AMERICAN LITERATURES COLONIAL ROOTS THE PURITAN LEGACY 2003

AMERICAN LITERATURE’S COLONIAL ROOTS THE PURITAN LEGACY

© 2003 -2004 clipart. com REMEMBER THE PILGRIMS?

PILGRIMS AND PURITANS • The Pilgrims were part of a group of English Puritans called the “Separatists” who fled persecution (including torture and execution) in England. • The Pilgrims traveled to America aboard the Mayflower and landed at Plymouth in 1620. • Puritans is a general term for English Protestants who wanted to “purify” the Church of England. • The Puritans objected to the rituals, decorations, and organization of the Church of England. They wanted a simpler form of worship and organization.

A PURITAN TIME LINE In England 1608: Separatists flee England for Holland 1642– 1651: English civil wars between Puritans and Royalists 1653– 1658: Puritan Oliver Cromwell rules England as lord protector 1660: Monarchy restored under Charles II 1600 1700 1620: Mayflower Pilgrims land at Plymouth In America 1630: Great migration of Puritans to New England begins 1692: Salem witch trials

WHAT THE PURITANS BELIEVED • Religion is a personal, inner experience. • Humans are wicked by nature, and most are marked for damnation. • A chosen few can be saved through the grace of God. • Hard work and worldly success are signs of God’s grace. • Education is essential in order to read the Word of God. • To be a member of Puritan society, one had to join in debate and discussion about scripture • Parents concerned about souls of children would teach youngsters to read and write

GRACE: THE PURITAN IDEAL • Grace—God’s special favor—was the only way to escape an eternity in Hell. • People did not know for certain if they had grace, but they could feel the arrival of grace as an intense emotion. • People who had grace were among the “elect” (saved). • People who did not have grace were among the “unregenerate” (damned).

GRACE: THE PURITAN IDEAL • The presence of grace was demonstrated by a person’s outward behavior. People with grace displayed • self-reliance • personal responsibility • industriousness • temperance • simplicity

VALUES – SELF-RELIANCE AND INDUSTRIOUSNESS • Useful because the Puritans in New England had to • • • Build farms and establish towns in the wilderness Find their own food and shelter Make clothes and tools Figure out how to survive in a new world Deal with a new climate

Puritan Government In Theory • Every individual had an equal covenant with God. • Laws came from God, as revealed in scripture. In Practice • Most people yielded authority to those seen as the saintly “elect. ” • Conformity and obedience took precedence over individual rights.

WHY KINGS GRANTED CHARTERS • By allowing Puritans to move to America, the British Crown could establish English presence in the New World • Would also remove political troublemakers from England

Puritan Literature What the Puritans Read • The Bible and other religious texts Why They Read • Puritans stressed individual responsibility for spiritual development. • Every person was responsible for reading and understanding the Bible.

Puritan Literature What the Puritans Wrote • Sermons, essays, and poems on spiritual and religious subjects • Diaries and histories that recorded inner and outer events of their lives Why They Wrote • Puritans used writing to explore their lives for signs of grace and to describe the workings of God in their communities.

PLAIN STYLE • Puritans favored a plain style of writing. Plain style is a way of writing that stresses simplicity and clarity of expression. Plain style • emphasizes uncomplicated sentences and the use of everyday words from common speech • avoids elaborate figures of speech and imagery

WHY WITCHCRAFT? • Theology held that Satan was constantly scheming to seduce mankind into evil • Humans were wicked by nature • Grace could only be recognized by interpreting signs • Constantly scrutinizing oneself and one’s neighbor • Without science or modern medicine, unknown symptoms couldn’t be explain • Would lead to hysteria and fear

SALEM: BELIEVERS RUN AMOK • 1692—Girls suffer from mysterious illness in Salem, Massachusetts. • Doctors blame witchcraft. • Mass hysteria erupts; neighbors accuse one another. • In the end, about 150 people were accused, and 20 were executed.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE PURITANS? • The Age of Faith gradually gave way to the Age of Reason. • Philosophers and scientists stressed the importance of using reason, rather than religion, to explain how the world operates. • The Puritans didn’t disappear—their culture was absorbed into the colonial mainstream.

THE PURITAN LEGACY • In the United States, we generally value • • individual rights and responsibilities equality of individuals literacy and education spiritual and worldly rewards for hard work

PURITANISM AND AMERICAN CULTURE • Still value • • • individual rights industriousness equality access to public education system strong work ethic