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History of the Puritans in North America

In the early 17th century, thousands of English Puritans settled in North America, almost all in New England. Puritans were intensely devout members of the Church of England who believed that the Church of England was insufficiently reformed, retaining too much of its Roman Catholic doctrinal roots, and who therefore opposed royal ecclesiastical policy. Most Puritans were "non-separating Puritans" who believed there should be an established church and did not advocate setting up separate congregations distinct from the Church of England; these were later called Nonconformists. A small minority of Puritans were "separating Puritans" who advocated setting up congregations outside the Church. The Pilgrims were a Separatist group, and they established the Plymouth Colony in 1620. Puritans went chiefly to New England, but small numbers went to other English colonies up and down the Atlantic.[1]

Puritans played the leading roles in establishing the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1629, the Saybrook Colony in 1635, the Connecticut Colony in 1636, and the New Haven Colony in 1638. The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was established by settlers expelled from Massachusetts because of their unorthodox religious opinions. Puritans were also active in New Hampshire before it became a crown colony in 1691. Puritanism ended early in the 18th century and before 1740 was replaced by the much milder Congregational church.

Background (1533–1630)[edit]

Puritanism was a Protestant movement that emerged in 16th-century England with the goal of transforming it into a godly society by reforming or purifying the Church of England of all remaining Roman Catholic teachings and practices.[2] During the reign of Elizabeth I, Puritans were for the most part tolerated within the established church. Like Puritans, most English Protestants at the time were Calvinist in their theology, and many bishops and Privy Council members were sympathetic to Puritan objectives. The major point of controversy between Puritans and church authorities was over liturgical ceremonies Puritans thought too Catholic, such as wearing clerical vestments, kneeling to receive Holy Communion, and making the sign of the cross during baptism.[3]


During the reign of James I, most Puritans were no longer willing to wait for further church reforms and separated from the Church of England. Since the law required everyone to attend parish services, these Separatists were vulnerable to criminal prosecution, and some such as Henry Barrowe and John Greenwood were executed. To escape persecution and worship freely, some Separatists migrated to the Netherlands. Nevertheless, most Puritans remained within the Church of England.[4]


Under Charles I, Calvinist teachings were undermined, and bishops became less tolerant of Puritan views and more willing to enforce the use of controversial ceremonies. Controls were placed on Puritan preaching, and some ministers were suspended or removed from their livings. Increasingly, many Puritans concluded that they had no choice but to emigrate.[5]

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Boorstin, Daniel J. (1958). . In Boorstin, D.J. (ed.). The Americans: The colonial experience. pp. 3–31 and bibliography pp 379–383 – via Archive.org.

"A city upon a hill: The Puritans of Massachusetts Bay"

Breen, T. H. (1982). Puritans and Adventurers: Change and Persistence in Early America. New York: Oxford University Press.  9780195032079.

ISBN

Bross, Kristina; van Engen, Abram, eds. (2020). A History of American Puritan Literature. Cambridge University Press.

Daniels, Bruce C. (Spring 1993). "Sober mirth and pleasant poisons: Puritan ambivalence toward leisure and recreation in colonial New England". American Studies. 34 (1): 121–137.  40642499.

JSTOR

Hammer, Dean C. (2019). "Cultural theory and historical change: The development of town and church in Puritan New England". Politics, Policy, and Culture. Routledge. pp. 137–156.

Kim, Do Hoon. (2021). John Eliot's Puritan Ministry to New England "Indians", Wipf and Stock Publishers.

McKenna, George. (2007). The Puritan origins of American patriotism

online

Manchester, Margaret Murányi. (2019). Puritan Family and Community in the English Atlantic World: Being "Much afflicted with conscience", Routledge.

Morgan, Edmund S. (1958). The Puritan dilemma: The story of John Winthrop

online

Morgan, Edmund S. (1963). Visible saints : The history of a Puritan idea

online

Morgan, Edmund S. ed. (1965). Puritan political ideas, 1558–1794

online

Morgan, Edmund S. (1966). The Puritan family : Religion & domestic relations in seventeenth-century New England

online

Morgan, Edmund S. (1967). "The Puritan ethic and the American Revolution". The William and Mary Quarterly. 24 (1): 4–43. :10.2307/1920560. JSTOR 1920560.

doi

Stille, Darlene R. (2006). Anne Hutchinson: Puritan protester — for middle and secondary schools.

online

Winship, Michael P. (2001). "Were there any Puritans in New England?". New England Quarterly, 74 (1) pp 118–138

online

Winship, Michael P. (2018). Hot Protestants: A History of Puritanism in England and America, Yale University Press — a major scholarly history.

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