Essays on Puritans

Where did the idea of the American Dream first originate? Immigrants to the New World were bent on creating a new society, one that thrived on democratic principles, where they could worship freely and having equal standing in the eyes of the law regardless of their financial situation or social status. We believe these ideas to be our own, but they are not; these ideas are not uniquely American ideas. They are drawn from the beliefs of the early Protestants, specifically the ideas of separation of church and state, equality for all and hard work and integrity. The first ...

It has to be reckoned that the Puritan Dilemma was one of the major religious issues that overshadowed the 17th century English society. The Puritans living in the country went on to face the dilemma that made them think of a viable way in which the Church of England could be saved. They were undecided about sticking by the system and endeavoring to reform the things needs from within. The people also pondered about the viability of separating themselves from the Church of England so as to be able to escape from the various acts of corruption and sins ...

An Assignment Submitted by

Although the United States of America became an independent country not so long ago there was a long history that preceded the mentioned event that happened in 1776. In this paper the history of the pre-independent USA will be explored. It is believed that the indigenous people have been coming to America from Asia for thousands of years in the gap between 15 and 50 thousand years ago, when the modern Bering Strait did not yet exist and the two continents were connected with land. Reliable evidence of their presence in the United States was received throughF the findings ...

Question one

If I were to choose the century in which I would live in Europe, with no doubt, the 18th century would be my best bet. The century was marked by significant economic transformations and inventions that made life right for every citizen in the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom supported its nationals as was evidenced by the government, which introduced support system schemes for poor people in the community. Moreover, there were government projects that were spearheaded with the aim of ensuring that the semi-skilled people earned some source of living. The introduced system of socialism united the nation. ...

Literature

In this essay, we will analyze the life and views of two prominent American figures Jonathan Edwards and Benjamin Franklin. Despite the fact that they live in the same time period they have completely different lifestyles and views. They both tried to come up to perfection and did it in their own particular way. This is the main question of the essay. The comparison of two views will be presented with the help of the analysis of Jonathan Edwards’ works ‘Resolutions’, ‘Personal Narrative’ and Benjamin Franklin’s ‘Poor Richard’s Almanacks’. In the analysis, the comparison of their views ...

1. Christopher Columbus was a villain to the new world as his discovery brought colonization and the natives were forced to move from their lands within a decade. When Columbus reached America, he killed, enslaved and raped several innocent natives. Over a period of time, Columbus’s discovery of America became the doom of Native Americans and brought death and despair. Columbus was even arrested when the Spanish monarchs learned about his mistreatment of natives. Overall, without Columbus and his discovery of the new world, the natives would have been in a better position. 2. When colonists started to ...

Hester is the hero of the novel. She is portrayed as an energetic, lovely, lively, and glad lady. When she is initially introduced in the story, there is as of now an embarrassment joined to her name that is symbolized by the red letter "A". She holds her head high and stays in full general visibility without shedding a tear when she goes to jail. Her soul is likewise reflected in her brightening the red letter with gold string. Hester's quality of character out in the open, is truth be told, her method for steeling herself against her inward ...

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is one of the most famous novels by the American romantic writer. While the novel is well-known for its depiction of the relationships between the characters, and the romantic plots and subplots, the novel also has great value as a historical study of the Puritan period. Puritan society was a highly gendered society, with strict gender roles for men and women, and a well-established patriarchal society. Explorations of the novel, and of the depiction of Hester’s character, her punishment, and her actions in the novel can help reveal whether Hawthorne was realistically ...

Define the differences in the “push”, “passage”, and “pull” factors of three different immigrant groups which come to America between 1607 and 1830? Use testimonies from the various websites provided in the first three weeks of readings which illustrate individuals from these groups. Also, are there any testimonies which present how the resident Anglo-Americans feel about subsequent groups which came to America, especially after the Revolution? (For example, what does Benjamin Franklin think about German immigrants and their presence in Pennsylvania?) There were four waves of immigration into America. The first one took place between 1790 and 1820. The ...

