Chronology: Founding of the American Colonies

1. Chronology: Founding of the American Colonies

2. Founding of American Colonies • 1607: Virginia • 1620: Plymouth • 1623: NH • 1626: New Netherlands (NJ) • 1664-1685: NY • 1639: Mass. Bay Colony • 1643: Maryland • London Company • Wm. Bradford & Pilgrims • Puritans • Dutch West India Co. • John Winthrop & Puritans • George Calvert

3. Founding of American Colonies • 1636: Rhode Island • 1636: Connecticut • 1638: New Sweden (part of Penn. until 1776; Delaware) • 1650: NC • 1670: SC • 1682: Pennsylvania • 1733: Georgia • Roger Williams • Thomas Hooker & Puritans • Swedes • 8 proprietors • 8 proprietors • William Penn • James Oglethorpe

4. Puritanism & Other Prominent Religious Philosophies in Early Colonial America

5. Puritanism • Began in England in the 16th century. • King Henry VII formed the Church of England in 1534. • controlled by Englishmen • free of the pope and Roman Catholicism • Henry sought to create religious independence • religious unity

6. Puritanism • There were some radical reformers whose disputes marked the Reformation. • Puritans & Pilgrims who settled in New England were extreme reformers. • They believed that the English church break away from Rome had not gone far enough. • They wanted to purify the English church even more.

7. Puritanism • Influenced by • John Calvin and his concept of predestination • Martin Luther and his attacks on the hierarchic structure and power of Roman Catholicism. • They believed that the Bible was revealed by God; therefore, the Word of God, not kings, popes or bishops, should rule the lives of people.

8. Puritanism • Hoped to restore the worship to “pure and unspotted” • Hoped to recover what William Bradford described as “Christianity in its primitive order, libertie, and bewtie.” • Zeal to “purify” their religion caused them to reject Queen Elizabeth’s religious settlements of 1560.

9. Puritanism • They were opposed not only to the doctrines and practices, but also to the organization. • English churches were controlled by • English monarchs • Hierarchy of bishops and archbishops (episcopacy) • They felt that the organization robbed people of their right to practice true religion.

10. Puritans opposed: • the pageantry of the church of England • the rituals that remained similar to those of Roman Catholicism • the required forms of prayer • the choir bells and the organ music • the robes • the veneration of images and relics • decorated vestments • the stained glass windows

11. Calvinism • The Puritans adhered to Calvinism, a doctrine originated by John Calvin in 1536 • Made popular in Institutes of the Christian Religion

12. Puritan Religious Beliefs/Calvinism • Covenant Theology • Covenant of Works • Covenant God made with Adam • In return for Adam’s “good works” and obedience = Eternal Paradise • Once Adam broke the covenant of works, all his descendants were to live in a world of labor and misery and then die and suffer damnation in Hell. • Original Sin • Men inherit a fallen nature from Adam but also incur the legal penalty for his failure as their agent.

13. Puritan Religious Beliefs/Calvinism • CovenantTheology • Covenant of Grace • After Adam broke the Covenant of Works, God made a new covenant with Abraham. • In this agreement, a special few are saved and allowed to go to Heaven. These special few were the Puritans. • Certainty of this covenant lead to the great unity of the Puritans and Separatists.

14. Puritan Religious Beliefs/Calvinism • CovenantTheology • Covenant of Grace • Not only is man in relation with God as • Creator/creature • Lord/subject • Father/children • But also in agreement or contract • between two partners in a business enterprise

15. Puritan Religious Beliefs/Calvinism • Predestination • Individuals are either saved (saints or elect) or damned. • Neither faith nor good works insure salvation. • All features of salvation are determined by God’s sovereignty, including who will be saved and those who will receive God’s irresistible grace.

16. Puritan Religious Beliefs/Calvinism • Only those who were saved could be admitted to full church membership and receive Holy Communion. • Those who were saved would “confess” to the congregation their mystical experience through which God informed them of their salvation.

17. Calvinism • Calvinism • Total depravity • (Original Sin) • Unconditional election • (Predestination) • Limited atonement • Irresistible grace • Perseverance of the saints

18. Puritanism • Puritans were Biblical scholars fully aware of Biblical typology. • Puritans believed they were a chosen people as were the Israelites. • Like the OT Jews, they were sure they worshipped the one true God. • They had both fled from oppression and had suffered from their religious beliefs. • The migration to the New World was seen and compared to Moses leading the Israelites from slavery into Egypt.

