Name Date Class
Cora Merrill Oct 11, 2024 2w
Puritans, Pilgrims, Religious Influence
Warm Up Directions: Please read through the following two primary sources and answer the attached
questions in the green boxes.
John Winthrop, A Model of Christian Charity, Jonathan Edwards, Sinners in the Hands of an
1630 Angry God
[In order to survive we need] “to follow the Counsel "The wrath of God is like great waters that are
of Micah, to doe Justly, to love mercy, to walk dammed for the present; . . . the floods of God's
humbly with our God, for this end, we must be knit vengeance have been withheld; but your guilt in the
together in this work as one man, . . . we must delight mean time is constantly increasing, and you are every
in each other, make others Conditions our own day treasuring up more wrath; the waters are
rejoice together, mourn together, . . . for wee must constantly rising, and waxing more and more mighty;
Consider that we shall be as a City upon a Hill, the and there is nothing but the mere pleasure of God,
eyes of all people are upon us; . . . Beloved . . . we are that holds the waters back, that are unwilling to be
Commanded this day to love the Lord our God, and stopped, and press hard to go forward. If God should
to love one another to walk in his ways and to keep only withdraw his hand from the flood-gate, it would
his Commandments immediately fly open, and the fiery floods of the
fierceness and wrath of God, would rush forth with
inconceivable fury, and would come upon you with
omnipotent power; The God that holds you over the
pit of hell, much as one holds a spider, or some
loathsome insect over the fire, abhors you, and is
dreadfully provoked: his wrath towards you burns
like fire; he looks upon you as worthy of nothing else,
but to be cast into the fire; he is of purer eyes than to
bear to have you in his sight; you are ten thousand
times more abominable in his eyes, than the most
hateful venomous serpent is in ours."
What did John Winthrop in 1630 mean by this? What What kind of God did the Puritans believe in? What
is he trying to say? was the religious vibe?
They are all in it together, and they have each other They believe that God thinks of them as insects and
backs in times of need. he hates us, but his kindness is more than his hate,
and his hate is so great that his kindness is great.
Based on these two sources, what type of role do you think religion played in the New England Settlements
and Colonies?
It was very prominent is the New England settlement, because they were deeply rooted in it. They centered
many things around their beliefs.
Many Americans get the Pilgrims and the Puritans mixed up. Common thinking is: They were both
groups of English religious reformers. They both landed in modern-day Massachusetts. And they were both
stuffy sourpusses who wore black hats, squared collars and buckled shoes, right? Well, maybe not the buckles.
To understand the biggest differences between the Pilgrims and the Puritans, one has to go back to the
Protestant Reformation, which swept across Europe after Martin Luther (supposedly) nailed his “95 Theses” to
the church door in 1517. Thanks to the printing press, non-clergy had access to the Bible in their native
languages for the first time. They began to question why the Roman Catholic worship services were so different
than those of the primitive Christian church.
The Reformation was slower to arrive to the British Isles, but England had its own split from the Roman
Catholic church in 1534 when King Henry VIII wanted a divorce and the Pope wouldn’t grant it. The newly
created Church of England was similar to Catholicism in every way, except instead of the Pope carrying divine
authority, it was the British Crown.
Puritan Pilgrim
Who Were the Pilgrims?
Every British citizen was expected to attend the Church of England, and those who didn’t were punished
by the state. One group of farmers in Northern England, known disparagingly as the Separatists, began to
worship in secret, knowing full well that it was treasonous.
“Once they decided that the only way they could be true to their conscience was to leave the established
church and secretly worship, they were hunted and persecuted, and many of them faced the loss of their homes
and the loss of their livelihood,” says Donna Curtin, executive director of the Pilgrim Hall Museum in
Plymouth, Massachusetts. “When it became impossible for them to continue in this way, they began to seek
another place to live.”
Who were the Pilgrims? They were religious people who settled in New
England.
Why did they move to the New World? So that they could have religious freedom, and no
retribution.
Pilgrims Look to the New World
The Separatists first fled to the Netherlands, a wealthy maritime superpower that was far more
religiously diverse and tolerant. But while life in Holland was peaceful, it wasn’t English, and the Separatists
feared that their children were losing their native culture. They decided that the only way to live as true English
Christians was to separate even further and establish their own colony in the New World.
