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The Puritan Legacy

The Puritan Legacy. American Literature’s Colonial Roots. © 2003-2004 clipart.com. © 2003-2004 clipart.com. © 2003-2004 clipart.com. © 2003-2004 clipart.com. Remember the Pilgrims?. Pilgrims and Puritans.

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The Puritan Legacy

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  1. The Puritan Legacy American Literature’s Colonial Roots

  2. © 2003-2004 clipart.com © 2003-2004 clipart.com © 2003-2004 clipart.com © 2003-2004 clipart.com Remember the Pilgrims?

  3. Pilgrims and Puritans • The Pilgrims were part of a group of English Puritans called the “Separatists” who fled persecution 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.

  4. In England 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 1608:Separatists flee England for Holland 1600 1700 1620:Mayflower Pilgrims land at Plymouth 1630:Great migration of Puritans to New England begins 1692:Salem witch trials In America A Puritan Time Line

  5. 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.

  6. 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).

  7. 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

  8. 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.

  9. 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.

  10. 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.

  11. 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 • “There is nothing between you and hell but the air; it is only the power and mere pleasure of God that holds you up.” • from “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” by Jonathan Edwards

  12. 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.

  13. 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.

  14. 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

  15. What Have You Learned? • 1. Puritans believed that religion was a personal, inner experience. • a. true b. false • 2. Those who had grace were among the • a. damned b. unregenerate c. elect • 3. A person with grace may display all of the following characteristics except • a. simplicity b. self-reliance c. greed

  16. The End

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