Puritans Essays (Examples)

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Puritans and Quakers
PAGES 4 WORDS 1225

Puritans and Quakers
Comparative Analysis of the Beliefs and Attitudes between Puritans and Quakers in Colonial America (17th-18th centuries)

Early Colonial American society during the 17th and 18th centuries is characteristically bound by strong religious beliefs of Christianity. The New England inhabitants from Britain, who have established their respective colonies in the Americas, have brought with them their cultural histories; thus, this culture had been further developed in the new country to strengthen its new identity and culture as the American society.

In colonial America, two religions dominated its cultural history: Puritans on one hand, and the Quakers, on the other. Puritanism was borne from the creation of a religion that seeks to fuse and at the same time, reform, the Catholic and Protestant teachings and principles. When it was created, it was given a chance to further develop and eventually became one of the dominant religions of the British colonies in America.….

North was a stronghold of strict religious and moral belief, controlling the population and their actions, while the South was more open, plantation based, and already importing slaves. The color lines were already drawn, leading to an inevitable conclusion in 1860.
In contrast, the strict morals of the Puritan colonies in the North were very different from the settlements in the South. There, wealthy landowners commandeered much of the available land and created vast estates, already importing slaves to work in the rice fields in the 1600s. The southern planters and new arrivals looked forward to wine and beer making along with other profitable ventures, and many of them came from poor roots, while the Puritans were more prosperous from the start. Thus, the northern colonies served as a foundation for the country's government, commerce, and religious beliefs, and so, they were models for the rest of the country.

eferences

Editors. "Massachusetts….

Wayward Puritans: A Study in the Sociology of Deviance by Kai T. Erickson. Specifically, it will contain an extra chapter to "Wayward Puritans" demonstrating how the study illustrates the social control approach to deviance. The Puritan society of early New England is an excellent example of how a small society carefully controlled deviant behavior that frightened them.
The Social Control Approach

The sociological and historical study of the Puritans and their approach to deviance in their society indicated just how these early Americans controlled their society, and thus controlled deviant behavior in their society. This social control approach is still the most common method of societal behavioral control, because it works in many applications. For example, today, social controls can be seen in the war on drugs, and on drinking and driving. For most of society, these behaviors are not acceptable, and so, there are laws against them, but there is….

Franklin and the Puritans
There were many different aspects to Benjamin Franklin's character and while many Americans like to concentrate on his more lurid, or worldly endeavors, his ethical beliefs were a very important part of his life. In fact, Franklin listed thirteen virtues in his autobiography which he found to be instrumental in becoming a moral and honorable person. It is interesting to note that Franklin's list of virtues bear remarkable similarities to Puritan beliefs and virtues. But while there are similarities between Benjamin Franklin's self-professed list of virtues and those of the Puritans, Franklin was not simply parroting Puritan thought, and there are also a great many differences between the two as well. An examination of the two codes of ethics will demonstrate that while Franklin's code may well be based on the Puritan code, he diverted from a strict religious-based ethical system to a more practical system grounded….

Roger illiams was a Puritan Separatist and Baptist, who founded the new colony of Rhode Island after his expulsion from Massachusetts. His views were quite radical and democratic by 17th Century standards, since he supported religious freedom for all individuals and strongly disapproved of state-supported religions and established churches of the kind that existed everywhere at the time. Although his own views were strictly Calvinist, and he regularly entered into religious disputes with supporters of other religions, Rhode Island did not use the power of the government to enforce religious conformity. He called for the separation of church and state in his 1644 pamphlet "The Bloody Tenet of Persecution," on the grounds that in went against scripture and also caused religious wars. illiams directed his arguments against fellow John Calvin, John Cotton and other Protestants who favored state-supported churches and enforcement of laws against heresy and blasphemy. Judges, governors and….

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….

Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter is a fictionalized account of life in puritan New England. Although the story is an amalgamation of characters, places, and events, the journals of Hawthorne's contemporaries and forebears reveals a sinister connection between real life in seventeenth century Massachusetts and the tragedy of Hester Prynne's life. Prynne is in fact a symbol of all women living under Puritan patriarchal rule. Through Hawthorne's foresight, her story is recorded as a critical warning against the evils of patriarchy and the clear need to examine the hypocrisies of early American life.
inthrop's journal addresses the full gamut of life in Puritan Massachusetts, including the life of women. It is abundantly clear through inthrop's memoirs that Hutchinson symbolized the self-empowerment of women, which threatened to undermine the patriarchal social order in puritan society. Hutchinson was demonized and scapegoated, although she was certainly a self-conscious political figure. In fact, it can….