Not all of the Separatists could make the Trans-Atlantic journey, including their spiritual leader,
Reverend John Robinson. Writing years later in Of Plymouth Plantation, William Bradford recounted the
tearful farewell at the docks in Delfshaven, where a ship would take the Separatists to meet the Mayflower in
London. “So they left that goodly and pleasant city which had been their resting place near twelve years; but
they knew they were pilgrims, and looked not much on those things, but lift up their eyes to the heavens, their
dearest country, and quieted their spirits.”
Curtin points out that Bradford didn’t name his community “Pilgrims,” and wouldn’t have heard the
term in his lifetime. The first usage of capital-P “Pilgrim” appeared around 1800, when a group of citizens in
Plymouth proposed the creation of a Pilgrim Society to organize the annual celebration of the founding of the
Plymouth Colony in 1620. Before 1800, the Separatists who landed at Plymouth Rock were known as the “first-
comers” or “forefathers.”
The Pilgrims, led by Bradford, arrived in New England in December. Roughly half of the 102
passengers on the Mayflower died that first winter from starvation, exposure and disease. With the help of the
native Wampanoag people, the Pilgrims learned to fish and farm their new lands, resulting in the famous feast
of Thanksgiving attended by natives and new arrivals in 1621.
Role Audience Format Topic
A Pilgrim follower Other Pilgrim followers A Journal article Leaving for the New
wanting to seek religious World in search of
freedom, listening to religious freedom
William Bradford
It is Oct 11, 2024, and I have just arrived in the New World. I am a separatist and am looking for religious
freedom here. I am looking forward to settling here. I can’t do this religion freely because of England, so I am
looking to worship freely.
Who Were the Puritans?
So who, then, were the Puritans? While the Separatists believed that the only way to live according to
Biblical precepts was to leave the Church of England entirely, the Puritans thought they could reform the church
from within. Sometimes called non-separating Puritans, this less radical group shared a lot in common with the
Separatists, particularly a form of worship and self-organization called “the congregational way.”
In a congregational church, there is no prayer book, no formal creeds or belief statements, and the head
of the church isn’t a Pope or the King, but Jesus Christ as revealed in the scriptures. Sabbath worship doesn’t
include sermons and preaching, but extemporaneous “testifying” by the Holy Spirit. As an organizing principle,
congregational churches are bound together by a “covenant” and make decisions democratically, including the
selection of religious leaders.
The biggest difference between the Separatists and the Puritans is that the Puritans believed they could
live out the congregational way in their local churches without abandoning the larger Church of England. “The
Puritans said, ‘It’s completely acceptable that this ecclesiastical structure is above us, but we’re going to operate
as a congregation in this biblical way,’” says Vicki Oman, associate director of group participation and learning
at the historic Plimoth Plantation. “The Separatists said, ‘That’s baloney. We have to completely separate
ourselves and have this congregational community separate from the state church.’”
This theological split between Separatists and non-separating Puritans had lasting consequences.
“Separatists end up on the outside of society,” says Oman. “Even if they’re educated, they end up with low-
paying jobs. They leave for places like the Netherlands, where they’re also not financially successful.
Meanwhile, the Puritans stay wealthy.”
Who were the Puritans? They were a church that was still under the Church of
England, but changed withing that church.
Why did they move to the New World? So that they could gain new opportunities. (favorable
investments)
Puritans Seek Land in America
The Puritans ultimately decided to journey to the New World, too, but not for the same reasons as the
Separatists. The Puritans, who already had some money, saw a favorable investment opportunity by owning
land in America. And somewhat paradoxically, the Puritans also believed that by being far away from England,
they could create the ideal English church.
“[The Puritan leader] John Winthrop talks about creating a church that will be a light to the nations,”
says Oman. “The Pilgrims never really expressed that desire.” When the Puritans settled the Massachusetts Bay
Colony in 1630, they arrived in 17 ships carrying more than 1,000 passengers. They came with money and
resources and divinely ordained arrogance. Just 10 years later, the Massachusetts Bay Colony was a Puritan
stronghold of 20,000, while humble Plymouth was home to just 2,600 Pilgrims. Plymouth was fully swallowed
up by Mass Bay just a few decades later.
