Introduction

Thesis: Puritan Effects on American Policies and Ethics

After visiting America in the 1830s, Alexis de Tocqueville, a famous French political thinker, declared, “I think I can see the whole destiny of America contained in the first Puritan who landed on these shores” (Tocqueville, 1835). His declaration raises the important question of whether present-day Americans display behaviors and mannerisms of the 16th century Puritans who settled in America. After all, the Puritans were not only able to construct American infrastructure, but they were also able to impact people morally. Puritan ideas of morality and ethics were passed down from generation to generation and can still be seen to have a subconscious impact on American society. In The American Mind, Henry Steele Commager proclaimed that the foundation of American values was laid by the Puritan movement (Commager, 1950). When the Puritans moved to the New World, they established tenets that governed the earliest settler societies in America. This paper examines how Puritanism impacted American society in the political, educational, religious, cultural, and moral spheres. To properly understand Puritanism, one must trace its history back to the 16th Century, which saw the beginnings of the movement. By mapping the trajectory of the movement, from its inception to its current manifestations in modern-day America, this paper aims to shed light on the lasting effects of the legacy of Puritanism.

Historical background

Puritanism in Britain

The early 16th century saw King Henry VIII break away from the Roman Catholic Church because of a falling out with Pope Clement VII. The king wanted to divorce his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, so that he could marry Ann Boleyn, who he hoped would bear him a son.  However, Pope Clement VII refused to grant him the divorce and threatened him with excommunication. This resulted in Henry VIII shifting his religious beliefs and starting the Church of England, which spearheaded the Puritan movement. Henry VIII rejected papal jurisdiction by separating the Church of England, of which he became the head, from the Roman Catholic Church (History.com Editors, 2019c). It was the widespread corruption propagated by certain unscrupulous practices associated with Roman Catholicism that gave rise to the Puritan movement. In order to restore the church to its former glory, a group of people decided to purify the church by breaking away from those practices. Despite changes being made in the church, members in favor of reform felt that there was a need for further purification from Roman Catholic practices that were still in place. The group that called for the purification of the church came to be known as the “Puritans”, which was originally a term of contempt used by their adversaries.

The Puritan movement was dealt a huge blow when Mary Tudor came to power in 1553. She tried to restore Roman Catholicism, a move that pushed the Puritans away from England to countries such as Holland, where they could strategize and fight the Monarchy (Bremer, 2009). Their strategy was to preach the ill effects of Roman Catholicism and show how it distracted Christians from attaining real Christian values. The Puritans used the Bible to support their agenda. Meilan Solly explains that the Puritans who “stayed behind—and persisted in publicly proclaiming their beliefs—became targets of heresy laws that carried a brutal punishment: burning at the stake” (Solly, 2020). Queen Elizabeth I, who succeeded Mary Tudor, played a major role in furthering the Puritan movement by restoring Protestantism when she came to power in 1558 (Bremer, 2009).

In Britain, the Monarchy was the supreme authority, as evidenced by King Henry’s ability to introduce the Church of England, Queen Mary Tudor’s power in restoring Roman Catholicism, and Queen Elizabeth I reinstating Protestantism. By the 1610s, the Puritans were discouraged by the Monarchs’ complete lack of interest in supporting the Puritan movement. In addition, the Monarchy made efforts to dismantle the movement, so the Puritans opted to immigrate to new colonies where they would have the freedom to practice and spread their beliefs, free from the Monarchy’s influence. Further shifts in ideology within the movement saw the English Puritans dividing themselves into two separate groups that embarked on a voyage to the New World: the separating Puritans, referred to as the Pilgrims, who believed in separating themselves from the Church of England, and the non-separating Puritans, who believed in the power of reformation, rather than separation (Campbell, 2013).