(Teacher)

“Authority without wisdom is like a heavy ax without an edge, fitter to bruise than polish.” Anne Bradstreet. ("Anne Bradstreet") Anne Bradstreet was a puritan and a poet whose father and husband were part of the local government in the early year of the Massachusetts Colony. Her quote is a direct result of her experiences with politics during that time period of early American Colonial Puritan life. Her perspective on the most important factors involved in how politics worked is also reflected in a few of her poems. However, the statement above shows her perspective and understanding of ...

General Introduction to the church

History of the Church is seen to encounter many challenges. The early church had its roots on cemented on strict and stringently followed biblical beliefs. With time, evolution and civilization began to encroach the church values and systems. The church initially, did not believe in earthly riches, entertainment, politics, and honor. The acceptance of such in the church consequently brew divides in the church, and people started accepting and interpreting the Bible in different ways. Hence, congregation members began to cocoon in line and cohorts of what they believed was right. As declared by Jesus, “no one can serve ...

A great writer Nathaniel Hawthorne is a person who uses different themes and characters in his writings. He is a romantic writer who uses different literary devices, such as metaphor, irony, symbols in order to make his works more understandable and reaching to the reader. He himself as a person has a very interesting family history. His father died and he was forced to live with his relatives, mother and sister. Every writer’s storyline influences their writings and Nathaniel Hawthorne was not an exception to the rule. Hawthorne’s family history shaped the theme of his writing including ...

When considering the genre of Romantic Fiction, it is important to distinguish two main criteria. The first one is that the story should tell about the relationship and romantic love between two people. Secondly, the positive end of the story leaves the reader believing that love and relationship are very real and endure right next to them, and that love wins at all. In literature, realism expresses real situations, real people and real events, whereas romanticism shows messages by using fiction. Romanticism focuses on plot, hyperbole, metaphor and feeling. In contrast, realism focuses on characters, details, objectivity and separation ...

An exploration of the interests that the English had when settling the North America Continent reveals that the establishment and development of Virginia and Massachusetts in 1607 and 1620 respectively stemmed from different causes. The Virginia Company of London and the Massachusetts Bay Company granted passages for English immigrants while hoping that each group would establish a settlement that would benefit the Monarch in one way or another. As one would expect with the acquisition of territories outside the mother country, the new areas held potential for the people of Britain from the personal to national levels. In other ...

When the young woman – the mother of this child – stood fully revealed before the crowd, it seemed to be her first impulse to clasp the infant closely to her bosom; not so much by an impulse of motherly affection, as that she might thereby conceal a certain token, which was wrought or fastened into her dress. In a moment, however, wisely judging that one token of her shame would but poorly serve to hide another, she took the baby on her arm, and with a burning blush, and yet a haughty smile, and a glance that would not be ...

The American culture has been greatly affected by the Puritans in very many aspects. It is important to understand who they were and why they are a force to reckon with especially when looking at the formative years of the United States. Puritans were English Protestants that wanted only to reform the Church of England but then carried their cultures to the United States when they immigrated. Long after their very existence, the mythology they created has continued to influence the ways of thinking of the current generation Americans. It is highly likely that even future generations will be ...

The Age of Enlightenment was an era of American history in which the rise of scientific inquiry and the rise of empirical knowledge was leading many Christians, including Puritans, to leave the faith (Smith 446). In response, Jonathan Edwards delivered the sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” in 1741, in which the author attempted to convince Puritans not to stray from their belief in Christ despite the Enlightenment-era secularism that was present during that time. However, in many more important ways, Edwards’ own perspective on God in this sermon solidified the Age of Enlightenment’s assertion ...

Part I: Quote Identification

Identify the title of the work, the author's name, and the significance of the line to the overall meaning/theme of the work [not a restatement of exactly what the line says] for 12 of the following 15 quote ids. Be sure to identify clearly the term that applies to the lines indicated {if applicable}. You need not write a great deal in the “Significance” line: you need ONLY identify the term that applies and how the line suggests an interpretation, {or adds to the interpretation} of the work in two to three complete sentences. Do NOT restate the lines or simply ...

