The Early Putitans

    The Puritans were a group of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th century, who believed that the Bible was God's true law, and provided them with a plan for living. They had hopes of "purifying" the church and their own lives. Most of the Puritans ended up settling in the New England area. As they immigrated and formed individual colonies, their numbers rose from around 17,000 Puritans to almost 106,000. The Puritan's interpretation of scripture was harsh. They emphasized conversion, not repression, meaning that they rejected "worldliness", and greatly encouraged Biblical principles. Their beliefs were that God had already predetermined who would be in Heaven or Hell, and the believers had no way of knowing which group they were in. This who were wealthy were already seen as being blessed by God, so they were viewed as being on good terms with Him. The Puritan's work ethic was that hard work was an honor to God and any hard work would be greatly rewarded. Since the church elders were also political leaders, any church infraction would be considered a social one as well. There was no room for mistakes. In the Puritan's eyes, the devil was behind every evil deed. They went to great lengths to warn their members and children of the many dangers of the world. Reading the Bible was considered necessary to live. The next generation needed the knowledge of the Bible in order to further "purify" the church. Drama, religious music, and erotic poetry were banned in the New England colonies. Music involved in worship was said to create a dreamy state, which wasn't pleasing to God. They were encouraged to create their own poetry, but only if it had religious content. They preferred the simple and ordinary style of writing and living. Puritans formed the first school in 1635, called the Roxbury Latin School. Four years later, the first American College, Harvard in Cambridge, was established. The Puritans were the first people to ever write books for their children. The Puritans efforts in areas of study were quickly advancing. Our country was becoming more intellectual. The Puritans had a cordial relationship with the Indians in the beginning, then it began to deteriorate. Within two or three generations, things had gotten so bad that a war broke out between the two groups, mainly because of the different views each group had concerning land. Another issue was that the Puritans considered the Indians to be allied with the devil since they wouldn't accept Christianity.