Most Puritans were non-separating Puritans (History.com Editors, 2019b). Both groups followed the teachings of John Calvin, a Swiss reformer who broke away from the Roman Catholic Church in the 16th Century and embraced Protestant views (Stensrud, 2015). Predestination was one of John Calvin’s major teachings wherein he preached that some people were chosen by God to receive salvation and grace, referred to as God’s elect, while others were destined for hell. In The Institutes of the Christian Religion (originally published in 1536), Calvin mentions:

By predestination we mean the eternal decree of God, by which he determined with himself whatever he wished to happen with regard to every man. All are not created on equal terms, but some are preordained to eternal life, others to eternal damnation; and, accordingly, as each has been created for one or other of these ends, we say that he has been predestinated to life or to death (Heyrman).

Thus, the Puritans believed that because of mankind’s inherently sinful nature, most people were not deserving of God’s grace or of salvation. Only the select few would achieve salvation, while the rest were destined for damnation (Campbell, 2011). The chosen ones were, therefore, required to show this special calling through how they lived their lives. In order to stay in God’s good graces, the Puritan movement emphasized a life of purity and goodness. Their belief in God’s plan and in predestination made it “a comfortable doctrine” because of the spiritual solace and sense of security that it offered to those who believed in predestination (Heyrman). 

Gerald Bray points out that even though Calvin himself never visited England, he was in constant correspondence with various people from England who were interested in the reformation of the church. During Mary Tudor’s reign, Calvin welcomed exiled British people in Geneva. Furthermore, it was also in Geneva in 1560, under his influence, that the “best and most influential English translation of the Bible appeared” (Bray, 2009). Here, it is worth noting that an important point over which the Puritans differed from the Roman Catholic Church was regarding access to the Bible. The Puritans did not agree with the hegemony of Latin over the word of God. They believed that the common people should be able to access and study the Bible (Pronk).

Puritanism in America

The separating Puritans, or the Pilgrims, first arrived in Plymouth Harbor on the Mayflower in 1620. The pilgrims had initially signed a contract with the Virginia Company so that they could establish a settlement in Virginia, America. The company set up the contract not because they believed in the Puritans’ agenda, but because they believed they would profit from their economic activities in the New World.  However, they were unable to settle in Virginia due to unforeseen circumstances. Instead, the Pilgrims arrived in Massachusetts and formed the Plymouth Colony, which was the first settlement in New England. In 1629, a second group of people, comprising wealthy non-separating Puritans, formed the Massachusetts Bay Company and put together funds to acquire ships which would help them sail to the New World. Seventeen ships left London and sailed to Massachusetts. The group was led by a lawyer named John Winthrop (Bremer, 2009). Non-separating Puritans subsequently set up the Saybrook Colony (1635), the Connecticut Colony (1636), and the New Haven Colony (1638).

The Puritans vowed to lead much more exemplary lives than they did back in England. In the New World, it was the people who were the sovereign power as opposed to England, where the Monarchy held sovereign power. Therefore, they decided to act as an example for the Monarchy and the rest of the world by displaying their good behavior and religious purity. John Winthrop referred to the Massachusetts Bay Colony as the “city on a hill”, a name that refers to Matthew 5:14 which proclaims that “a city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden,” because he believed that they could show their exemplariness to the rest of the world. Puritans who believed in predestination aspired to ensure that they always stayed in God’s good graces. Thus, they did their best to stay away from human weaknesses such as illicit sexual activities which would anger God. Jim Cullen describes Puritans as people who simultaneously looked ahead, while looking over their shoulders. This not only reflected their spiritual fear, but also showed their resolve in reforming their religion (Cullen, 2004). Their strict adherence to a way of life that was perceived to be free from sins is perhaps the reason why they are often pejoratively referred to as extremists (Ziff, 2015).

Religious Objectives of Puritanism in America

One of the primary goals of the Puritans immigrating to the New World was to spread their beliefs there and get people to join them in their fight to reform the church. When the Puritans landed on the shores of America, Christianity was not a common practice as the inhabitants were predominantly Native Americans. America was, therefore, an ideal place to settle in and further their mission. They built churches in their towns to preach religious values and salvation (Kim, 2017). George Whitefield, a supporter of Calvinism, is a well-known example of a Puritan Anglican minister who traveled to the New World from England to spread Christianity. He was so outspoken that he was barred from most churches. Consequently, he built his own pulpit, taking it on the road as he preached to crowds outdoors. While discussing the “intentions and stylistic modes” of Puritan sermons, Beth Robbins raises an important question: why do they still carry weight or feel relevant?  Robbins comes to the conclusion that it is because the message of the Bible has not changed much since it came into existence and “biblical references used as explanations in these sermons have become the pillars which support the validity of these sermons” (Robbins, 2004). Currently, many preachers employ similar tactics where they move from town to town preaching to crowds. Such preachers have even gone as far as to form their own churches with their own followers. They also tend to televise their preaching for a more widespread reach. For instance, Joel Osteen is a popular modern-day pastor whose sermons have reached over 10 million viewers (Cacich, 2020).  