Question 1

The definition of religion is often different across different groups depending on the values and beliefs that they hold. Noticeably, most people define religion based on what history holds as true for them. Typically, the catholic Spain defines religion as a matter of doctrines, rituals, creeds and traditions. Seemingly, the catholic Spain seems to attest to the fact that religion is more of a way of life. However, this is not true according to the historical chronology of religious beliefs. Looking closely, history explains the evolution of religion through ages. Thus, religion is never a set of compact doctrines and traditions.

According ...

Questions

John Bunyan’s "The Pilgrim’s Progress" is a work of Puritanism. Puritanism is a religious movement of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries meant for purification of English church or the Church of England from all the elements of Catholic belief. The group that wanted to purify the church during the Puritanism became famous as the Puritans (McKay, Hill, and Buckler). The Puritans has common ideology.

However, Puritanism is different from the Church of England, and the religious variation between the Church of England and Puritanism became obvious during the reign of Elizabeth. The beliefs of Puritans had played a significant ...

A comprehensive understanding of the term theoretical lens is first attained by breaking the subject into two; theory and lens. Prevalently, a theory is a set of words or ideas put forth to elucidate or rather reveal the existence of a phenomenon. In this context, the theory is used to explain cultural perspective in a given subject, child development. Conversely, a lens from a lay’s perspective is a transparent object used to view or magnify the given object, thereby enabling the user, to ascertain a clear understanding of the viewed material. However, from the literature perspective, a lens is an instrument that enables people in a society to ...

During the 17th century, around 1630, the puritans settled in New England. However, their main purpose was not to promote religion or religious freedom; rather they wanted to achieve freedom from the church and public officials in England. They believed the church and public officials prevented them from pursuing their religious beliefs as God intended them to. This essay focuses on the life of Anne Hutchinson and Roger Williams who were deeply religious individuals during the 17th century. Although they led separate lives, the two are linked together because of their religious beliefs that led to them being banished ...

Question 11 - New World for the Puritans

What is now called the USA was initially the discovered new world of Columbus. Many people decided to build a new life there and travel hundreds of kilometers from their home in the UK or somewhere else in Europe. Some left in search of religious freedom, some – for seeking a new and better life, other were forced to go there either by someone or by the circumstances of their life. This was a new start for all. A new and better world was to be built. Puritans decided it was their calling to build and purify the existing social standards. Small ...

In his book, The Puritan Dilemma, Edmund Morgan narrates the dilemma of Winthrop, who felt that he needed to separate himself from the rest of the society which he felt was unclean in religious aspects. However, Winthrop was afraid the extent to which he felt he could distant himself. Another worry that engulfed him was that he was not really certain whether the generation that could come out of him could match the standards that he cherished. His major awareness is that he appreciated the presence of God. This is evidenced, when he ideologically differed from Rodger Williams who ...

Christmas is considered to be both a religious holiday as well as a worldwide cultural event. Christians around the world celebrate Christmas in December to remember the birth of Jesus, their spiritual leader. However, this holiday began long before Jesus was born, and has changed throughout the years depending on the geography and climate of the country it is being celebrated in. The cultural phenomenon of Christmas first began centuries before the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, as cultures would celebrate the Winter Solstice. The importance of celebrating the Winter Solstice came out of the fact that many people worked ...

Introduction

This paper discusses the differences that have shaped the economies of northern, middle and southern English colonies. The major factors that account for the differences between northern, middle and southern English colonies are those things that have helped shape the economies of the colonies. They are those factors that have helped shape their lifestyles. The financial position of each colony was determined by what these colonies produced. Their differences in politics, religion, economics and social values make them distinct from each other .

Northern Colony

Religious aspect: The history of northern colony shapes when the Puritans founded the northern colony. Northern ...

