2.4 The New England Way
The Rise of Puritanism:
● Church of England retained too many elements of Catholicism
● Rejected Catholic structure of authority from pope or king
○ Congregationalists: Independent local congregations should choose
● Reading bible and listening to sermons > devotion to sacraments administered by priests
● Followed ideas of John Calvin (Swiss theologian)
○ Idleness and immoral behavior were signs of damnation
○ No guarantees of salvation
Moral Liberty:
● Minority became separatists: abandoned Church of England
● Searched for liberty in colonies
● Freedom: ability to obey God’s will through self-government1
● 1645 speech: John Wintrop distinguished “natural” (native) and “moral” (Christian)
liberty
● Elect had right to establish churches and govern society
The Pilgrims at Plymouth:
● First Puritans to emigrate to America
● 1608 - fled to Netherlands
● Financed by English investors
● September 1620 - Mayflower embarked
○ Blown off course to Cape Cod, native population decimated by smallpox
○ Plymouth Colony
● Mayflower Compact: men agreed to obey laws enacted by chosen representatives
● Arrived without food or farm animals six weeks before winter
○ Half died
○ Survived with help of local Indians (Squanto)
● 1614 - Thomas Hunt kidnaped Squanto
● 1619 - Squanto returned, discovers his people (Patuxet) died from disease
○ Interpreter, taught how to fish, plant corn
○ Helped forge alliance with Massasoit (local chief)
● 1621 - invited Indians to Thanksgiving
● 1627 - common land divided to settlers
● 1691 - overshadowed by Massachusetts
The Great Migration:
● 1629 - London merchants create Massachusetts Bay Company
○ Further Puritan cause, profit with Indian trade
● 1630s - Great Migration: established stable basis for society
● Most came in families
○ Desire to escape religious persecution, anxiety about future of England, prospect
of economy betterment
○ Older + more prosperous
○ Equal gender ratio
○ Healthy climate
○ = population growth
The Puritan Family:
● Male authority, limited women rights
● Women were spiritual equals to men + allowed to become full church members
● Ideal marriage: reciprocal, legal divorce
○ Men had absolute authority at home
■ Physical “correction” was appropriate
● 1465 John Wintrop speech: women achieved freedom through subjection to husband’s
authority
● More children survived infancy, woman’s adult life devoted to children
Government and Society in Massachusetts:
● Puritans feared excessive individualism and lack of social unity
● Organized self-governed towns
● Land remained in commons: collective use or to be divided later
● Congregational Church for each town
● 1647 law: must establish a school
● 1636: Harvard College
● Shareholders of Massachusetts Bay Company emigrated to America
● Freemen elected governor
● Voluntary agreement to make church decisions
● Church membership - restrictive prestige
○ Smaller % of population had control
Church and State in Puritan Massachusetts:
● 1641 General Court - Body of Liberties
○ Interpreted as privileges
● Inequality = expression of God’s will
● Separate rights for freemen, women, children, and slaves
● Law required towns to establish churches and taxes to support ministers
● Death penalty for worshipping other gods
● Religious uniformity = necessary for social order
● Religious liberty = liberty to practice the truth