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The Puritan Legacy Presentation Overview The Puritan Legacy slide show will take approximately twenty to twenty-five minutes to present. This presentation provides a brief review of the history and beliefs of the Puritans and discusses some elements of Puritan literary style. You may wish to give students the Student’s Notes worksheet to use as a note-taking tool as they view the presentation.
Background Information The Puritan Legacy: American Literature’s Colonial Roots The Pilgrims and the Puritans
The Pilgrims who sailed on the Mayflower were essentially
religious refugees fleeing persecution—including torture and execution—in England. They referred to themselves as “Separatists”—meaning that they felt themselves and their beliefs to be apart from the Church of England and its official head, the king. The Separatists and many other dissenting Protestant Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
sects are usually known collectively as the Puritans. By rejecting the spiritual authority of the Church of England, the Puritans were also rejecting the political authority of the king. Just twenty years after a small band of Puritan Separatists—the “Pilgrims”—founded the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts, English Puritans were able to gain control of England’s Parliament. They defeated Royalist forces in the English Civil War, executed King Charles I, and installed their leader, Oliver Cromwell, as head of state. The Puritans proved less successful at governing than they had been at seizing power, and in 1660 the monarchy was restored under Charles II. If the Puritans were such a political threat, why would King James I and then his son Charles I have granted Puritans royal charters to found colonies in the New World? By sending the Puritans to America, the British Crown could accomplish two goals at once. First, it could solidify the English presence in the New World, thus furthering its international ambitions and extending its economic power. Second, it could remove a large number of potential political troublemakers from England.
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The Puritan Legacy The Puritans in America
Puritan values of self-reliance and industriousness were especially well
suited to life in America. The Separatists who founded the Plymouth Colony and the many other Puritans who followed them to New England faced the extremely challenging task of establishing farms and towns in a wilderness. They had to procure their own food and shelter, make their own clothes and tools, and discover for themselves how to live in a land that must have seemed harshly unlike the English countryside they had left behind. Where did such hardworking, godly people get their belief in witchcraft? Many factors may have predisposed the Puritans toward this belief. First, Puritan theology held that Satan was eternally scheming to seduce humankind into evil. In addition, grace could be recognized only by obscure “signs” that had to be interpreted correctly. As a consequence, the Puritans were constantly assessing the states of their own souls, as well as the souls of their neighbors. Further, people in the seventeenth century had little basis other than theology for understanding the world. Without anything like modern science or modern medicine, people were powerless in the face of unknown afflictions, and powerlessness often gives rise to
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fear and hysteria.
The Puritans and Literature
Puritan theology made literacy especially important. The
Puritans recognized no spiritual authority except that of God, and they believed unquestioningly that the Bible contained the revealed Word of God. Puritanism stressed individual responsibility for spiritual development, so each person had to study the Bible carefully. To be a participating member of the Puritan community meant to join in debate and discussion about scripture. Puritan parents, concerned naturally about the state of their children’s souls, would have taught youngsters to read and write at the earliest opportunity. Puritans favored a plain style of writing rather than the ornate “high style” that was in fashion in England. Ornate prose frequently contained classical allusions, Latin quotations, and elaborate figures of speech. Plain style, on the other hand, made its points quickly and simply, using common words in the manner of ordinary speech. The Puritans thought that a plain style was much more effective than a high style in revealing God’s truth. The Bible that the Puritans read—the Geneva Bible—was written in a plain style.
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The Puritan Legacy What Happened to the Puritans? The very success of Puritan colonization may have sown the seeds of its own demise—the communities grew too large to sustain the tightknit organization of the original Pilgrims. Puritan practicality would have been impressed by new developments in science and technology—the fruits of reason, not faith. Finally, some Puritans may have been horrified by excesses such as the Salem witch trials committed in the name of their faith. While Puritanism may have disappeared, the Puritans themselves did not—they became the American mainstream, and many of their ideas have been incorporated into the American culture.
Discussion Questions The following discussion questions may be used with the slides in The Puritan Legacy presentation.
Answers will vary. Sample answers have been provided. Remember the Pilgrims? Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
1.
What do you remember about the Pilgrims? [I remember that the Pilgrims came over on the Mayflower. They wore dark clothes and lived very simple lives. They were involved in the first Thanksgiving.]
2.
When you were in elementary school, Pilgrims and Puritans were often associated with the first Thanksgiving. How has your image of Pilgrims and Puritans changed as you’ve learned more about them and their way of life? (Challenge Question) [When I was in elementary school, I thought that the Pilgrims were very friendly and outgoing people because the pictures showed them smiling and getting along with the Indians. Now I know that the Pilgrims were very strict and reserved. I’ve also learned that the Puritans were very intolerant of people who didn’t follow their strict moral code or agree with their beliefs, which is ironic because the Puritans themselves came to America to escape religious persecution.]
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The Puritan Legacy Pilgrims and Puritans 1.
Why did the Pilgrims come to America? What kind of persecution were they fleeing? [They were fleeing religious persecution. They came to America so they could have religious freedom and practice their religion without fear or persecution.]
2.
The Pilgrims knew that life in America would be extremely difficult and dangerous. Why might they have left England to face such hardships? (Challenge Question) [They judged that the persecution they faced in England was so severe—including, at times, torture and execution—that life in a dangerous wilderness far from home would be better.]
3.
What kinds of challenges would the Pilgrims have to face in the wilderness of America? [Hostile natives, lack of shelter and food, and harsh weather were challenges the Pilgrims would have to face. They would have to adjust to a different climate, build their own homes, grow their food, and make their own clothes. They would also have to set up towns and form a government.]
4.
