The Early Days of the Puritans in the New World Essay

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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.

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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….....

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