Preview Main Points: First, I will explain who the Puritans were along with, what they believed in. Secondly, I will explain how the hunt of witches started in Salem Village. Thirdly, how it progressed. Lastly, I will explain how it ended.…
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.…
The puritan’s view of the way things should be done in this century was that men and women had certain roles and for women to step outside of these boundaries, that is to act in a way that it is perceived that only men should act, is highly contestable. The puritans adhered to the bible very closely. Also, the puritan society of early Massachusetts was among the most critical that could be imagined. John Winthrop who was the prosecutor in the case against Anne Hutchinson was among the strictest puritan, along with the local government. One can clearly identify the puritan’s feelings of their superiority, not only in law, government, and church, but also in being a man as opposed…
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.…
The layout of his settlements, establishment of voting eligibility, and governmental buildings were tied to the Government. By clustering settlers in tightly, he ensured that they would have no excuse for not attending church, and that the settlers would be able to monitor all other settlers’ piousness. Voting rights were granted only to saints, who were men who lived scandal free lives, shared their conversion experience, and repented for their sins. The main governmental building, the town hall, also served as the church. The lines between church and state were almost non-existent. The rise of dissenters in the form of Williams and Hutchinson, which greatly threatened the Puritan church, also therefore threatened the government. By calling into question the divinity and correctness of the clergy, these dissenters cast doubt on the effectiveness of the government. By the mid 1600s, influences from other, less religious colonies, began to have a large effect on the Puritans. The steadfast devotion that had held them together was weakened as the successes of other, far less rigid, colonies became apparent. This tension came to a head in the 1690s with the Salem witch hunts. After the unchecked cycle of accusing, and mock trials finally came to an end, it was realized how wrong the church and government had been, the government lost most of its remaining credibility. This debacle, combined with the failure of their economic equality goals led to the failure of the “New England Way” style of…
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…
TOPIC: In what ways did the ideas and values held by the Puritans influence the political, economic and social development in the New England colonies from 1630-1660?…
The Puritan faith is a one that was not well accepted in Great Britain, forcing them to a place where they could, theoretically, be free from persecution. Francis J. Bremer’s book, The Puritan Experiment, provides the reality that no matter the place that this religion was present, the rules were still the same. He is successful in examining the role that women played in a New World Puritan society, and is able to provide information to other authors on the aspects of the Salem Witch Trials, and the role that women played in the hysteria. The girls that created the hysteria of the Salem Witch Trials were never reported as being prosecuted for their perjury, and little is known about what happened to them after the trials ended.…
In the early settlements of the New World known as America today, the Puritan Community settled in what they used to call New England. Frustrated by the Church of England, they fled to the New World because they were being prosecuted and they wanted to establish a new sect in which God’s law was held supreme. They believed that the Bible and it’s message was the law of the land and no man could oppose it. Following what the Bible said, they believed it was their salvation into having a place in heaven. Their community consisted of religious faith and strict discipline. Another belief they had was that people were either born sinful and bound to live in Hell, and that only living in purity and praying to God would save them. They believed that natural disasters would be the work of the devil and its followers. This strict lifestyle cause them to become paranoid and suspicious of each other. Their hysteria led to the Salem Witch trials in 1692, where each person would blame each other for witchcraft and be executed for working with the devil.…
They had strong beliefs and the society was controlled by Puritan law. The law was very strict. People believed that a little sin such as falling asleep during a church recital deserved a punishment. Women and men were expected to dress and act a certain way. According to Discovery Education, “individual differences were frowned upon” meaning people had to keep their thoughts and opinions to themselves. The Puritans believed in the devil as much as they believed in god. As mentioned in the previous paragraph, women were more “susceptible” to sin because Satan went to those who were weaker and whoever followed him was then considered a witch. Practicing witchcraft was one of the biggest sins to make and it was punishable by death. As reported by many scholars society’s way of thinking was influenced by their religion which then lead to what is known as “the darkest time in American History”.…
Early New Englanders were unable to accept the increase in diversity and the break in tradition that occurred between generations. This, in addition to various unappealing events which occurred throughout the late 1600s, created tensions within the New England community. Such tensions were the cause of the prevalent hysteria concerning witchcraft in the 1680s and 1690s. The disastrous consequences of these tensions included the execution of hundreds of innocent civilians during the Salem witch trials. Accusations of witchcraft often targeted widowed, middle-aged women with few children, and of low social standing. Sometimes, the accused women were those who had acquired possession of property and respectively contested the gender norms of Puritan society. In addition, separation of Church and State was nonexistence, and often religion was intertwined with political law. As a result, anyone who opposed the Puritan Church in even the slightest of instances was susceptible to chastisement by law. "Witchcraft" was viewed as a rebellion against the Church, heresy, and association with the devil, and was punishable accordingly. Finally, people living in Salem, Massachusetts were motivated to accuse others of witchcraft because, if convicted, the property that they had owned would be sold. These factors contributed to the major social, political, and economic reasons why the Salem witch trials began.…
A group of people called the Puritans came to the United States and settled in Salem, Massachusetts. The Puritan people had escaped England because they were being persecuted for wanted to believe in their own religion; in other words, they came here for religious freedom. Salem, Massachusetts was a harbor town, near the ocean. This place was a theocracy; a system of government that is ruled by a priest in the name of God. The Puritans believed that their religion was the right one to follow and that everyone had to follow it. They did not believe in literature and would say that their religion forbade such enjoyment. The only time they would actually hang out and have a sort of reunion was when a new farmhouse was built. Other than this,…
Harley, David. "Explaining Salem:Calvinist Psychology and the Diagnosis of Possession." The American Historical Review 101 (1996): 307-330. JSTOR. 10 Oct. 2007 <http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0002-8762%28199604%29101%3A2%3C307%3AESCPAT%3E2.0.CO%3B2-D>.…
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.…
The Salem witch trials were brought about partly as a result of providences also known as remarkable providences which were visible signs of God’s will that affected daily life. Puritans believed that God rewards or protects His people and punishes His enemies. Increase Maher made a list of providences including many pages on the significance of thunder and lightning. His son, Cotton Maher, wrote about the scientific causes of lightning, but said that God instigated the actions that lead to thunder and lightning. The Puritans were especially fascinated by the providences dealing with the punishment of God’s enemies. Punishments include the annihilation of the Narragansett Native Americans who did not follow the Ten Commandments and scoffed at the Gospel. Puritans saw God’s hand when the Narragansett tribe was devastated by the white settlers. Many other people were struck by lightning and killed which Puritans saw as fitting, because the dead were adulterers or fought with the town’s ministers. There were many more providences such as ghosts, tempests, ghost ships, and the belief that corpses will bleed from the touch of it murderer. The belief of providences heavily influenced the witch hunts by scaring those who thought that demons were possessing people. The Salem witch trials began in January 1692 when Betty Parris and Abigail Williams began to show signs of unusual behavior. The girls have episodes where they would convulse and talk incomprehensibly. Soon after, many other girls began experiencing similar behavior which eventually culminated in them indicting several members of their town as witches. There has yet to be a single, fully-accepted theory as to why the girls experienced such behavior. One theory is that the girls consumed ergot-infected rye which could be possible due to the growing conditions and farming methods of the time period. Another theory is that the girls were involved in the factionalism that resulted because of Revered…