting pot of different religions. They allowed Jews to practice freely in their colonies. The Jewish people from Brazil wrote to the Dutch West India to allow them settle in North America they stated, “... the Jewish nation be permitted… to travel, live and traffic there, and with them enjoy liberty on condition of contributing to others,¨(VOF, 20). On the other hand, the New England colonies were not as tolerable as the Chesapeake colonies. The Puritans were a group of people in England to adopt Calvinist teachings when they became unhappy with how the Church of England was too similar to the Catholic religion. They left England for the Jamestown colony, but were blown off course and settled in present-day Massachusetts. There, they established a Puritan colony. Religion played a large role in the social order of the New England colonies. Due to the number of families that emigrated, New England possessed a very patriarchal society. In New England, women were oppressed and not seen as equals due to the Puritan ideals implemented in their society. The…

    • 672 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Puritans
    • 710 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Puritans

    Puritans started to arrive in the New England area during the 1600's. They specifically settles in the areas around Boston. Unlike other people coming to settle in New England, the Puritans came to create a more pure and Christian based society; they did not come for economic purposes. The Puritans wanted a theocratic society, or a government run by religious beliefs. By creating their Christian based society in this way, their ideas and values of the political, economic, and social developments influenced the New England colonies from 1630 to 1660.…

    • 710 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Thirteen Colonies
    • 642 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Thirteen Colonies

    The English settlement in America occurring around the early 1600’s was the result of the Age of Exploration in addition, the freedom from religious oppression. For the Separatists later known as the Pilgrims, America was a place for dreams and new beginnings given that they were persecuted for their religious beliefs in England. Some fled to the Netherlands finding religious freedom and no work. The Pilgrims however, settled in America. Moreover, the Puritans came to America to practice their religion freely. They strictly enforced their religious regulations in result of the little tolerance they themselves obtained from different beliefs. Due to this lack of tolerance people began forming new colonies. England had three colonial groups identified as the New England, Middle and Southern colonies. Three admirable colonies that may be pointed out from each group are Massachusetts from the New England colonies, Pennsylvania from the Middle and Maryland the Southern colonies.…

    • 642 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics