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The Puritans The Early Settlers of New England
The Puritans certainly were a curious people that are easy targets for people to make fun of today. However, they have had a tremendous influence on our culture. Many of their ideas and beliefs are still being practiced today, (although often in a much less strict or serious way). The following are some Puritan and other beliefs still alive in New England.
Beliefs concerning babies Monday’s child is fair of face, Tuesday’s child is full of grace. Wednesday’s child is dour and sad, Thursday’s child is merry and glad. Friday’s child is loving and giving, Saturday’s child must work for a living. But the child that is born on the Sabbath Day, Is blithe and bonny, good and gay.
If a baby does not fall out of bed at least once before he is a year old, it will grow up to be an idiot. • If a baby sneezes more than once on the day it is born, it will become a financial expert. • If a baby is born with one or more teeth, it will become involved in a business associated with food. • If a baby looks into a mirror before it is a year old, it will become an actor. • If a baby lifts one of its hands when it gives its first cry at birth, it will become a leader of men. • If a baby’s nails are cut with metal scissors before it is a year old, it will become a criminal. • If a baby smiles at everyone who comes near it, the baby will become a lawyer. • If a baby cries on its first birthday, it will become a minister or priest.
Marriage Beliefs and Customs It will be an unhappy marriage if: *The bride does not wear something “old” something “new”, something “borrowed”, and something “blue”. *Someone other than the bride is the first to cut the wedding cake. *The bride puts her wedding dress on more than an hour before the ceremony. *The groom does not dance with the oldest woman guest at the reception. *Anyone sneezes three times during the ceremony.
It will be a happy marriage if the sun shines any time during the day of the wedding. • If unmarried girls who attended the wedding sleep with a piece of the cake under their pillow, they will dream of their future husband. • The bridesmaid who catches the bouquet will be the next to be married. • Throwing rice, a symbol of fertility, helps insure that the marriage will be blessed with children. It also keeps evil spirits busy so they can’t harm the newly wedded couple. • At least one of the couples in a double wedding will be divorced within five years. • If the groom falls asleep before the bride on the wedding night, he will die before she does. • Since there is no beginning or end in a circle, the wedding ring that the groom places on the finger of his bride symbolizes his wish that their union will last forever.
Beliefs Associated with dreamsIf you dream of: • Strangers, your home will be broken into, and a number of valuables stolen. • A wedding or a mountain, a close friend will soon die. • A beautiful woman in a red dress, you will go on a long trip. • A nest, you will receive an unexpected gift. • Getting your hair cut, you will be invited to a party. • A fire in your house, you will inherit some money. • A crying baby, your harvest will be disastrously small. • A laughing baby, your harvest will be larger than anticipated.
A man’s hat, you will be successful in any venture you start in the next seven days. • A woman’s hat, you will be unsuccessful in any venture you start in the next seven days. • Death, you will hear from a friend you thought had died. • Bread, you will be blessed with good fortune for thirty days. • Flowers, you will become seriously ill in a short time. • Corn, you will become involved in an extremely lucrative business venture. • Any grain other than corn, a close relative will soon have a baby. • A snowstorm, one of your relatives will be dead within a year. • Teeth or hair, one of your relatives will become ill. • Of falling from a great height, you will find something that you thought you had lost. • A drowning, one of your favorite books will disappear.
The Boogey Man Will Get you!!! The boogey man is one of the evil spirits brought to New England by the early settlers. Although he is capable of assuming a number of different shapes, he can almost always be identified by his bright red eyes that glow in the dark. One of his duties is to punish children who have been very bad during the day, but his most important responsibility is to carry off incorrigible children to a place where they will never get enough to eat, and from where they will never be able to return to see any of their family or friends.
The puritans, as previously taught to you, led a very strict lifestyle. They had certain rules that were meant to be followed, and if a person got out of line, there were certain punishments. The following are all punishments that existed in the world of the Puritans.
Branding of the hand, Cheek, forehead, or another body part for various crimes
Being forced to wear a letter naming a sin, such as an “A” for adultery, or a “G” for gambling
The Drunkards cloak was used to discourage public drunkenness
The following are all examples of “sinful behavior” people living in puritan New England may have been accused of.I will share the situation with you, and your job is to predict what the punishment may have been.