Because the Pilgrims and the Puritans share a similar backstory, their legacies often got blurred in the
minds of later generations of Americans, and not always accidentally. Writing in 1820, Daniel Webster used the
Pilgrims as nostalgic symbols of Manifest Destiny, which was more of a Puritan thing: “Two thousand miles
westward from the rock where their fathers landed, may now be found the sons of the Pilgrims ... [cherishing
the blessings] of wise institutions, of liberty, and religion."
Sarah Crabtree, a historian at San Francisco State University, admits that she gets frustrated by the
“slippage” between the Pilgrims and the Puritans. “It contributes to the myth that ‘the first Thanksgiving’ and
‘religious freedom’ are part and parcel of America’s origin story,” writes Crabtree in an email. “The Puritans
and their ‘City on a Hill’ explicitly rejected religious freedom and never attempted to adopt the Pilgrims’ initial,
fleeting cooperation with American Indian peoples.”
Role Audience Format Topic
A follower wanting to The Church of England A formal proclamation Separating from the
seek religious freedom, Church of England, and
listening to John leaving the country
Winthrop
It is Oct 11, 2024, and I am just settling in the New World. I am going to find some good opportunities here. I
am going to now dive into church more. This new freedom is exciting and I want to spread our religion under
the England church.
Review:
In 1620 nearly 100 people, mainly the working class, traveled to the New World on the Mayflower.
Settling at Plymouth, Massachusetts, they have become known as the Pilgrims. Unlike the Puritans, who sought
to reform the Church of England and rejoin it, the Pilgrims were separatists and had given up hope on the
Church of England. The pilgrims planned to establish their own churches in the New World.
The Pilgrims have become famous for establishing the first direct democracy in the New World. Each
member of the colony signed a contract called The Mayflower Compact. This compact was a set of agreed-upon
rules by those in the colony. All colonists were treated equally for the “good of the common man.”
The Puritans were elected to office but believed God held them accountable, not the people they
represented. Their government was strictly religiously based.
The Pilgrims are often remembered for their gentle and tolerant attitudes. They had great relationships
with American Indians (compared to other colonies) and were generally open-minded. The Puritans, on the
other hand, considered themselves superior. There was no room for nonconformists in the colony and they were
extremely authoritarian — only answering to God and the chosen leaders.
Directions: Please complete the comparison chart below. Copy and paste at least 5 chunks of evidence from our
readings above into the comparison chart below. What makes the Pilgrims and Puritans different? What
similarities do they share?
Pilgrims Similarities Puritans
They left the Church of England They both have beliefs in God, and They stayed in the Church of
completely, and have some both want freedom of their England, hoping to reform their
different views on religion. religion. religion, inside the Church.
Q: Which lifestyle, Pilgrim or Puritan, would be more desirable to a settler looking for religious
freedom in the New World?
Background Information Puritans, because they stayed in the Church of England, so they were not
outcast, and were more wealthy.
Thesis: The lifestyle of a The lifestyle of a Puritan would be more desirable for a settle looking for
___________ would be more religious freedom in the New World because they were more wealthy and
desirable for a settler looking for had more room to grow.
religious freedom in the New
World because _______ .
Evidence: Even if they’re educated, they end up with low-paying jobs. They
leave for places like the Netherlands, where they’re also not financially
successful.
Analysis: The Pilgrims were shown to have to move away for religion and were
sort of outcasts, and didn’t have the opportunities that the Puritans had in
the New World.
Evidence: Meanwhile, the Puritans stay wealthy.
Analysis: The wealth of Puritans
Conclusion: The Puritans would be more desirable for new settlers looking for
freedom of religion.
Make it all flow into 1 paragraph below. Yes, you can copy and paste.
Puritans stayed in the Church of England, so they were not outcast, and were more wealthy. While Pilgrims
had to move away and had less opportunities for wealth and land in the New World. The lifestyle of a Puritan
would be more desirable for a settle looking for religious freedom in the New World because they were more
wealthy and had more room to grow. “Even if they’re educated, they end up with low-paying jobs. They leave
for places like the Netherlands, where they’re also not financially successful.” (Who Were The Puritans?).
The Pilgrims were shown to have to move away for religion and were sort of outcasts, and didn’t have the
opportunities that the Puritans had in the New World. “Meanwhile, the Puritans stay wealthy.” For a lot of
people, the Puritan religion would be more desirable for new settlers looking for freedom of religion.
