Religion and Representative Government in the American Colonies Puritan Beliefs 101 Puritans believed in: Reform Congregational Control (no bishops or popes!) Salvation by Grace Alone The sovereignty of God Double Predestination Proving their election through commitment, hard work, and avoiding distractions... Puritans saw themselves as: A people chosen for a special task New Israelites 2 The Puritans in England Want to purify Anglican Church of remaining Catholic smells and bells James I takes religious objections personally Monarch is head of the church Congregationalism threaten hierarchy Reformed doctrine offends Catholic-leaning monarchs Should We Stay, or Should We Go? Pilgrims to Netherlands, then Plymouth in 1620 Massachusetts Bay Puritans arrive in 1630 Puritans that remained participate in the English Civil War of the 1640 s...then become more moderate... 3 Religion and Freedom Puritans never accepted the idea of religious freedom they suppressed the Pilgrims, hanged Quakers, and every year celebrated Pope Day with anti-catholic activities. How do we reconcile Puritan and modern ideas about religious freedom? John Eliot, a puritan pastor, created special communities for Indians who accepted Christianity. These Praying Indians were never really accepted by most colonists, who eventually wanted their land. In the southern colonies, laws were passed to prevent Black slaves from having close contact with Indians fearing that the two would united in revolt. Praying Towns Dissent in Puritan Colonies Roger Williams Extreme Separatist Insisted that Puritans should pay natives for land Believed that the Gov t shouldn t punish people for their religious beliefs Banished in 1636 Founded Rhode Island Dissent in Puritan Colonies Anne Hutchinson Believed that most Puritan ministers were not in the Holy Spirit Claimed divine inspiration Charge with a heresy called Antinomianism Exiled to Rhode Island, and later goes to New York [Her death was] a special manifestation of divine justice. Half-way Covenant 1662 Provides a mechanism to allow baptism for the grandchildren of church members Full communion in the church could still only be given to those who demonstrate that they are among the elect What is the significance of this development? Fear of Change As the Puritan way of life began to decline, community leaders looked for reasons why fewer were embracing the faith. Some found Satan to be responsible in Salem many were accused of witchcraft. Some historians see economic motivations behind the accusations. The accusers tended to be poorer than the accused.
Why did Puritan churches develop this style of seating?
Religion in the Middle Colonies New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland were the middle colonies. Their population was mixed Dutch, Swedish, German, Scots, British Religion was also mixed Puritan, Church of England, Presbyterian, Mennonite, Catholic. Benjamin Franklin: Enlightenment Man Franklin (1706-1790) was the son a of a soap maker, began his career as a newspaper publisher after fleeing from his brother s tyranny in 1723. He was also an inventor, philosopher, and politician. How did Franklin s ideals differ from those of the Puritans? The First American As a founder of the American P h i l o s o p h i c a l S o c i e t y, Philadelphia Library, and the P e n n s y l v a n i a H o s p i t a l, Franklin pushed for the recognition of a developing new society. In Poor Richard s Almanac he argued that colonists were becoming a new people Americans. Benjamin Franklin's Pursuit of Moral Perfection, ca. 1730s 1. TEMPERANCE. Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation. 2. SILENCE. Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation. 3. ORDER. Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time. 4. RESOLUTION. Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve. 5. FRUGALITY. Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing. 6. INDUSTRY. Lose no time; be always employ'd in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions. 7. SINCERITY. Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly. 8. JUSTICE. Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty. 9. MODERATION. Avoid extreams; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve. 10. CLEANLINESS. Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, cloaths, or habitation. 11. TRANQUILLITY. Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable. 12. CHASTITY. Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dulness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another's peace or reputation. 13. HUMILITY. Imitate Jesus and Socrates.... Benjamin Franklin's Pursuit of Moral Perfection, ca. 1730s 1. TEMPERANCE. Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation. 2. SILENCE. Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation. 3. ORDER. Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time. 4. RESOLUTION. Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve. 5. FRUGALITY. Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing. 6. INDUSTRY. Lose no time; be always employ'd in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions. 7. SINCERITY. Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently Text and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly. 8. JUSTICE. Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty. 9. MODERATION. Avoid extreams; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve. 10. CLEANLINESS. Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, cloaths, or habitation. 11. TRANQUILLITY. Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable. 12. CHASTITY. Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dulness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another's peace or reputation. 13. HUMILITY. Imitate Jesus and Socrates.... Benjamin Franklin's Pursuit of Moral Perfection, ca. 1730s I made a little book, in which I allotted a page for each of the virtues. I rul'd each page with red ink, so as to have seven columns, one for each day of the week, marking each column with a letter for the day. I cross'd these columns with thirteen red lines, marking the beginning of each line with the first letter of one of the virtues, on which line, and in its proper column, I might mark, by a little black spot, every fault I found upon examination to have been committed respecting that virtue upon that day.... The Great Awakening Jonathan Edwards As religious fervor weakened in the 1700s, a new generation of fire and brimstone preachers arose to warn that the decline in faith would bring disaster to the colonies. Their sermons called Jeremiads (after the Book of Jeremiah could run for 4-5 hours. Great Awakening helped to set the stage for the Revolution -Experienced throughout the colonies -Challenged Authority -Focused on the Individual Representative Government In 1619, Virginia governor George Yardley agreed to allow 2 men from each Virginia borough (township) to come to Jamestown and advise him on how to enforce the law. This was the beginning of the House of Burgesses the first legislative body in America.
