By 1640 they dominated New England

Presentation covers pages 1,4 11-14, 27-29

American character shaped by their moral, ethical, and religious

They wanted to purify the Church of England: simpler forms of worship & church organization modeled after the Bible

Persecuted in England: jail, whipped, noses slit, ears chopped off

Religion is a personal, inner experience (direct contact with God)

Humans are sinful by natureMost people are damned for all eternitySalvation belongs to the elect few identified

by their virtue, hard work, and worldly success (all signs of God’s grace)

People should live in thrifty, self-reliant and simple way

Everyday world and spiritual world closely intertwined

Most people are damned for all eternity though some are the saved “elect” by the grace of God

You did not know if you were damned or savedInner arrival of God’s grace was demonstrated by

your outward behaviorAfter receiving God’s grace you were reborn into a

community of saintsPeople aimed to be industrious, temperate, and

simple in their daily lives as a reflection of their faith

Believed in a covenant or contract existed between God and humanity

Saintly elect could exert influence but it was often undemocratic (witch trials)

Created society governed by the Bible where all worked for the common good.

Demanded strict conformity (dissenters were flogged, banished, or sentenced to death)

Value education – established Harvard College for their ministers

Created as man’s subordinate & helpmateA good wife was compliant and self-effacingCould not participate in government or be

ministers (Anne Hutchinson was exiled for trying)

Plain style of writing; simple and directPortrays life as a journey to salvationRecorded the workings of God in their daily

lives

Begins the history of American poetryImmigrant, teenage bride4 sons, 4 daughtersWrite privately, her work was published

without her permissionWould have been considered arrogant/wrong

for a woman to try and compete with male scholars but her work was well received

New England considered holy b/c the Devil was so interested in it

People confess they are bewitched – 150 people accused of being witches

“Mass hysteria” Possible causes: repression from strict

society, threat of nonconformists to Puritan life

19 hanged and one crushed to death

Pages 35-43

Wampanoag Chief MetacometReason for the warMary’s story – she and 3 children taken as

ransom for 11 wks and 5 daysNative Americans are starving and being

chased by Colonial soldiers from camp to camp

Event has spiritual and physical significance