During the great migration that spanned from 1630 to the early 1640’s more than 16, 000 Puritans arrived in Massachusetts many were from East Anglican, an area of northeast England. Many of the Puritan settlers came as whole families, sometimes as whole villages, leaving England in droves. The Puritans were rooted in the belief that to do the Lord’s work they must set themselves as an example for all Christians, their first task being the establishment of “a city on a hill” much like the old testament. Being in America posed problems for the Puritans, one of which being they still wanted to be part of the Church of England.
One othe problem being that there was no concrete plan for the establishment of their church and services. Eventually, the Puritans adopted congregationalism. Without need of interference and without bishops the people worshipped together as one body and as one church. Congregational churches bound the community with faith but not all who lived in the area were automatically part of the church, some needed to confess their faith to a member of the congregation to receive full group membership. Soon after arriving in May of 1631, men like John Winthrop changed the joint-stock company’s business plan into a governmental framework. Freemen, men who were of age and part of a congregation, could vote for magistrates to the Court of Assistants.
As the isolated puritan settlements grew conflicts over land arose and Lawes and Liberties, a code of laws, was set out as will of the General court. In 1631 the arrival of Roger Will aims, a separatist, became a proverbial fly in the puritain’s ointment. Williams thought that it was not up to the magistrates to punish people due to their religious veins. Following all of William’s attempts to come to a settlement, he was exiled. Williams would later settle and found Providence in present day Rhode Island. Another threat to the puritan way came with Anne Hutchinson whom emigrated to the colonies with her husband and children following John Cotton.
The Essay on Puritan History Religious Century England
in the 17 th century some Puritan groups separated from the Church of England. Among these were the Pilgrims, who in 1620 founded Plymouth Colony. Ten years later, under the auspices of the Massachusetts Bay Company, the first major Puritan migration to New England took place. The Puritans brought strong religious impulses to bear in all colonies north of Virginia, but New England was their ...
Hutchinson followed a movement called Antinomian ism, wherein all one needed was faith in God and Christ and no need to follow moral law. After examination and cross examination at the hands of the magistrates, Hutchinson was also exiled and sent to Rhode Island and the area of Portsmouth when she confessed that she need not follow moral law. As the communities grew four colonies were chartered and all but one survived through the American Revolution.
