Choose two groups of people that were described in the article. How was their experience of the event similar? How was it differ
ent? Write a response that compares the perspectives of two groups of people using details from the article.
Massachusetts Bay - “The City Upon a Hill”
More than a thousand Puritans on 11 ships left England in 1630. The Puritans were fed up with the Church of England. They felt they couldn't practice their religion in England. The king of England didn't like the Puritans much either. So, he gave them permission to set up colonies in New England. The Puritans landed in the area of Massachusetts. John Winthrop was on one of those ships. He knew England would be watching them to see how they did. He wrote, "We shall be as a city upon a hill, the eyes of all people are upon us." Winthrop later became governor of Massachusetts.
Puritans believed in predestination, which taught that God is all-powerful and all-knowing. So, each person is known to God at birth, and nothing a person can do or say could change his future. Not everyone could be a Puritan Church member. Only those chosen by God to be "saved" could be Church members. A person must see and feel the grace and power of God, so then he knows he is "saved." During the early years, ministers such as John Cotton made sure people were really "saved."
The colony needed more than the "saved" people to survive. There were many dissenters, or Christian men and women who were not "saved." These people had jobs in business which were needed for the colony to survive.
There was also a need for elected leaders that made laws. Ministers were not allowed to run for office. But many of the most important decisions were made by them.
Puritan life
Almost 14,000 more Puritans came to Massachusetts from England in the next few years. So the colony began to spread out across New England. People began to live longer and healthier lives. It was often said that New England invented grandparents, which meant many people grew old enough to see their children have children. Puritans wanted their children to be able to read the Bible, so every town, with at least 50 families, built schools.
Massachusetts Bay was a man's world, and women could not speak at town meetings or vote. Puritans believed women who were pregnant with a male child had pink cheeks, and those having a female child had pale cheeks. Names of women included Patience, Silence, Fear, Comfort and Be Fruitful, which shows what Puritans thought about women.
Everyone went to church. People had to pay fines if they missed services. The minister's sermon or speech was about town problems. Often a man held a long pole to wake people or push children who were laughing. Church was very serious.
Puritan dissent
The Puritans believed they were doing God's work. Those who sinned and did not do God's work were punished. Some could be put in jail. Others were whipped or brought to the public square in the center of town, where people would spit on them. Some were even killed.
People were not free to think for themselves. Some free-thinkers could be forced to leave their homes and never return. Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson were two free-thinkers who spoke their minds and were sent away.
Roger Williams believed in the separation of church and state. He said churches should not get money from the taxes leaders of the town government collected from the people. Williams also said the Native Americans were not paid enough for their land. Massachusetts banished him from his home in 1636.
Williams bought some land from the Narragansett Indians and started the colony of Rhode Island, where people could be free thinkers.
Anne Hutchinson believed in predestination, which taught that God is all-powerful and all-knowing. She said it was God who controlled the future, not the rules of the church. Puritans believed this, but she said the ministers were actually teaching people they could do things to get into heaven. She also said people who were "saved" didn't have to follow the law. Sometimes 80 people would come to her home each week to hear her sermons.
The ministers decided to arrest her, and the court found her guilty. She was banished and moved to Rhode Island, too.
Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson were two brave souls who told people they have the right to disagree.
There is another side of Puritan life that is not well known. They did have some fun, too. People sang and told stories. They drank wine and beer. Children were allowed to play games with their parents' permission. Puritans did not all dress in black as many believe. They tried to follow God's law. People who did what the ministers said, lived in peace.
