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Some Background on Puritanism (as it pertains to early U.S. literature):

Be sure to note the questions in red italics. They are Thought/Study Questions -- and YES, they might show up on quizzes and tests.

 

To begin, we really need to go back to 16th century (1500s) England when King Henry VIII broke with the Roman Catholic Church.

(Who is King Henry VIII? What is he most popularly known for? Whose father was he?)

It's important to note that this event did not constitute the Reformation in England. Rather, an English Catholic church with Henry as its head was created. Today it is known as the "Anglican Church" or the "Church of England," and the reigning monarch . . .

(Who is currently the reigning monarch?)

...holds the title "Defender of the Faith." The American "cousins" of the Church of England are what we know as "Episcopalians."

Puritanism is a movement greatly influenced by the Reformation but whose main objective was to purify the Church of England of its Roman Catholic-style ritual, liturgy, and organization. The most radical of the Puritans sought a return to primitive Christianity. The important thing to remember is that it was a movement within the Church of England.

Those differences in ritual and liturgy should be fairly obvious to anyone who has been in Catholic, Episcopal, and Protestant churches.

(What are some of those very obvious differences?)

The deeper differences of organization are not as visible, but they are very important for an understanding of the American experience. The Puritans held very revolutionary ideas derived from both Luther and Calvin. The major ones were:

  1. an insistence on vernacular services;
  2. that the sermon was of great importance;
  3. that a priest is not a necessary intermediary (as he is in the Catholic Church);
  4. all believers are equal in the sight of God;
  5. the church itself should democratically decide its leadership;
  6. a great emphasis was placed on reading Scripture.

These are very basic ideas that will show up over and over again this semester as we follow the development of U.S. literature and culture.

These ideas had a number of results and consequences -- mainly:

  1. literacy because Scripture reading and sermons became extremely important, and even (gulp!) females needed to be taught to read;

(Why might literacy be a double-edged sword?)

  1. Puritan beliefs appealed very much to the lower classes because of the democratic view inherent in the theology and organization. That is, vertical movement was encouraged, and everyone did not have to stay in the position he was born.

Naturally, as you might expect, these ideas were not popular with the monarchy. Puritans suffered for their beliefs, and their struggle had a great effect on the English history of this time, not to mention setting the stage for American revolutionary struggle.

Not always made clear is the difference between Puritans and Separatists -- don't lump them together:

Now, let's look at the first three major English settlements on our east coast:

  1. the Virginia colony at Jamestown (1607) - mainly Church of England (no dissenters)
  2. Plymouth Colony (1620) - Separatist in name
  3. Massachusetts Bay Colony (1630) - Puritan

(It would be a very good idea to be able to locate these on a map.)

The Separatists are the first group we will be concerned with. It's a popular misconception that the Separatists ("Pilgrims") who originally settled Plymouth came directly from England. They did not. For some years prior to the Mayflower voyage, the English Separatists had been illegally emigrating to Holland, a more religiously liberal country. (It also was illegal to practice Separtatism in England, of these people were doubly persecuted.) The community in Holland, about 500-600, was briefly in Amsterdam and then lived in Leyden. After 15 or 16 years, however, they decided that it might be a good idea to go somewhere else because:

  1. it appeared likely that Spain (a very Catholic country) would invade Holland;
  2. the younger generation was losing its religious identity;
  3. they perceived a threat from Arminianism (Jacobus Arminius -- everyone can be saved);
  4. they were not doing well economically.

They went briefly to England to pick up other passengers who were mostly Puritan "adventurers." Note that only about 1/3 of the Mayflower passengers actually were Separatists, but they prevailed. They actually were heading toward the area of the Hudson River after having considered both Virginia and Guyana (!). Obviously, the landing site was badly miscalculated!

(Does Guyana ring a bell? How has it figured into more recent U.S. religious history?) 

Before we look at William Bradford, let's just take a little closer look at the specific theology of the Separatists. They were essentially Calvinists -- that is, followers of the French theoologian John Calvin (birth name Jean Chauvin, 1509-1564; resided in Switzerland). Here's an easy way to remember their doctrine - TULIP:

In addition, they believed that God is omnipresent, all the time acting in human affairs, and nothing happens by chance. And they believed that all of history is an unfolding of the battle between God and Satan, and that the New World was the setting for the final battle.

Sermons and Scripture, of course, were means of grace, but also served as rigorous self-examination to find out one's own faults. Diaries and journals were an instrument of this, and that's why these early settlers were strongly motivated to keep journals. They also kept a record because they honestly believed that the whole Christian world was watching them.

(Of course, strict Calvinist doctrine is pretty distant from the current teachings of most mainline denominations, but how have some of these beliefs found their way into the secular way we have tended to perceive ourselves in the United States?)