- What were some of the large religious groups that had an impact on the forming of this country? You are being asked to not only name the groups but how their theology had an impact on the forming of the United States. America’s experience towards the formation involves various linguistic, individual, national, and most importantly theological differences and similarities of religion. The powerful interactions between Europeans, Africans, and Native American brought the religion as a powerful force to establish the Colonies and United States. The formation of United States was not free of interaction by religious groups ...

History

Paper Due Date

Introduction

This paper discusses the historical topics of Bacon’s rebellion in Chesapeake and the practice of witchcraft in New England. Both these events were caused by social, economic or religious factors that affected the colonial America. In the middle of 17th century, around 80 New England colonies were indicted with the practice of witchcraft. New England colonists were known to have strong conservative convictions, witches and demons and other supernatural instances were common in daily life. Whereas, Bacon’s Rebellion was led by Nathaniel Bacon in 1676 was a popular revolt in the colonial state of Virginia. This ...

The arrival of colonial masters in America marked a tremendous change in the cultural, social economic and political orientation in the country. One of the social cultural practices that the colonial masters came with was the introduction of Christianity to the American land. As the European settlers continued to stream into America in the early 15th and 16th century, locals were gradually converted into Christians. During her reign, Queen Elizabeth I instituted radical reforms and doctrines in the Church of England, a move that placed many Puritans on a collision course and made them to migrate to the new America for asylum ...

The Puritans, who are known to extreme separatists, made a great shift in the Christianity’s history. Being not fully satisfied with the results of the reformation in the Church of England, this group of devout Christian men and women endeavored to completely do away with the heresies of Roman Catholicism. These Puritans are also deemed great writers of various forms of literature, whereby their culture and belief are also presented. In her work, Verses upon the Burning of our House, Puritan Anne Bradstreet contemplates on the sovereignty of God in all things, the view on and response of man ...

William Bradford's "Of Plymouth Plantation," his personal journal of the Puritans as they moved from place to place looking for somewhere that they could settle and practice their religion. In this, it parallels the Zuni origin story in that they also had to travel to find their middle place where they were destined to settle. Bradford’s work is a journal that gives a detailed account of day-to-day events that when read in its entirety provides a broad sweeping view of the Plymouth settlement. The Zunis did not come from here. They were created in a world that must have been deep ...

Exploring he theme of Isolation in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short stories; “The Minister’s Black Veil”, “Young Goodman Brown” and “The Birthmark” Nathaniel Hawthorne is the author of many short stories in which he portrays his characters with some dilemma where they must make up their minds about what is wrong from what is right. His stories end with morals that can be learned through his characters’ actions. Most of the stories he wrote are filled with themes of guilt and there are many themes of loneliness and sadness. His main characters are reclusive and lived sheltered lives. ...

[Author][Professor][Subject][Date of Submission]

Today, it seems the world is known as the global village because of the advancement of technology that keeps people in different nationalities to mingle. The internet made a drastic change not only to peoples’ relationships but even to the world of trade and business. People can already wire money from the other side of the world to another. Despite this, there are things that are not changing and this includes the persisting intolerance in the United States of America in terms of race, ethnic, and religion. Ishmael Reed in his article entitled, “ ...

Essay Questions

1). The English had a desire of colony in the North America as they wanted to search silver and gold there. However, in 1585, approximately hundred English men arrived in the Roanoke Island, which is near North Carolina (Ayres, Gould, Oshinsky, and Sodarlund). Further, in 1587, majority settlers arrived in Roanoke. However, leader of the English people named John White went back to England in order to buy the supplies. However, in this settlement the Native American did not provide any support. They did not maintained friendly relations with The English coming over to these places, did not provided them ...

An Explanation of How Hester Prynne Portrays the Author’s View

of America’s Transition from Puritanism to Romanticism 3 pages, double-spaced

Times New Roman, 12 pt

869 words Page set up: U.S. Letter 5 citations

MLA format

The novel, The Scarlet Letter, was written by the author Nathaniel Hawthorne and was published in 1850 (1). It is a story about the Puritan settlers of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, set around 1650 (2). The story is written in the third person with the narrator being the author. The common thread that runs through this novel is Hawthorne’s apparent understanding of the beliefs and culture of the Puritans in America at that time. But ...