Mayflower Compact 28 Diverse Forms of Government Proprietary Colony Colony controlled by one or more proprietors Most common during early colonization Under watchful eye of the King Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Delaware Royal Colony under direct control of the King Most common during later colonization Virginia, the Carolinas, New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, and Georgia Charter Colony operating according to a charter negotiated with the crown Colonists form a corporation of sorts Self-governing Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut Growth of Legislative Law THAT the freemen of the said Province shall on the Twentieth day of the Twelfth Month which shall be in this present year One Thousand Six hundred Eighty and two Meet and Assemble in some fit place of which timely notice shall be beforehand given by the Governour or his deputies and then and there shall chuse of themselves Seventy-Two persons of most note for their Wisdom Virtue and Ability who shall meet on the Tenth day of the first month next ensuing and always be called and act as the Provincial Councill of the said province. From the Pennsylvania Charter of Liberty, 1682 King Proprietor Colonial Governor Council Advise Governor Court Colonial Government Structure Assembly Draft Legislation Collect Taxes People New England Confederation (1640 s) New England Colonies (except R.I.) band together for Defensive purposes. Dominion of New England (1686-1689) England combines New England Colonies and later New York and New Jersey in order to exercise more control over colonies End Benign (Salutory) Neglect, Start enforcing the Navigation Laws again 32 Rebellion Against the Representative Government I n t h e 1 6 7 0 s, V i r g i n i a governor William Berkeley refused to make war against the Indians, which many struggling tobacco farmers wanted. Nathaniel Bacon, an ambitious landowner, led a rebellion that temporarily overthrew Berkeley. Bacon considered himself to be fighting on behalf of the people Resistance to Royal Rule In the 1670s and 1680s, Edmund Andros governed New York by issuing orders and threatening those who questioned him with charges of treason. Legacy of Revolt in Britain In 1649, the Puritan-dominated Parliament of Britain executed King Charles I for treason against the British people. Many were horrified by this, including philosopher Thomas Hobbes (right) who argued that people were basically corrupt and required a strong hand to rule over them. The Social Contract When the Parliament in Britain drove King James II from the thrown in 1688 an event known as the Glorious Revolution--John Locke, another philosopher, argued that government was the result of a social contract made by enlightened people, who could therefore depose a bad ruler and form a new government (new contract). Some in the colonies used this idea to oppose bad governors.
Newspaper Censorship The British government seldom interfered with the local newspapers. There was, however, no legal freedom of the press. Newspapers were not permitted to criticize government figures who were appointed by the King that would be treason. The Zenger Trial The question before the Court and you, Gentlemen of the Jury, is not of small nor private concern nor is it the cause of a poor printer, nor of New York alone. No, it may affect every Freeman to deny the liberty of both exposing and opposing arbitrary power by speaking and writing truth. A. Hamilton, lawyer for John Peter Zenger, 1735. A New Society? By the 1720s the thirteen colonies were becoming more closely tied to one another by trade and the common experiences of creating little Englands in North America. But as the colonies became more like England in form and manners, colonists also realized that the American experience also made them quite different from those back in Europe.