Despite their idealistic approaches, the Puritans were less rigid than their Roman Catholic counterparts. The Puritans believed that the rigidity and strictness of the Roman Catholic Church made followers shy away from them. A case in point is King Henry VIII leaving the Roman Catholic Church because of being denied permission to divorce his wife. In the New World, divorce was allowed. This proved to the world that they were not as strict as the Roman Catholic Church. The Puritans were able to separate the church from the state so that there was no interference of the church in civic matters which is what they deemed divorces to be. Divorces were, therefore, conducted by the courts rather than the Pope. The Massachusetts Bay company legalized divorce in 1629. In 1639, Elizabeth Luxford divorced her husband after finding out that he had another wife, making it the first ever divorce recorded in their books (New England Historical Society, 2019).

The influence Puritanism has had on religion can also be seen in a negative light. As explained, Puritanism lacked tolerance for human weaknesses and wickedness. For this reason, anyone who did not comply with their way of life was excommunicated and forced to move with their families to other towns. For example, Anne Hutchinson who criticized certain practices in the Massachusetts Bay Colony was excommunicated from the colony. She first moved to Rhode Island and later tried to settle in the Dutch colony in New Netherland. However, she and her family lost their lives in 1643 at the hands of warriors from the Siwanoy community. When the news of her death reached Massachusetts, Governor John Winthrop declared her death as God’s punishment against her for being a heretic (History.com Editors, 2019a). 

Puritan influence on various aspects of American life

Politics

Foundation Documents

Leaders of the Plymouth Colony decided that they needed some form of governance to prevent the rise of anarchy from a lack of rules. Consequently, the Mayflower Compact was drafted. It established how laws for the colony were to be created and followed, that they would still remain loyal to King James I despite their self-governance, that they would live by the Christian Faith, and that they would create a society and work together to further it (History.com Editors, 2019b). This is the earliest form of democracy recognized in America.  They believed in democracy and equality within their governance, and so they held regular town meetings where the men members of the town would sit and discuss problems that their town faced. This allowed them to hear all the grievances and address them as required.  It was also one of the major changes that they made sure to implement, especially since they came from a world where the Monarchy made all the decisions without any regard to the people’s say (Drife, 2018). 

It is widely believed that when America gained independence, the Founding Fathers were inspired by the Puritan ideal of democracy which is why they based the foundations of the United States Declaration of Independence on Puritan beliefs(Schaefer, 2018); that certain truths are:

self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness (Jefferson, 1776). 

These foundations are also the governing principles behind Human Rights Activism in America. The spirit of equality, reflected in the Puritans’ sense of democracy, has been carried forward and has become the governing principle in American society. 

As mentioned earlier, the Puritanism movement was divided into factions, primarily over the question of church involvement. Despite the division, their essential goal remained the same: to purify the Church from the influence of Roman Catholicism. When the Pilgrims and the non-separating Puritans moved to America, they learned to co-exist and worked together to build the New World in America. This value can be seen reflected in the realm of American politics where people with varying beliefs work together to build the country, which is what is visible with the current ruling parties, the Democrats and the Republicans. Their views vary between conservatism and liberalism, but they have managed to work together and build America to its greatness (Khan, 2019).  

The Puritan influence can also be seen in the continuing link between politics and religion. Since many Puritans believed that God chose their leaders for them, their leaders had to be people who led holy lives and held attributes that were related to religion such as honesty, diligence, and readiness to serve. During election season, political aspirants can often be found working closely with the church. They attend church and make displays of their faith to reach out to churchgoers. These gestures are important, as many people still associate leadership with religion. 