The emergence of early colonial America onto the stage of Western civilization, dramatized many political, social, and religious events. Perhaps the greatest and most surprising story, surrounds the United States’ first official education system. It grew from turbulent beginnings. This paper explains how the United States government stepped into the pages of history, to create the first federally mandated public school system. One source states that the U.S. public education system can trace “its development from its roots in Puritan and Congregationalist religious schools in the 1600s” (“A History of Public Education in the United States”). As the newly ...

English: Essay

Twelfth Night is one of the comedy plays of Shakespeare that he wrote in 1601. Critics consider the Twelfth Night as the one of his greatest comedies. The Twelfth Night also named as “What You Will” by the writers community. Twelfth Night is considered to be the twelfth night of Christmas that people celebrated as a festival in which everything would change its role. The play includes a woman who has to disguise herself as a young man. In all the other plays, the major roles have been played by male characters. The character of Malvolio initially seems to be a minor character, ...

According to Norton, Chapter two expresses the influence of the British (and other) colonizers in the North American people’s religion, culture, form of governance, economy, and land ownership. The colonizers had success in converting the Indians and the Native people to Christianity. Europeans moved to North America to own and start farms while the British had an interest because of their need to reform the church, improve government and to settle their surplus population by transferring their homeland societal and political environments to North America. In 1607, Jamestown, a swampy town in Virginia, the first permanent settlement was established; ...

The Puritan movement consisted of a group of English Protestants in the 16th and the 17th centuries. The movement was founded on the ideology of purity of worship and doctrine as well as individual and group piety. It was viewed as a social danger as it seemed to generate an excess of evangelical fervor disturbing the public tranquility and promoting a mysticism obscuring the imperatives of morality. The movement was firmly based on purity of religion as their main agenda and did not base its agenda on economic reforms and the then upcoming innovations. They felt that advancing their own profit and ...

There is a vast sea of inequality stretching infinitely across borders, flowing freely throughout our so-called society. Inequality comes in different shades and hues: masters and slaves, feudal lords and peasants, males and females, bourgeoisie and proletarians, Christians and Jews, Westerns and non-Westerns, and whites and blacks – just name it, our society has it. In the context of a highly polarized society, deep-rooted culture of discrimination becomes air that we breathe; coupled with a varying degree of violence, it has been a part of life in a protracted way, as if of an essence. Wars such as the Civil War, Thirty Years’ War, World ...

Introduction

The Indians and the English colonists had a tumultuous relationship that was plagued with conflict. These conflict arose of many issues including the taking of the Indians land, the destruction of the Indians crop by the Englishmen’s cattle, inequality of the law with regard to the Indians, and more. By the mid-1600s, the Puritans and the Indians existed in close proximity in the colonies. However, the Puritans did not view the Indians as equals. They had a different culture and different practices that the Puritans frowned upon. This led to a lack of respect for the Indians in the minds of ...

Religion, or belief in a god or multiple gods as well as belief-related activities, such as praying or worshipping, has various and history-motivated established manifestations in different countries. Religion has existed for centuries, starting with the holy antiquity, and reversed its direction due to a number of reasons ever since then. Religion in Europe changed its course from being politics-oriented to being apolitical, maintaining neutrality, granting political power its much needed laicized status after centuries of the Holy Inquisition and de facto governance of secular affairs. The USA, the country founded by puritan pilgrims seeking opportunities to freely exercise their religious ...

Introduction

Cotton Mather was an influential Puritan minister of New England in USA. He was the son and grandson of two prominent Puritan ministers Increase Mather and Richard Mather. He was a prolific writer who had 468 publications to his credit. Some of the books written by him like 'Magnalia Christi Americana', 'Bonifacius' and 'The Angel of Bethesda' are very important for American history (GSU 2011). He completed his graduation at the age 16 from Harvard University, thereby becoming one of the youngest graduate ever from the institution. Mather like his father Increase Mather was a strong defender of Puritan orthodoxy and played ...