American Colonies
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62). In the records of the trial, a disturbing trend appears in depositions provided by supposed witnesses to the time period immediately preceding the rape.
In short, the investigators seem less interested in determining the facts of the case than in showing that Watkins was, for lack of a better phrase, "asking for it" due to her sexually aggressive nature and the fact that she had been drunk (Sweet, 2010, p. 63-64). That sexual and behavioral standards for women constituted a double standard intended to excuse male behavior while condemning female behavior is quite evident by the parade of witnesses whose sole testimony is to the fact that Watkins seemed unconcerned with Christian standards of sexual behavior. That this testimony represents a kind of gender and religious bias is evidenced by the fact that it was contradicted by one other witness, who gave information that largely conformed with Watkins' claims….

Puritan Woman
PAGES 3 WORDS 1178

Puritan Woman
Puritan women in the New World of the United States were torn between belief that their "hope and treasure lies above" and their very real need to survive and create a loving community on earth. The Puritans were English Protestants, and they had very strong views on a variety of issues. For example, Puritans believed in the literal authority provided by the Bible, and that individuals who did things wrong in life would be punished by God (Coffey & Lim, 2008). There was also no guarantee of salvation for Puritans, and anything they would do for atonement was not enough to protect them from potential damnation in the future. The women in that society were not equal to men, and they were left to do what men wanted them to do and act a certain way in society, or they were not accepted (Coffey & Lim, 2008). Because the….

He began in the center of a Puritan's life with the husband and wife relationship, but with each succeeding chapter, slowly expanded the view of relationships to include parents and children, masters and servants, the family and society, and finally the Puritan group as a whole. In each case, Morgan presented the order by which these relationships should take place, as well as the rationale behind the positioning of the different partners. But throughout all the discussion, Morgan is careful to remind the reader that this order he described is based on God's will, and that nothing can exist with the will of God permitting it to do so.
It has been suggested, with some justification, that the Puritan's possessed a world view that was biased toward themselves and their beliefs, and in effect, discriminated against Native Americans. (Simmons) and it is true that Morgan discussed the Puritan belief that….

Puritan Dilemma
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Puritan Dilemma
Morgan, Edmund S. The Puritan Dilemma: The Story of John Winthrop. USA: Pearson

Education, 1999.

H]e which would have suer peace and joye in Christianitye, must not ayme at a condition retyred from the world and free from temptations, but to knowe that the life which is most exercised with tryalls and temptations is the sweetest, and will prove the safeste. For such tryalls as fall within compasse of our callinges, it is better to arme and withstande them than to avoide and shunne them.

John Winthrop)

What Mr. Morgan manages in this book is to show us that even 370 years ago, John Winthrop was already confronting many of what would be enduring themes and challenges of the American experiment. The struggle over how democratic America should be has been at the very core of our politics. Separationism would eventually lead to revolution and the split with Great ritain and then would….

First, his use of rhyme is incredibly heavy, and quickly becomes awkward and intrusive:
Ye sons of men that durst contemn the Threatnings of Gods ord,

How cheer you now? your hearts, I trow, are sthrill'd as with a sword.

(stanza 8)

The internal rhyme in the odd numbered lines of each stanza, especially when coupled with the end rhyme in the even numbered lines (this pattern repeats in the second half of the stanza), gives the poem a condescending feel as though it is an instruction for children, while at the same time hammering itself into the mind of the reader in an obsessive manner. The complete lack of enjambment strengthens this effect, especially when reading the poem out loud.

In comparison to this, Bradstreet's sometimes stilted rhyme comes out very favorably. In one of her most well-known poems, "To My Dear and Loving Husband," even her twelve straight lines of rhyming couplets….

Therefore, the lasting effect of the printing press on colonial America is to be found in its contribution to the emergence of a national identity based first and foremost on language and writing. It was first by means of publication that America declared to the world its identity as a nation and trough an effect of discourse that she defined proclaimed and projected its past, its present and its future.
With the help of Guttenberg's invention of the printing press, the identity of America was defined in many Puritan literatures. The printing press and the colonized America's identity which was contained in Puritan literatures became the means in awakening the minds of many Americans, providing them with vision of the new world and breaking out from the colony of the ritish rule. These visions, according to the Puritanism: A New World Vision online article, are embedded in the following elements.

The….

Puritan Dilemma
PAGES 2 WORDS 610

Puritan Dilemma
A democracy is a system of government wherein the governed have a voice. In the simplest terms, it is a government by and for the people. In the present, the United States government is based upon the idea of representational democracy. Every citizen has a voice which is expressed through election of representatives who then vote on items and legislation. This is not how things have always been. In the time of the colonization of the New orld, each colony would be responsible for creating their individual, workable governing systems. The Massachusetts Bay Colony was led by one John inthrop, a Puritan lawyer. More than anyone at the time, John inthrop set the tone for the style of government which would dominate the colony. Although some form of representation in legislation did exist in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, inthrop's community cannot be considered a true democracy. The man's….

puritan life was heavily contaminated by death. Half of the original 102 pilgrims that settled in America died during the first winter and it was not uncommon for children to perish before they reached adolescence. Funerals were a common occurrence in everyday life and the air of towns was often littered with the sounds of church bells. From the early stages of learning, children were educated on the grim reality that they faced and if they were fortunate enough to grow up, their demise still followed them wherever they ventured to. Puritan religion explains that a person is unable to control their destiny. Their ascendance to heaven or hell is pre-determined before the time of their birth and their actions in life have no influence on their final destination.
Although her lifetime took place more than two centuries after their arrival, Emily Dickinson presented poetry that offered views on death….

