The Puritans: Why Do We Start Here?

[Gary Anderson]

When the Mayflower landed in 1620 and those Englishmen in exile stepped onto North American soil for the first time, they were not the only human beings on the continent. Far from it. Other European explorers were roaming around. Native tribes populated vast civilizations from sea to sea. Even other English settlers were living in thriving colonies to the south.

So why do we make such a big deal out of the puritans? The answer is because their impact on what would become American culture was enormous. Yes, those other humans also affected American culture, but the puritan influence is more profound, obvious, pervasive, and long-lasting.

Where do you see puritan influence in your environment? Do you relate to them at all, or do they seem more like a completely different species?

Other puritan-related materials on this site include "Psalm 100," which is on the jukebox on the Main Page. (Try not to rock out too hard on that one!) Two videos related to this unit include Ronald Reagan's Farewell Speech and a video interpretation of the Anne Bradstreet poem we cover in class.

If you have questions or comments about the puritans or any of the materials we use to study them, feel free to post them here.

[Dan Knuerr]

Im kinda confused, whats the difference between a Puritan and a Pilgrim?

[Gary Anderson]

Great question, Dan.

The Pilgrims and the Puritans have a lot in common, and that might be the source of the confusion. Their religious beliefs were essentially the same. The Pilgrims--the first group to leave England--were more politically extreme than the Puritans in their reaction to the excesses of the Church of England.

The key issue is how each group thought about its relationship with the Church of England. The Puritans thought the church should be ... purified ... from within. Those Pilgrims, however, thought the Church of England was hopeless; therefore, they were separatists wishing to completely divorce themselves from the church.

At the risk of confusing this a little more, pilgrim (with a small p) means someone who journeys somewhere for a moral purpose. In that sense, the Mayflower Pilgrims and the Puritans who came later were all pilgrims because they came to North America in order to live a certain way that they did not see as possible back in England.

How about some of our student scholars taking a whack at explaining this in your own words?

[Kevin C. Palmer]

Well put Mr. Anderson. This is exactly right. If you are still confused, see us in class but Mr. Anderson's explanation is succinct and accurate. Mr. Palmer

[Shawn McCusker]

I agree this is an excellent explanation!!

[Gary Anderson]

It all starts with a good question.

[Ena Konda]

So why do we celebrate Columbus Day if he wasn't the first to America. THey taught us in elementary school that he "discovered" America when clearly he didn't. ( i'm not complaining abou the day off school [woot!] i'm just curious)

[Gary Anderson]

Good question, Sam.

Columbus may have "discovered" the land, although even that is highly arguable. In any case, his cultural influence was not nearly as profound or long-lasting as the puritans.

Sometimes legal holidays have more to do with politics than anything else. We needed one in October! When I was a kid, the holiday for Columbus Day was always October 12, no matter what day of the week it actually fell on. Then it was legally made into a Monday-type holiday. Politics.

Even Abraham Lincoln's designation of Thanksgiving as a legal holiday had some political overtones. The designation of Martin Luther King's birthday as a legal holiday became highly politicized.

And whatever happened to Casimir Pulaski Day?

[Gary Anderson]

If you are interested in further information about the Salem Witch Trials of 1692, take a look at this site from the University of Missouri-Kansas City's "Famous American Trials" series.

You can post your comments and questions here regarding the Salem witch trials.

[Nick Klein]

Although the puritans were not the first people to discover America, I think that they were kind of the architects of the America that we know of today. Everything seemed to evolve from their arrival in America and it hasn't stopped since.

[Chris Bizjack]

Even though the puritans didn't find America... The started alot of new things that makes us what we are today and what we do today.

[kolbe stenoien]

We started with the puritans because they were basically the first ones to come and start to America.

[Jaimie Groot]

We started with the puritans i think because they were the first to make changes and try to purify religion. I understand the fact that the pilgrims and puritans were different, but what I don't understand is did the pilgrims just pick up a different religion. That's what it seems like but I thought they had the same religion and the Puritains just wanted to purify the one from England.