19. Puritanism • The Geneva Bible: • Written by English scholars who lived in Geneva, Switzerland, the center of protestant learning and theology in Europe. • Published in 1560 • Most widely read • Less ornate style than the King James version of 1611. • Came to America with the Pilgrims in 1620

20. Puritanism • The Bible was God’s direct communication to humans, should be read daily and its guidance followed by individuals. • religion, civil gov’t., business and commerce • rules for courtship, marriage, and warfare • how to dress and table etiquette

21. Contributions of Puritanism • The key contribution was faith; a faith so strong it withstood all types of persecution. • laid the groundwork for the establishment of independence and freedom • also contributed to the concept of preaching • Preaching is a tradition whose force is undeniable in America today.

22. Puritanism • Sermons were the foundation of two artistic achievements. • Sermons were the most popular literary form of the time. • The written expression of the sermon became New England’s greatest contribution to American literature. • The dominating interest in sermons is also visible in the design of the New England churches, known as “meetinghouses.”

24. Puritanism • Devout Puritans believed that a sermon was: “the chariot on which salvation came riding into the hearts of men.”

25. Puritanism • Wrote in what is called “plain style” • Against ornateness • Straightforward, unadorned style is also reflected in other arts, furniture, architecture, dress, etc. • Frivolity and excess were detested • Reflected the character and scope of the reading public • Literate and well-grounded in religion • Only literary forms found in the Bible were acceptable • All forms of fiction were despised

26. Puritanism • Function of Puritan Writers • To transform a mysterious God • To make God more relevant to the universe • To glorify God

27. Puritanism • The individual Puritan wrote a lot. • A diary was regarded as a tool helpful for self-examination. • Emphasized education. • Was a literate culture which regarded illiteracy as a kind of sin.

28. Puritanism • Contrary to popular belief, the early Puritans were not generally long-faced reformers. • They were intelligent, self-controlled, plainly-dressed citizens who advocated simplicity and democracy. • Only after they were harassed by rulers in England did they develop more extremely rigid views of behavior.

29. Position of Women • The Pilgrims’ and Puritans’ emphasis upon the sinfulness of all humankind and upon spiritual election being totally in the hands of a sovereign God made women spiritually equal to men. • Although women did not share the pulpit, they were felt to have a right to express themselves on religious matters and they did so.

30. Forces Undermining Puritanism • A person’s natural desire to do good • Works against predestination • Dislike of a “closed” life • Resentment of the power of a few over many • Change in economic conditions • Presence of leaders of dissent • Anne Hutchinson • Roger Williams

31. Antinomianism • Free grace • idea of “inner light” which allowed a direct access to God for anyone who believed • Threatened the foundation of the Puritans’ social order • Anne Hutchinson was excommunicated • called upon them to live by grace alone • Quakers

32. Antinomianism • Doctrine of the Covenant • Activity is the essence of a Christian life, deeds are the beginning of faith • Congregational church formed from this ideology. • The mutual consent involved in a covenant is the cement which solders together all societies, political or ecclesiastical (Hooker) • Holy Confederacy to serve God in family, Church and Commonwealth. (John Cotton)

33. Congregational church • The saints come together to formally agree to carry out in ecclesiastical life the obligations to which they stand individually bound by their covenant w/God. • The duties and requirements are same as those determined in the covenant of Grace. • The church compact is the agreement of the people in a body to constitute an institution which will facilitate the achievement of these ends. • The church makes possible the machinery of the “means” (sermons and sacraments) • God would generally dispense grace through the ordinances of the church. Consequently, the children of the saints should be baptized as a means toward their conversion, and should be taken into the church covenant. • Thus, the sign of true faith is not only a desire on the part of the regenerate individual to fulfill the moral law, but it is also a determination to join in the setting up of the one and only polity which Christ has outlined in Scripture (the church). For this reason NE was settled.

34. Deism • Man is by nature good. • Society has corrupted him. • There is a supreme power which is benevolent • A sovereign power must be worshipped. • The good disposition of man constitutes the principal part of his worship to that power. • All crimes/vices must be punished by that power • There are rewards & punishments after death. • God is the great “clock-winder” of the universe. • He sets the world in motion, then stepped back and will not interfere in the affairs of man.

35. Humanism • Man’s best service to God is to serve man. • Believed that the importance of this present life is sharply contrasted with the Puritan’s and Calvinist’s view that man must struggle continually to live a good life in order to be happy in the next life.

36. Humanism • Ben Franklin • Practiced humanism • Believed that church attendance was hypocritical and detrimental to the spiritual growth of man. • His debt to God was paid through his advice given to his fellow man in an effort to better society.

37. The Pilgrims • Cultural Identity/Communal Identity • Native Americans • French • Spanish • Virginia colonists • Morton and his community at Merry Mount • posed a threat to the communal integrity and identity of the group at Plymouth • All became the “others” in contrast to how the Pilgrims defined themselves.

38. Pilgrims, led by Miles Standish, began the assault on Morton’s colony, • Puritans from the Bay Colony, led by John Endicott, finally destroyed Merry Mount.