Summary

In this chapter, the author gives a candid history of America. He precisely traces the historical developments which took place a lot of years ago. This started during the pre-colonial era when America was inhabited by the indigenous ethnic groups such as the (red) Indians. Just like any other society, the pre-colonial America as a free society in which people mingled with less barriers. Life was much better because the few available people would live in harmony. The kind of communal life adopted was quite necessary for promoting cohesion and understanding. It was such a beautiful environment endowed with natural resources such as ...

Religion has been on the forefront of developing the American history. The religious practices of America have grown from animistic to Catholicism and protestant among others. Religion influenced the westward migration, American Revolution, slavery, defined gender roles, racism, ethnicity and civil war. Due to its relationship with the political world, religion played a negative role in the creation, establishment and disintegration of various social practices in the lives of American people. - Religion formed the basis of settlement in the new world. Due to widespread persecution in Europe, many settlers moved to America where there was religious freedom. For ...

Salem witch trials refer to a series of trials and executions of people who were allegedly involved in witch practice. All these incidents of witch practice took place during seventeenth century in newly established colonies of New England, Massachusetts. Puritans used to inhabit in these colonies and their theocracy is blamed for such trials that took place in an organized manner. This paper intends to discuss Salem witch trials, role of puritans in these trials and several other related aspects. Puritanism is a part of Christian belief that emerged in the England at some point in seventeenth century. Puritans were ...

History

Paper Due Date Thesis This paper will discuss the Role of Religion in New England life in the 17th Century. We will discuss how religion arrived in New England and how it spread. We will also consider the importance of literature in developing religion in New England and the relationship between natives and Puritans.

How Religion arrived in New England

Immigrants from Europe who moved and settled in New England in 1620s were on religious journey for freedom. Pilgrims from Plymoth in 1620s left England for a religious journey to ensure they could worship they way they wanted to without interference. These theologians soon ...

Introduction

Various people among them scholars and historians correlate holidays with the Pilgrims and Indians meeting down for a big feast. The term thanksgiving first used in the 19th century, was not popular with the Pilgrims themselves. To the Pilgrims thanksgiving was something out of religious devotion. Everything that was undertaken by the Pilgrims including the so called thanksgiving celebration during the fall of 1621 was attached to their religious practices. At the fall of 1621 the Puitan thanksgiving gathering was made to celebrate the historic superb harvest of its time (Philbrick, 2006 p 118). Winslow brings to light that the happening ...

Social and Religious Equality

Introduction America was discovered in the last decades of 16th century. During the early part of 16th century America was still an unknown land for many. At present, America is a land of social, religious and political equality but it was a different scenario in America during the 17th century. Religious equality was not there in the 17th century America. Most of the early people who settled in the country were Puritans. After the first colony was established in Cape Cod, Massachusetts in 1620, it became a trend for colonial rules in America (Varon, 2001). America in the 17th century had ...

Introduction

The Puritans refers to a group of religious people who aimed at reforming the church in England. This group was different from that of the Pilgrims that wanted to isolate themselves fully from the English church. The Puritans wanted the way of worship that was very simple. This group was very powerful in England and the majority of them were so much educated merchants and businessmen. The Puritans were more aware that the English church was not operating in accordance with the modern times and thus the group requested for a charter in order to establish Massachusetts Bay Company in the ...

The study of early settlers in the colonies is captivating. It explores how various groups of people, working together could not live in harmony due to conflicts and tensions among them after coming to settle in a new land. Tensions and conflicts arose among the earliest settlers in the colonies as they were people from different places who had come to settle down in colonies. These conflicts were brought about by two main factors; the first one was the interaction between the natives and the new settlers and secondly, these tensions are created by the attempts of trade especially issue ...

Introduction

Nathaniel Hawthorne ranks among the world’s major authors. His proficiency in the art of literature, particularly short fiction is unmatched. Two of his most famous works are Young Goodman Brown and The Minister’s Black Veil. In these two short fictional stories, Hawthorne portrays a romantic view of sin and people. Like many other romantic literature pieces, the setting of the stories is dark and gloomy. Religion plays a huge role in both stories. History reveals that the American nation was partly founded through the ideals of religion. From its inception, religion has helped to shape and define the modern ...

