Francis J. Bremer And The New England Colonists

He instead formed a godly community, the Massachusetts Bay Colony, that was an example of reformers back home. Roger Williams was a political and religious leader who established Rhode Island in 1636. He encouraged the separation of the Church and the state in Colonial America. The way in which he viewed religious freedom matched his disapproval of the way in which Native Americans were being expropriated from their properties. His believes caused anger from his Church which in turn banished him from the

In 1544 King Henry VIII broke away from the Roman Catholic Church and established the Church of England. This rapidly became known as the Protestant Reformation. Almost 5 decades after this occurrence John Winthrop was born (Morgan, 1). As he grew older Winthrop became interested in Puritanism and he joined the members of the Massachusetts Bay Company as a response to the deterioration of Puritan faith in England. This group of businessmen sought to establish a colony in New England and were granted a charter by King Charles I in 1629 (Morgan 83-87).

The Massachusetts Bay colonists were Puritans seeking religious freedom and purity. After being persecuted for their beliefs in England, they moved to Holland. Before long, parents felt their children were being influenced by the more liberal beliefs of Holland. The next option was to move to the New World where they could raise their children in a private community surrounded by like-minded families. As Puritan lawyer John Winthrop envisioned the new colony he said, “Wee shall be as a Citty upon a Hill, the eies of all people are uppon us.”

Even though many had originally come to the New World to practice their own religion freely, not all of them were able to allow others to do the same. The Puritans thought that to ignore God's work was completely unthinkable and when “free-thinkers” such as Anne Hutchinson and Roger Williams chose to speak their minds, conflict was inevitable (“Dissent in Massachusetts Bay”). The economic landscape of the colonies was small and isolated. Tension was inevitable because the colonists did not have much, if any, gold and silver.

The Puritan’s goal of coming to the New World was not to create a new life, but to create the ideal model of living for the “corrupt” inhabitants of England. This was coined “The Errand”, the Puritans desire to establish a City Upon a Hill that others could look up to and imitate in order to receive God’s grace. The Puritans failed at building their City Upon a Hill (creating a perfect religious, economic, and political community), however the long-term effects of their efforts have influenced American moral politics throughout its history. The Puritans forever had the attitude of a community that had successfully established a City Upon a Hill. The Puritan lifestyle was heavily influenced not only by religion, but also inside of that, morality.

The New Englanders took religion seriously, making unitary laws according to Puritan standards. John Winthrop, later chosen as the first Massachusetts Bay Colony governor, was seeking religious freedom. Wishing to inspire the colonists to dwell in brotherly unity, he summoned them together to remind them “that if we [colonists] shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken, and so cause Him to withdraw His present help from us, we shall be made a story and a by-word through the world.” On the other hand, those in the Chesapeake region came for the wealth that America promised. They were there to become prosperous or die trying.

Roger Williams was one of the first Puritans in the New World to truly seek religious freedoms for all. Roger Williams had several issues with the power that the Church had over its subjects and the way in which they would impose their views onto others, even when the Puritans themselves had fled England to avoid religious persecution. Williams made many claims that upset those in power in the colonies, one of which being that the English had no claim to the land and that the charter granted by King James did not give them the authority to take the land away from the Native Americans. Williams saw that the Church should stay away from the civil matters of the State, removing the justification that God granted the King the authority for a charter.

Roger Williams in the separation between the church and state, as he firmly believed that the government had a function in society to protect lives and property of people as well as maintain social order. Williams argued that the separation of church and state was to “preserve the church from worldly contamination” and that government would suffer if diverted from this function (Morgan 118). Further, if government “tried to save souls, it succeeded only in injuring bodies” meaning if the government were to delve into church dealings people would only get hurt (Morgan 120). Additionally, Williams may have despised Native American religion and found many of their customs barbarous; he thoroughly respected their form of government and found it

That was during the time of your father, King James.” “And later, your Majesty, your Father allowed those contemp-tuous Pilgrims, that we forced to move to Holland, to make a settlement someplace near the Jamestown one, named for your Father.” “That could be our New England!” “We are getting off the subject; the most vexing one is what to do with those Separatists, the Puritans? “Oh, to Hell with the Puritans!”

The New England colonies were first founded in the last 16th to 17th century as a sanctuary for differing religious groups. New England was made up of the Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Hampshire. New Hampshire, however, was formed for economic reasons instead of religious ones. The Chesapeake region, which is made up of the colonies of Maryland and Virginia, was founded by the British colonies for the purpose of farming. However, by the 1700’s, despite both being settled by Englishmen, New England and the Chesapeake region had developed differently.

John Eliot and Roger Williams were puritans who worked with the Indians in the mid-1600s in Massachusetts. They both started their work in Massachusetts, but Roger Williams ended up in Rhode Island. When they were working with the Indians, they performed civic duty. A civic duty is the duties or obligations a person has toward his or her society (or community) .While both men thought that the Indians were victims of the English and that it was their civic duty to help the Indians, Eliot thought forcing his religion on the Indians was helping them, while Williams fought for land and freedom of religion for the Indians.

The three main colonies that we hear about are Virginia, Plymouth, and Massachusetts. These three colonies basically define all the others, as each group and its main founder either went for a personal financial gain or to escape religious persecution. Virginia was originally settled by Captain John Smith and grew into a successful trade colony through tobacco. Plymouth was originally founded by the Separatists and was lead by William Bradford. Eventually the dwindling Plymouth joined with Massachusetts which was originally Puritan based.

The colonists wanted religious freedom. One reason they originally left England was to escape the Catholic Church. Some called themselves Puritans. They wanted the church and the state to be more separate.

In 1655, founder of Rhode Island, Roger Williams documented his views on politics and religious affairs to make them clear to the public. This documentation of his morals and principals was called Letter to the Town of Providence. In his letter he addresses the people and tells them that he is making no mistake by voicing his opinion. Williams takes his position with an analogy. He describes society as a boat.

Essentially, Puritans are expected to follow a strict set of religious and moral guidelines from which their actions and morality are derived. According to Hall’s A Reforming People, these moral expectations first introduced by the pilgrims were the driving force behind the power that the Puritan ministry had over society: “Ministers and laypeople looked first to congregations as the place where love, mutuality, and righteousness would flourish, and second to civil society. …Alongside love, mutuality, and righteousness they placed another set of values summed up in the word “equity.” Employed in a broad array of contexts, the concept of equity conveyed the colonists’ hopes for justice and fairness in their social world.”