King James I of England did not restrict the Puritans’ travels. Instead, he granted various Puritan
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groups royal charters to found the Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay Colonies. Why might he have done this? (Challenge Question) [King James I probably wasn’t fond of the Puritans because they disagreed with the way the government and Church of England did things in England. He was probably happy to get the “troublemakers” out of the country and send them to the wilderness of the New World.]
A Puritan Time Line 1.
How many years does this time line cover? [The time line covers 84 years—from 1608 to 1692.]
2.
What do you think happened in America in the long period between 1630 and 1692? [Since the “great migration” began in 1630, it probably continued for several decades. Many more Puritans came to America and set up colonies and communities.]
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The Puritan Legacy 3.
Did the end of Puritan rule in England mean the end of Puritanism in America? How do you know? (Challenge Question) [No. Puritan rule in England ended in 1660, but the time line extends the Puritan presence in America at least up to 1692.]
What the Puritans Believed 1.
The Puritans believed that people were evil by nature. How might that have made the Puritans act toward strangers? toward events they didn’t understand? [Puritans probably weren’t very friendly to strangers. They would have been suspicious of people they didn’t know. They might have been afraid of the unknown and thought that anything unusual was evil.]
2.
From the list of beliefs shown here, why do you think Puritans stressed education? (Challenge Question)
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[The Puritans believed that religion was a personal, inner experience, so each person would need to be able to read the Bible and understand it.]
Grace: The Puritan Ideal (Slide 1 of 2) 1.
If hard work and worldly success were signs of God’s grace, then how might the Puritans have determined whether someone had grace? [If the person were successful and prosperous, the Puritans would think that person had received grace. For example, if a farmer had a good crop or a businessman made lots of money, then others would think he had grace. If people were unlucky or unsuccessful, then others might think the unlucky or unsuccessful people were damned.]
Grace: The Puritan Ideal (Slide 2 of 2) 1.
Why do you think most Puritans conformed to the accepted social behavior and tried to display the characteristics listed? (Challenge Question) [They probably conformed because they wanted others to think they possessed grace. They wouldn’t want to behave differently because then people would think they were damned.]
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The Puritan Legacy 2.
Why would such Puritan values as self-reliance and industriousness have been especially well suited to life in America? [Puritans in New England faced the extremely challenging task of establishing farms and towns in a wilderness. They would need to be self-reliant and industrious to survive and prosper in such an environment. They didn’t have much protection from the elements or very many supplies when they arrived here.]
Puritan Government 1.
How does the Puritans’ form of government compare to our current form of government? [Our constitution says “all men are created equal.” This is similar to the Puritans’ belief that every individual had an equal covenant with God. However, our government separates church and state. We believe that laws come from the people, not from God. We believe in individual rights and freedom of expression.]
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Puritan Literature (Slide 1 of 2) 1.
Why would Puritan theology make literacy especially important? (Challenge Question) [The Puritans believed unquestioningly that the Bible contained the revealed word of God. Puritanism stressed individual responsibility for spiritual development, so each person had to study the Bible carefully.]
Puritan Literature (Slide 2 of 2) 1.
Why would diary writing be a particularly effective means of examining one’s own spiritual life? [Writing in a diary helps you evaluate your actions, thoughts, and feelings because you stop and think about everything that happened that day. When you keep a diary, you do a lot of reflecting and “soul searching.”]
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The Puritan Legacy Plain Style 1.
Why would the Puritans have favored a plain style of writing that used everyday words from common speech? [Puritans wanted a simple form of worship and believed that religion was a personal experience. They probably favored a plain style because it was simple and easy to understand.]
2.
Which characteristics of plain style are evident in this excerpt from “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”? [The sentence is clear, uncomplicated, and to the point. There are no elaborate figures of speech or imagery, and the words are common, everyday words. Jonathan Edwards also addresses the reader directly.]
Salem: Believers Run Amok 1.
Why might the Puritans have been inclined to believe in witchcraft? (Challenge Question) [The Puritans thought that humans were wicked by nature and that most were damned. They were
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probably suspicious of people who were different and didn’t conform to the community’s standards. That suspicion would make it easier to accuse unconventional people of being witches. The Puritans also didn’t have the scientific knowledge to explain the unknown. If something bad happened—crops failed or someone died suddenly—they probably blamed the devil or witches.]
2.
Could such mass hysteria occur today? [It depends. If the community were small and a mob mentality set in, then yes, mass hysteria could happen. I don’t think that mass hysteria could happen on a large scale though because people rely more on modern science, medicine, and technology for answers to mysterious illnesses and odd behavior.]
What Happened to the Puritans? 1.
Sir Isaac Newton published his theory of universal gravitation in 1686, a time when the Puritans still held sway over most of New England. How might a Puritan have explained the force by which an apple falls from a tree? [A Puritan would most likely conclude that “God wills it to fall.”]
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The Puritan Legacy 2.
Why might the Age of Faith have given way to the Age of Reason? What advantage did using reason and scientific explanations have over using faith? (Challenge Question) [People using reason could display proof of their explanations. People of different faiths could agree on scientific explanations.]
The Puritan Legacy 1.
What still seems “Puritan” about contemporary American culture? [Americans still value individual rights, industriousness, and equality. Everyone has access to the public education system. Americans also have a strong work ethic.]
2.
What are some ways in which contemporary American society differs from that of the Puritans? [We have more freedom of expression, and our rules of behavior are more relaxed. We’re also more tolerant of people from different cultures and faiths. We also try to keep the state and church
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separate.]
What Have You Learned? Answers: 1.
a. true
2.
c. elect
3.
c. greed
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