The earliest Puritans who settled in the New World were well-organized and had specific beliefs about problems that existed in the Christian church. They did not immigrate to the New World in flight, but rather to be able to reform their faith in a style that was not yet available to them in Europe. Originally, the intent was to return to England after their political and religious views were well-established and they were firm in their faith of both realms. First, because of their dissent and disdain for the Church of England, there needed to be distance in order to ...

In “Young Goodman Brown,” Nathaniel Hawthorne uses a variety of literary devices in creating a story with a strong theme and characters which are fully rounded and believable. Of these devices, his use of symbolism and imagery are rife. This is of the more well-known stories exploring 17th Century Puritanism and, even on a first read, it is clear why. Hawthorne depicts the chosen situation carefully and convincingly to the reader, not only entertaining them but also informing them as well. As with many of Hawthorne’s works, this story has been discussed by many academics in the field over the years since it ...

Mary Rowlandson had a particularly difficult experience in maintaining her Puritanism and womanhood, as she was captured by Indians and lived with them for some time. Her experiences, as depicted in the narrative itself, directly challenge Puritan religious beliefs, as well as her understanding of her moral superiority over the Indians who capture her. Mary believes that God has a central role in her life, due to her Puritanism, and so she believes that there is a reason that she was attacked and captured. The book itself informs us of the Puritans' belief in the supremacy of God, particularly through Mary's examinations ...

The motivation to settle in the Americas included both economic interest and escape from religious persecution. After Gilbert and Raleigh returned from their expeditions, they urged the queen to challenge Spain's threat of domination in the West. After Spain attacked Antwerp in 1570, thus endangering England's hold on European cloth, England looked at the new world to find a new market for the stuff. As a result, people started to make sojourns to the Americas to try and forge new economic prospects there. People like Frobisher and Gilbert, though they failed, attempted to traverse to America in order to either find ...

In the essay “Devil In Salem Village” from Portrait of America, Edmund S. Morgan describes the terror that had spread through Salem, Massachusetts, when the locals were convinced that many of the women living in the city were in fact witches. In this essay Morgan outlines the factors that ultimately led to the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. Morgan starts with how the Massachusetts Bay colony was founded by the Puritans in 1630 as a model Christian community. However, by 1680, the Puritan movement was perilously in danger of losing its following. Many of the youngsters had become “increasingly preoccupied ...

The Puritans of the 17th century remained an extremely patriarchal people; their primary goals were to glorify God and place their earthly passions behind them, all the while placing men in positions of authority, leaving women little choices for activities and positions (Bremer, 1976). According to Edmund Morgan, "the central Puritan dilemma was the problem of doing right in a world that does wrong." If this is to be believed, then the works of many important Puritan authors would express this dilemma through prose - their feeble attempts to make right this flawed world that they lived in. In this ...

Washington Irving is an author and editor of numerous fictional works and short stories. His fictional works, biographies, historical writings and short stories made him achieve international fame. Before his death in 1859 Irving was the United States ambassador to Spain and he used his position to promote international copyright law. Irving is a scholar for he studied law; however he was not an exceptional student, and he barely passed the bar. His writing career began by writing periodicals, whimsical journals and letters. Irving has many writings in his literary career. His works include The Legend of The Sleepy Hollow, ...

Americans, as a whole, are tempted to oversimplify matters, especially when it comes to issues of philosophy and religion. Before Western religions came to America, there were many complex rituals that were taken to heart by Catholics and Protestants - strict adherence to Lent, long and dedicated studies of the Bible and its teachings, and more. However, with the religious movements in America, there seems to be a lowering of standards as to what constitutes true religious and philosophical thinking. This oversimplification leads to a relaxed notion of how much critical thinking and scholarship goes into religion and philosophy, opting instead for ...