Situation A:Breaking the Sabbath In Puritan life Sundays are set aside as a serious day of communion between man and his maker—a day of worship, sacrifice, and prayer. Breaking the Sabbath is everybody’s business in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The accused was caught violating the Lord’s Day by chopping wood to heat his house and to cook food for his family. His wife on the same day, sang and danced under the trees in the brilliant sunshine. She said she was doing it “to celebrate her happiness.” Several of her children were seen dancing and laughing with her. The husband should control himself, as well as his wife and children. PREDICT THE USUAL PUNISHMENT
Situation B:gambling In Puritan society, gambling—in any form– is strictly forbidden. It is a sinful violation of the law of honesty and industry. A man’s work, not chance, should determine his success in life. The accused was caught with a deck of cards he brought over from England and kept hidden. He had asked several friends from Salem Village to join him in games of cards involving money. Dice were seen at one such gathering. Just to possess dice or cards is illegal. PREDICT THE USUAL PUNISHMENT
Wear a “G” on chestORa fine of 20 shillingsor10 “stripes” or whippings
Situation c:theft In one of the Bible’s Ten Commandments, stealing is condemned. The accused, during a brief “starving time” last February, stole bacon, ham, and venison from the smoke house belonging to the community’s blacksmith, John Armstrong. He also took several pints of oatmeal from the entryway. The Armstrong family could ill-afford the loss of food from its supply as the wife expects their fourth child in June. The nefarious act of thievery shows a lack of discipline and self-reliance, to say little of the absence of good work habits and self-respect. PREDICT THE USUAL PUNISHMENT
Brand a HT (hog thief) on foreheadOR5 lashes with a whiporcutting off one hand
Situation d:idleness Idleness is scorned in the Puritan community. It is like a quicksand waiting to devour the weak and lazy. Devoted Puritans must carry their own load in society. As the Bible’s book of Proverbs says, “Go to the ant, thou sluggard. Consider her ways and be wise.” After his crops failed, the accused has refused to work at jobs cleaning out privies (toilets) offered by townspeople. He said, “Such degrading tasks are beneath me, for I have spent two years studying at Harvard College.” Recently, he has lived off relatives for six months, a real burden for that family. Any money he earns now seems to go for grog and cards. PREDICT THE USUAL PUNISHMENT
Situation e:selling guns to Indians Relations with the local Indians have not always been good, especially the Pequot tribe. Nevertheless, the accused did, in fact, store up excess gunpowder and guns and decided to sell, at a profit, both these materials to a potential enemy of this holy community. The savages have little respect for rules of war or for the Christian society that we Puritans represent. This is a second offense for this crime, and this amoral man must be severely punished as an example for the whole community. PREDICT THE USUAL PUNISHMENT
Jail TimeORBranding of the Cheek with an “I” using a hot iron
Situation f:Rebellion against parents We Puritans have a law which states that if any child above age 16 curses, smites, or is rebellious towards his father or mother, or does not obey his parent’s command, such a son may be put to death by his natural parents. The accused has run away to another village after refusing to obey his father’s command to clean up the animal pens near the barn. This time, the boy brandished a hoe and threatened his father before running off. What will our community’s youth think and do if the accused gets away with behavior such as this which undermines family authority in our society? PREDICT THE USUAL PUNISHMENT
If Guilty, potentially deathORminimally, a public whipping and considerable time in the stocks
Situation g:blasphemy/vulgar language There is no more certain sign that a person’s moral code has weakened than the use of profanity. Cursing in oaths, using the Lord’s name in vain or anger is an abomination. The 14-year-old accused has used a profane tongue both in and outside the school within the ears of other youth. The elders have reprimanded his parents, but to no avail. In retaliation, the youth was seen throwing two stones at the windows of one elder’s home. The boy even sent an obscene note to the elder’s wife with 24 words of blasphemy and inappropriate comments. PREDICT THE USUAL PUNISHMENT
Five stripes (lashes) with a whipORpins stuck through the tongue
Situation h:drunkenness All Puritans, especially the church elders, are deeply concerned about excessive drinking in our community taverns and inns. The sin is drinking in excess, when words are slurred and behavior—vomiting and lisping—is outrageous. Our community must always remember the Bible’s warning: “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging, and whosever is deceived thereby is not wise.” The accused spends much of his time in the Leaning Tree Tavern and imbibes copious amounts of beer and alcohol, and not for reasons of body warmth in the winter. He wastes several shillings a week on grog, money which would be better spent on his family. PREDICT THE USUAL PUNISHMENT
A 10-shilling fineOR10 lashes with a whiportime in the stocks until sober
Situation I:adultery Adultery, when one of our members is unfaithful outside his or her Christian marriage, is a dreadful sin. This immoral act surely dissolves the trust between man and wife. The two accused—both from two separate marriages—are guilty of being unfaithful. The accused woman is now three months with child by the accused male. The death of his wife a year ago does not release him from this unpardonable and embarrassing sin. The woman accused, tempted the male just as the snake tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden. PREDICT THE USUAL PUNISHMENT
Both must wear a large letter “a”on their clothing at all times for at least a year; they must marry within two weeks
Situation J:immodesty, dancing, and long hair Wickedness abounds in one house in particular. The accused wears loose clothing and short dresses so that she continually displays her flesh (her arms are often bare) like a Biblical harlot. She also wears adornments such as lace embroidery and sashes. She is a mountain of vanity violating the 7th commandment. She even dances in the Leaning Tree Tavern with a long-haired sailor, and their bodies frequently touch in an inappropriate manner. PREDICT THE USUAL PUNISHMENT
Situation K:Heresy No crime within the Puritan religion is worse or more dangerous than heresy—challenging the orthodox church doctrine with false and evil ideas. Such is the case of the accused. She has defended the Catholic faith, attacked the Church of England, and currently harbors two Quaker youth within the home. At times witnesses have seen the accused making faces during the sermons on Sunday. Once she is said to have taken coins out of the collection plate. She stares right in the eyes of the elders and other males, showing no shame when she is accused of not being the ideal wife recommended by the Apostle Paul in the Bible. PREDICT THE USUAL PUNISHMENT
Situation L:Gossiping A Puritan who spreads malicious rumors does the community no good. Women especially have a weakness that results in their talking negatively about other women and children. Our Twelve Good Rules state that we should “repeat no grievances, reveal no secrets, and maintain no ill opinions.” The accused woman has continually been gossiping, even in the company of men outside her family. She is causing all our community’s women to snoop into everyone’s lives from dawn to dusk. Fires of rumors are burning all of us, and suspicion is loose in the land. PREDICT THE USUAL PUNISHMENT
Banishment from the communityOROne’s tongue branded with a “G”orseveral dips on the ducking stool
Group Activity • Break yourselves into groups of 3 or 4 • I will randomly present each of you with an activity card • Read the card, and prepare a 2-3 minute response to share with the class.
