Puritan New England Essay, Research Paper

Puritans were separatists from English Church in XVII century. They left England because of the repressions from King Charles I who tried to restore Roman Catholicism in England. Puritans also immigrated because they wanted to spread the gospel to other parts of the world and establish pure church. In 1620, the first pilgrims stepped ashore at Cape Code and by the 1630 Puritanism ruled New England almost entirely. Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire were some of the colonies that relied on Puritanism. The communities were growing and expanding in the New World. Puritans like every society had strengths and weaknesses.

One of the strengths of Puritans was an ability to adapt to new the environment.. At the beginning the community s growth and survival critically depended on the help received from native Indians. Eventually the Pilgrim started to grow corn and other crops to provide them with enough food to survive. They also began to trade and cooperate with Indians. They built small villages and shortly they became successful farmers. The ability to adapt to a new environment is still very evident in the United States today. New Comers arrive to America with aspiration to be successful and most of them assimilate well to new environment. They accomplish this by putting enormous effort. They learn English, absorb the culture and work hard to make life easier for themselves and their children.

Another strength of pilgrims was their skill to create solid and well-organized colonies. The Puritans built villages that were surrounded by walls, or stockades in order to keep danger out of their homes. They divided their lands into functional units of agricultural systems. They built fences to separate animals from the place where crops grew. In order to create educated colony Puritans also decided that every town of fifty families would be required to provide a school where children could learn to read and write. They tried to establish a structured society with an standpoint outlook for growth. This strength continues to exist today in American society as well. Americans still expand their lands and invest in knowledge making the New World one of the fastest growing and best-developed nations in the World. They have developed an educational system that allows everyone the opportunity to a decent education

The Puritans religious beliefs can be considered as their biggest weakness. Their belief was that god had chosen them to be the people of the New Jerusalem and anyone who did not follow this belief was wrong. Puritans were not friendly or welcoming to New Comers with different religious beliefs. In fact Puritans gave New Comers the choice to either conform to their religion or leave. Religion was the overwhelming influence in every puritan s life. The clergy and the government worked closely together. However, Ministers had no formal political power. The Puritans society was a patriarchal one, where women were not independent and lacked ..For example of the submissive role that women were expected to abide by can be seen by the Puritans treatment of Anne Hutchinson. Hutchinson wanted religious reforms in the colony, asking for a more active role form women in religious affairs. She was accused of heresy and was forced to leave the colony. There was also a tremendous fear of Satan. The fear of evil was so strong that in 1680 hundreds of women were accused of witchcraft. Nineteen of those women were put to death.Puritans complete devotion for their religion and all that encompassed it was a major weakness in their society. Instead of being blinded by love, they were blinded by religion. There was a huge gap in equality and opportunities for members of the colony and many innocent lives were lost because of it. The Puritan Religion would not survive in today s America. United States is a melting pot for an exhausting number of races and religions. Citizens of every state have equal rights and the freedom to choose their religion as deemed Bill of Rights.

The religion can be considered as the biggest weakness of Puritans. They believed that God had chosen them to be the people of a New Jerusalem and every one who did not believe as they did was wrong. In fact Puritans did not treat friendly new comers of different religion. Newcomers had a choice of conforming to the religious practices of the colony or they had to leave. Religion was influencing almost every part of Puritans life. The clergy and the government worked closely together. However, Ministers had no formal political power. In the society with patriarchal system women were not independent. For instance Anne Hutchinson who wanted religious reforms in the colony and more active role to women in religious affairs was accused of heresy and had to leave colony. There was also enormous fear of Satan in Puritan s religion. The phobia of evil was so strong that in 1680 hundreds of women were accused of witchcraft and nineteen of them were put to death. Because Puritans blindly followed their religion people did not have equal opportunities in colonies and many innocent lives were taken. The Puritan s blind belief in their religion did not survive in today s America. Americas are people different races and different religions. People in all states have equal rights and freedom to choose their religion. The colonies where puritans tried to convince people to their religion are not present in XXI century America. Women are emancipated and they share equal opportunities with men. They participate in politics and religious affairs without any repressions. The patriarchal system passed away