The Early Days of the Puritans in the New World

The Puritans’ Search for Religious Freedom in the New World
By the turn of the 17th century, much of the New World had already been explored by Europeans in search of gold and glory, and reports of the opportunities and riches available encouraged others to follow. Not everyone who ventured into the New World wildernesses was in search of money, including the Puritans who braved the elements in search of religious freedom. This paper provides a review of selected primary sources from the era together with other relevant literature to determine why the Puritans came to America as well as a description of their overarching goals and an analysis concerning whether they achieved these goals. In addition, a discussion concerning the difficulty of the lives of these early colonists and a description of their interactions with Native Americans are followed by an assessment of their values and whether these values and morals are still relevant in modern society. Finally, a summary of the research and important findings concerning the Puritans and their emigration to the New World are provided in the conclusion.
Why did they come to America?
According to Baym (2008), one of the most important early Puritan figures was William Bradford, who would go on to become the first leader of the Plymouth Plantation in Massachusetts. In this regard, Baym advises that, “Bradford epitomizes the spirit of determination and self-sacrifice that seems to us characteristic of our first ‘Pilgrims,’ a word use[d] to describe the believers who sailed from South Hampton, England, on the Mayflower, and settled in Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1620” (p. 57). In sum, this “community of believers” came to America in an effort to avoid the religious persecution they had been experiencing in the Old World and their inability to reform the Anglican Church from within (Baym, 2007). In this regard, Gaddy and Lynn (2006) report that, “Most of the first European settlers in North America came to flee religious persecution and seek religious freedom” (p. 300).
The description of the momentous arrival of the Puritans was recorded by Bradford in his account, “On Plymouth Plantation” wherein he wrote: “Being thus arived in a good harbor and brought safe to land, they fell upon their knees & blessed ye God of heaven, who had brought them over ye vast & furious ocean, and delivered them” (p. 60). As members of the official state Anglican church in England, the Puritans were convinced that the only way they could practice their faith in peace was to find a place in the world where they would be free of persecution and have the opportunity to live their lives in accord with their own values and these issues are discussed further below.
What were their goals?
It is noteworthy that the Puritans’ overarching goal of securing religious freedom for themselves was not matched by a corresponding zeal to protect the rights of others who believed differently. Indeed, the hypocrisy of the Puritans is a recurring theme in modern histories of the era. For instance, Danson and Hutchinson (2017) emphasize that, “the Puritans left England for America because they had suffered religious persecution—and then the Puritans persecuted other religions here!” (p. 2). Likewise, even President Howard Taft weighed in on this issue by stating, “[The Puritans] came to this country to establish freedom of their religion, not the freedom of anybody else’s religion” (as cited in Gaddy & Lynn, 2008, p. 21). A secondary and related goal of the Puritans was to establish a secure place in the New World where they could practice their own religion until “England was destroyed by God for its apostasy [and] the fugitive Puritans would be left to re-establish Christian civilization” (Danson & Hutchinson, 2017, p. 3).
Did they achieve their goals?
Notwithstanding the foregoing considerations concerning their hypocritical views about religion, most authorities today agree that the Puritans were successful in achieving their goal of securing it for themselves (Hatch, 2011). Clearly, though, the Puritan’s goal of establishing a secure place in the New World where they could practice their faith until “England was destroyed by God” has not yet come to fruition.
How difficult was their life in colony?
Not surprisingly, carving a new life out of the American wilderness was exceedingly challenging for the newly arrived Puritan, especially given their unfamiliarity with the new territory. Although the New World was in fact a “land of plenty,” the Puritans were truly strangers in this strange land. Indeed, it is reasonable to suggest that without the assistance of the Native Americans, the hardships endured by the early Puritans would have been sufficiently severe to doom the enterprise altogether. Some indication of these hardships can be discerned from the fact that by the time the first Thanksgiving was celebrated in the fall of 1621, there were just 53 survivors. An account of the first Thanksgiving recorded by Captain Smith also provides some indication of the relief that was experienced by the early Puritans after these hardships had been overcome: “They began now to gather in the small harvest they had, and to fit up their houses and dwellings against winter, being all well recovered in health and strength and had all things in good plenty” (as cited in Baym, 2008, p. 71).
How did they interact with Native Americans?
Some indication of the suspicion and hostility that greeted the early settlers to the New World can be discerned from Captain John Smith’s account of the deaths of several of his compatriots and his own capture in his treatise, “From the General History of Virginia, New England and the Summer Isles (third book) wherein he states, “Captaine Smith was led after him by three great Salvages, holding him fast by each arme: and on each side six went in fyle with their Arrowes nocked” (p. 49).
