The Crucible
by Arthur Miller
English 5-6 CP
Please
open your
notebooks to the
Class and Reading
Notes section and
prepare to take
notes.
Puritan Government
Mayflower
Compact
–First non-native civil
government in the Western
Hemisphere
–Formed before ever setting
foot on new soil
Vocabulary word
Theocracy
–Noun
–religious government
–Government run by the same
rules and leaders as the
dominant church/religion
Puritan Religion
 Strict
obedience to the 10
Commandments.
 Strict set of religious precepts
enforced through fear and
intimidation.
 Believed in a wrathful and
vengeful God.
Puritan Mindset
Their
way is the only
righteous, correct, true
way. Anything “outside
the box” is evil and a
threat to their way of life.
–In many ways this Puritan
mindset still drives our national
mindset today.
Puritan Society
 Originally
founded based on the
desire for religious tolerance and
freedom.
–Became the most intolerant of all
 Closed
community
 Strict social order
 Puritan economics – acquisition of
lands and material comfort
Puritan Sense of Mission
“Wee
shall be as a Citty upon
a Hill” (1630 John Winthrop)
–Shining example to the rest of
the world
–Nothing accepted that didn’t
fit that ideal
–“New Jerusalem”
Puritan Sense of Mission
“Redeemer
nation”
–We must convert all
to our way of life and
belief system.
1620s-30s
Plymouth
–
plantation
Original Puritan
settlers
1640s-50s
–
FIRST generation born
in the New World
comes of age
Children of the first
Puritans
1660s-70s
–
SECOND generation
born in the New
World comes of age
Grandchildren
of the first
Puritans
1680s-90s –
THIRD generation born in
the New World comes
of age
GREAT
GRANDCHILDREN
of the first
Puritans
Three generations
later…
 Do
you live—should you live--the
same way as your greatgrandparents did?
 Is life the same for you now as it
was in 1930s-1940s?
 Do you share the same beliefs or
value system as your great
grandparents?
VOCABULARY
heresy
–noun (abstract)
–Any belief or opinion strongly at
odds with established beliefs,
customs, etc.
–The willful and persistent rejection
of the laws and doctrine of the
established religion in a theocracy
VOCABULARY
blasphemy
–Noun (abstract)
–Impious (disrespectful) speech or
actions concerning God or other
sacred things.
–disrespectful behavior or speech
toward anything held sacred
VOCABULARY
conscientious
objector
–Noun (compound)
–A person who refuses on moral or
religious grounds to bear arms in a
military conflict or to serve in the
armed forces