Education

The Puritans emphasized educating their children and future generations. This led to the establishment of the American education system. The Bible played a key role in their conception of teaching people how to lead exemplary, pious lives. To ensure that everyone received education, each town was required to build at least one school. This allowed everyone to learn how to read and write, in addition to learning other subjects. The primary aim behind this was to ensure that people were able to read and understand the Bible on their own in order to nurture their Christian faith (Kang, 2009). Teaching people how to read and write allowed them to explore diverse fields. In this case, they used the platform to push their religious agenda to the world by, for example, printing diaries of their day-to-day lives where they related their lives to Biblical characters. Doing so created a sense of relation with the readers who would be pushed to read the Bible and be inspired. This form of literature can still be found today, not only in the form of Bible stories and short stories with Biblical morals, but also autobiographies and biographies.

Puritan literature was not limited to being Biblical in nature as playwrights, poets, historians, as well as fiction writers, were all inspired to contribute to the field, albeit the theme remained largely religious. Expanding their education system to include sciences and humanities allowed writers to explore the field further. The Age of Enlightenment (the period between the last half of the seventeenth century and the first half of the eighteenth century that is believed to have produced rational thinkers) which saw rapid scientific evolution marked the downfall of Puritan literature. Most of the workings of the universe and societal organizations could be explained using scientific reasoning which was completely different from Puritan teachings which explained everything using religion. Introducing such a school of thought saw a shift in people’s mindset from a religious worldview to a scientific worldview (Borsali, 2015).

The aspiration to lead perfect lives before God that fueled Puritanism in America slowly declined due to the Enlightenment. The creation of rational thinkers allowed for the exploration of new schools of thought with respect to what they deemed good and bad. This means that idealism declined and other doctrines such as materialism and utilitarianism prospered. The fall of Puritanism, therefore, gave birth to a new era that allowed for freedom of expression and exploration of the world using science and philosophy.  The education system has evolved with time and the quality of education today certainly cannot be compared to that during the 16th century. However, the Puritans’ significance can still be felt due to their pioneering influence on formal education in America and in the development of new strains of philosophy.

Ethics

Work Ethic

The idea that working hard was a form of worship to God was one of the main principles that governed the Puritans. John Calvin, for example, preached that those who worked hard bore fruits in the form of riches and such people were considered to be truly in the path of salvation, while those who were lazy were headed for perdition. Thus, it was assumed that if a person was hardworking and diligent, they would be rewarded by God for their efforts, thus bringing them closer to their quest for attaining salvation. This notion led to the Puritans referring to themselves as the predestined ones (Sullivan, 2015). The Puritans also believed that one’s wealth signified one’s predestination as God’s elect. This notion acted as encouragement for working hard and becoming wealthy (Ward, 2007).

Since religion was their backbone, the Puritans equated hard work with pleasing God. Max Weber is famous for coining the phrase ‘Puritan Work Ethic’ or ‘Protestant Work Ethic’ which describes work as being a natural part of life which, with the right attitude, could be enjoyable while at the same time please God (Weber, 1958). Instilling this mentality pushed everyone to work hard so that they could please God; a mentality that birthed the hard workers that built America. Profits were regarded as God’s reward for their work, but they believed that they should not have more wealth than they required to sustain themselves. Over time, a capitalist mindset has taken over American society, leading people to work hard and garner billions, which is more than is required to sustain themselves. This shows that Americans slowly stopped relating riches to being God’s elect (Cullen, 2004). 

From the above discussion, it becomes clear that the Puritans’ initial intent regarding work was to fulfill their predestination as God’s elect. They shaped the American work ethic by instilling fear about laziness affecting one’s ability to attain salvation. Therefore, they worked extremely hard in order to avoid treading the path of damnation.  This culture was ingrained in the American subconscious. For instance, the aftermath of the economic crisis caused by the Great Depression of the 1930s saw people chasing the American Dream, which propagated the idea that if one worked hard enough, one could achieve financial success. Promoting wealth creation slowly stopped being regarded as a vice and became an aspiration that resulted in billionaires and millionaires (Kang, 2009).