Fortunately for Captain Smith, he was befriended the daughter of Powhatan, the Native American chief, who not only saved his life but managed to help the Puritans learn how to survive in this strange new land. As Smith puts it, “Pocahontas the Kings dearest daughter, when no intreaty could prevaile, got his head in her armes, and laid her owne vpon his to saue him from death” (as cited in Baym, 2007, p. 50): Not all early settlers experienced this type of initial hostility from the Native Americans, however, and Rogers Williams and his followers received a warm welcome from the Narragansett Indians living in what would become Rhode Island (Baym, 2008). In his essay, “A Key into the Language of America,” Williams wrote of the Native Americas: “I present you with a Key . . . [which] respects the native language of it, and happily may unlock some rarities concerning the natives themselves, not yet discovered” (as cited in Baym, 2008, p. 88).
What were their values?
In some ways, the values of the Puritans were similar to those held by Zen Buddhists who believe that even everyday activities can be sacred if they are practiced to the best of adherents’ abilities. For example, Curtis (2015) reports that, “The Puritans saw all honorable work as a means of glorifying God. All of life was God's, and there was no distinction between secular and sacred work” (para. 5). Because all believers were called upon by God to perform a given occupation, the Puritans placed a high priority on serving God in this capacity to the best of their ability (Curtis, 2015). In this regard, Curtis (2015) concludes that, “Working in one's calling or vocation was a means of serving God and men. Idleness was considered a great sin; diligence in one's calling was a virtue” (para. 6). Likewise, some of the core beliefs of the Puritans can be discerned from John Winthrop’s 1630 sermon, “A Model of Christian Charity” wherein he eloquently outlined three key values as follows:
1. To hold conformity with the rest of His world, being delighted to show forth the glory of his wisdom in the variety and difference of the creatures, and the glory of His power in ordering all these differences for the preservation and good of the whole, and the glory of His greatness, that as it is the glory of princes to have many officers, so this great king will have many stewards, counting himself more honored in dispensing his gifts to man by man, than if he did it by his own immediate hands;
2. That He might have the more occasion to manifest the work of his Spirit: first upon the wicked in moderating and restraining them, so that the rich and mighty should not eat up the poor, nor the poor and despised rise up against and shake off their yoke; and,
3. That every man might have need of others, and from hence they might be all knit more nearly together in the bonds of brotherly affection [and] no man is made more honorable than another or more wealthy etc., out of any particular and singular respect to himself, but for the glory of his Creator and the common good of the creature, man (as cited in Baym, 2008, p. 76).
In addition, Winthrop proclaimed that the Puritan colony in the New World would serve as “a city upon a hill” presided over by a “community of visible saints” (as cited in Stanley, 2010, p. 25). In fact, Winthrop was so convinced of the correctness of the Puritans’ values and goals that “he presumed God would make an example of the new society through war and famine” if they failed (Stanley, 2010, p. 26).
Are their values and morals still vital in modern society?
Although few Americans today would likely subscribe to the Puritans’ dogmatic religious beliefs wholesale, it is clear that their values and morals are still vital to modern society. For instance, the current president pro tempore of the United States Senate emphasizes that, “Indeed, many members of dissenting religions, such as the Puritans from Anglican England, fled to America to escape religious persecution. The new Americans argued initially for toleration of the differing Christian sects, and finally for legal protection of all faiths.12 As such, freedom of conscience was protected in what we refer to as the Free Exercise Clause, and a state religion supported by tax revenue was prohibited by the Establishment Clause” (Hatch, 2001, p. 414).
Conclusion
Although the Puritans have been criticized by some modern historians for their failure to extend the same level of regard for their own religion as those of others, the period in history in which they fled England for the New World was drastically different from the 21st century and these early settlers felt besieged from all quarters concerning their religious beliefs. The historical record has shown that other peoples have engaged in the same types of attempts to separate themselves from mainstream society in an effort to worship God as they believed. The fact the Puritans placed such a high priority on education and moderation helped to set the stage for the America that would evolve over the next 200 years, and their values are still influential on the American consciousness today.




References
Baym, N. (ed). (2008). The Norton anthology of American literature, vol. 1. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
Danson, T. & Hutchinson, A. (2017). The Puritans and freedom of religion. The Historic Present. Retrieved from https://thehistoricpresent.com/2008/10/27/the-puritans-and-freedom-of-religion/.
Gaddy, C. W. & Lynn, B. W. (2008). First freedom first: A citizen's guide to protecting religious liberty and the separation of church and state. Boston: Beacon Press.
Hatch, O. G. (2001, January 1). Religious liberty at home and abroad: Reflections on protecting this fundamental freedom. Brigham Young University Law Review, 21(2), 413-416.
Stanley, T. (2010, November). To build a shining city on a hill. History Today, 60(11), 24-26.