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4 Pages
Term Paper

Mythology - Religion

Puritans and Quakers

Words: 1225
Length: 4 Pages
Type: Term Paper

Puritans and Quakers Comparative Analysis of the Beliefs and Attitudes between Puritans and Quakers in Colonial America (17th-18th centuries) Early Colonial American society during the 17th and 18th centuries is characteristically…

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1 Pages
Term Paper

Mythology - Religion

North American Colony the Puritans

Words: 374
Length: 1 Pages
Type: Term Paper

North was a stronghold of strict religious and moral belief, controlling the population and their actions, while the South was more open, plantation based, and already importing slaves.…

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3 Pages
Term Paper

Sociology

Wayward Puritans A Study in the Sociology

Words: 930
Length: 3 Pages
Type: Term Paper

Wayward Puritans: A Study in the Sociology of Deviance by Kai T. Erickson. Specifically, it will contain an extra chapter to "Wayward Puritans" demonstrating how the study illustrates…

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2 Pages
Essay

Business - Ethics

Franklin and the Puritans There Were Many

Words: 697
Length: 2 Pages
Type: Essay

Franklin and the Puritans There were many different aspects to Benjamin Franklin's character and while many Americans like to concentrate on his more lurid, or worldly endeavors, his ethical beliefs…

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5 Pages
Essay

Mythology - Religion

Roger Williams Was a Puritan Separatist and

Words: 1498
Length: 5 Pages
Type: Essay

Roger illiams was a Puritan Separatist and Baptist, who founded the new colony of Rhode Island after his expulsion from Massachusetts. His views were quite radical and democratic by…

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6 Pages
Essay

History - Colonial America

The Early Days of the Puritans in the New World

Words: 1916
Length: 6 Pages
Type: Essay

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…

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2 Pages
Essay

Plays

Hawthorne and Winthrop and Puritans

Words: 657
Length: 2 Pages
Type: Essay

Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter is a fictionalized account of life in puritan New England. Although the story is an amalgamation of characters, places, and events, the journals of…

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6 Pages
Essay

Native Americans

American Colonies

Words: 2524
Length: 6 Pages
Type: Essay

62). In the records of the trial, a disturbing trend appears in depositions provided by supposed witnesses to the time period immediately preceding the rape. In short, the investigators…

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3 Pages
Essay

Sports - Women

Puritan Woman

Words: 1178
Length: 3 Pages
Type: Essay

Puritan Woman Puritan women in the New World of the United States were torn between belief that their "hope and treasure lies above" and their very real need to survive…

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2 Pages
Book Review

Mythology - Religion

Puritan Family Puritanism Was a

Words: 732
Length: 2 Pages
Type: Book Review

He began in the center of a Puritan's life with the husband and wife relationship, but with each succeeding chapter, slowly expanded the view of relationships to include…

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6 Pages
Term Paper

Government

Puritan Dilemma

Words: 1640
Length: 6 Pages
Type: Term Paper

Puritan Dilemma Morgan, Edmund S. The Puritan Dilemma: The Story of John Winthrop. USA: Pearson Education, 1999. H]e which would have suer peace and joye in Christianitye, must not ayme at a…

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4 Pages
Essay

Literature

Puritan Poetry Puritanism as Seen

Words: 1238
Length: 4 Pages
Type: Essay

First, his use of rhyme is incredibly heavy, and quickly becomes awkward and intrusive: Ye sons of men that durst contemn the Threatnings of Gods ord, How cheer you now?…

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2 Pages
Term Paper

Teaching

Puritan Literature and the American

Words: 541
Length: 2 Pages
Type: Term Paper

Therefore, the lasting effect of the printing press on colonial America is to be found in its contribution to the emergence of a national identity based first and…

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2 Pages
Essay

Government

Puritan Dilemma

Words: 610
Length: 2 Pages
Type: Essay

Puritan Dilemma A democracy is a system of government wherein the governed have a voice. In the simplest terms, it is a government by and for the people. In…

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5 Pages
Research Paper

Death and Dying  (general)

Puritan Life Was Heavily Contaminated by Death

Words: 1611
Length: 5 Pages
Type: Research Paper

puritan life was heavily contaminated by death. Half of the original 102 pilgrims that settled in America died during the first winter and it was not uncommon for…

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