Eric Luis Uhlmann, T.Andrew Poehlman, David Tannenbaum, and John. A.Bargh conducted a study, titled “Implicit Puritanism in American Moral Cognition” (2010), which shows how the American subconscious has retained some of the Puritan ideologies. In one of their case studies, they gathered two groups of people. The first group comprised Americans while the second was made up of Canadians. Both groups were then divided in half, where one half was primed with words relating to salvation and the other half was primed with neutral words. All of them were given tasks to complete. The Americans who were given salvation words performed better on their task than those who were given neutral words. This effect was not seen in the Canadian group. The researchers used this result to conclude that Puritanism still held sway within the American subconscious as this test was conducted on people who may or may not have been aware of Puritanism but have been conditioned to subscribe to their school of thought (Uhlmann et al., 2011). Their findings promote the idea that Puritanism still influences us unknowingly as some of their ideologies are embedded in our subconscious. This means that one need not be Protestant or a Puritan to practice the values of Puritanism. A good example of this is the concept of hard work. Americans have, throughout centuries, been conditioned to work hard and those who lacked wealth were not deemed as God’s elect. The fear of not being God’s elect might have evolved where working hard became a way of life and a means of survival. This notion of hard work has been passed down from generation to generation and has helped build America.

Sexual Ethics

Puritanism is often linked to repressive sexual ideals.  Uhlmann, Poehlman, Tannenbaum, and Bargh demonstrate the link between American identity and Puritan related values of hard work and sexual repression in one of their case studies in which an idea priming activity was used to first bring to mind American identity in a group of Asian-American participants and then to trigger thoughts pertaining to work. The participants responded to this stimulus by responding negatively to scenes of sexually charged dancing and revealing clothing. This effect was not seen in groups of Asian-American participants who were primed with ideas of Asian identity or with neutral non work-related words. This evidences the connection that still exists between Puritan values of the past and the American values of today (Uhlmann et al., 2011).

A leading scholar of Puritanism, Francis Bremer, calls for a more accurate representation of the Puritan legacy and says that the stereotype of the prudish Puritan arose from the fact that Americans were “looking for people to blame for everything that they didn’t like” (Bilis, 2016). The Puritans believed in leading happy and fulfilling sex lives. They did not see intercourse just as a means for procreation, but also as a way for husband and wife to bond. In fact, many people in New England were “censured by the church” for depriving their partners of sex (Bilis, 2016). However, it must be pointed out that Puritan sexual ideals revolved around married couples.  

The Puritans had a list of what was acceptable and what was immoral. For instance, homosexuality was perceived as unlawful. Brad Crandell brings up an important point about how, despite homosexuality being perceived as heinous and abominable, there are very few records of court trials. In fact, the Puritans prescribed the death penalty for homosexuality, along with other crimes such as rape and adultery. However, there are many instances of much lighter sentences being handed out to those that were accused of homosexuality, despite there being clear evidence to incriminate them. Crandell also posits the idea that perhaps lighter sentences were handed out due to the fact that homosexuality was a much more common occurrence in the Puritan era than we have been led to believe (Crandell, 1997). 

 The early Puritans were vocal about the wickedness of illicit sexual activities (Bremer, 2009). However, as the American society evolved, Puritan ethical beliefs took a backseat as the world became more accepting of acts that were deemed as human wickedness, such as homosexuality and abortion (Albrechtsen, 2018). What made the Puritans start their fight to purify the Church of England was their want for change and to restore the church to its earlier glory. In that sense, their strong drive for reformation can be compared to many people’s fight for their right to be treated equally and the need for a change in the system that would allow them to express themselves sexually. Even though the motivating factors behind the two causes are vastly different, the Puritans’ sense of reformation, which has been carried down from generation to generation, allows Americans to follow the Puritans’ footsteps in terms of reforming the society (Berghe, 2018).

Relationship with Women

When Alexis de Tocqueville wrote about America, he attributed the success of America partly to its progressive attitude towards women. This is not only seen in the sexual freedom granted to the women, but also their inclusion into public life. Writing about Tocqueville’s view of American women, Delba Winthrop states that “Tocqueville's Americans hold that women are equal, but different. They discern natural physical and moral differences in men and women and think that the peculiar faculties of each are best put to different use” (Winthrop, 1986). However, during the Puritan era, women were largely relegated to the domestic sphere, where they performed household duties and took care of their families, while the men went to work and made decisions on their behalf. Many scholars have written about how most Puritan women were content in playing their roles as housewives (Hall, 2014).

On the other hand, history is rife with accounts of Puritan women being excommunicated for daring to voice their opinions, getting an education outside of humanities, or participating in decision making. The early period of Puritanism saw many such women being accused of practicing witchcraft and subsequently burnt. An example of this is the Salem witch trials which took place between 1692 and 1693. Women were accused of being witches and were prosecuted. Later periods of Puritanism saw a reform in terms of their view of women and they subscribed to the view that women were also made in God’s image.(Eglinton, 2018)

Discussions about sexual freedom in American society sometimes also involves talking about the curtailment of those freedoms. In light of the #MeToo movement, several critics of the movement have come forward to compare it to Puritanism. The #MeToo movement began because of the sexual assault and harassment that women across the world keep facing regularly.  First started in 2006 by Tarana Burke, it was only in 2017 that #MeToo really took off after a string of famous people, such as Alyssa Milano, talked about their experiences of being sexually assaulted. Milano tweeted about her experiences and encouraged women to step forward and narrate their own experiences. The movement has seen the likes of Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, R Kelly, and Bill Cosby being called out for sexually assaulting women in Hollywood. 

Even though the movement finally gave women the courage to step forward and seek justice for their harrowing experiences, many public figures, such as Catherine Deneuve and Michael Haneke, have expressed fear that modern-day freedoms will be lost to a new wave of Puritanism as a result of this movement (Eglinton, 2018). Comparisons between Puritanism and the #MeToo movement were made because the Puritans are widely known as people who were against sexual freedom. People who criticize the movement somehow also believe that the movement further curtails women’s sexual freedom. Deneuve publicly denounced the movement for creating a “totalitarian” environment.  Eglinton states that the irony of the situation lies in the fact that, despite all their flaws, the Puritans “made considerable progress in responding to the very issue that our culture now struggles to work through: how to develop a better view of women against a backdrop of widespread and deep misogyny” (Eglinton, 2018). 

Interestingly, renowned feminist figures such as Catharine MacKinnon and Andrea Dworkin spoke about a new Puritanism in the early 1990s while discussing the power imbalances that exist between men and women. Proponents of this form of “new Puritanism” were not concerned about morality but, rather, about power. Elizabeth Fox-Genovese points out that those who promote this brand of new Puritanism would “not think of themselves as puritans at all” (Fox-Genovese, 1994). MacKinnon and Dworkin fought against power imbalances and abuse of women which, they believed, stemmed from the male fantasy (Fox-Genovese, 1994). Thus, this idea of “new Puritanism” had more to do with reforming the asymmetry of power, especially in terms of sexual expression, between men and women. 

Through feminism, women have fought for equality in all spheres of life as they have shown that they are capable of making good decisions. In that sense, feminism can also be seen as having borrowed the doctrine of equality from the Puritans to employ it to realize their private and public rights. Women took a stand and decided to fight for the reformation of society so that it becomes more inclusive and less discriminatory. Women have now cemented their place in society, playing various roles in governance, teaching, and the corporate world, just to name a few. Laws have also been implemented to ensure that women feel more included in the society and are no longer second class citizens. Their fight to reform the society has, therefore, seen some success, though the fight is still ongoing.

Conclusion

All in all, when the first Puritans settled in America, they introduced formal settlements, education, and a centralized government that was built on the ideal of democracy as well as other values that are still embedded in our subconscious. They helped build America and despite the different beliefs being upheld today, their impact on building this nation will never be forgotten. The above discussion makes it clear that the Puritan movement has helped mold America’s history. The movement’s intent to reform the church by purifying it can be equated with the various fights to reform the American society. As a result of such efforts, the American society has now become more accepting and inclusive and discrimination has taken a back seat.

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