Welcome, Young Historians

Question for the Day1. Were the Puritans

selfless or selfish?

Do Now1. Practice Regents Multiple Choice

Question #1

• 1. The Mayflower Compact, New England town meetings, and the Virginia House of Burgesses are examples of

a) early colonial efforts in self-government b) colonial protests against British taxation c) governments imposed by Parliament d) attempts to limit democracy

Question #2

2. During the colonial period, the British Parliament used the policy of mercantilism toa) limit manufacturing in America b) prevent criticism of royal policies c) deny representation to the colonists d) force colonists to worship in the Anglican

Church

Question #3

• 3. Court decisions in the trial of John Peter Zenger (1735) and the case of New York Times Co. v. United States (1971) strengthened

a) freedom of religion b) freedom of the press c) due process rights d) the right to counsel

Who are the Pilgrims?

• Pilgrims Life Style Video: What was the experience of the second settlers, the Pilgrims, in the new world and in Europe?

Notes

Who are the Puritans?

• Puritan – broad term, referring to a number of Protestant groups that sought to “purify” the Church of England.

• Many Puritans were persecuted for their beliefs and fled England for Holland and, ultimately, for North America

• Many historians feel that the Puritan ethics of thrift, hard work, and self – sufficiency contributed to the success of the New World.

What did the Puritans believe?

• Puritans believed that Adam and Eve’s sin had damned most people for all eternity.

• They also believed that Jesus Christ had been sent to earth to save particular people, known as the “elect”.

• It was difficult to know for certain if one was saved or damned, so Puritans tried to behave in as exemplary a manner as possible.

• Puritans favored plain style• Stressed clarity of expression and avoided complicated

figures of speech.

What are Puritan values?

• Predestination • Strong work ethic • Literacy and education • Community effort (as opposed to individualism) • Man’s inherent sinfulness • God’s omnipotence • Wilderness as the devil’s province•(Puritans saw nature as God’s creation but feared the disorder of the frontier and viewed Indians as savages.)

Notes

City on a Hill Speech, John Winthrop

1. Sourcing: Who was John Winthrop speaking to in this sermon? What do you think is the purpose of this sermon?

2. Contextualization: Imagine what his audience might have been thinking and feeling as they listened to him on the ship. Describe it below.

3. Close reading: What is the main idea of this speech? What do you think Winthrop means when he says, “We shall be as a City Upon the Hill.”

John Cotton, Sermon, Document B

1. Sourcing: Who was John Winthrop speaking to in this sermon? Why is he speaking about settling in a new land?

2. Contextualization: In this sermon, who are the ‘inhabitants’ in the new land? Who are the foreign people?

3. Close reading: What does Cotton say that God will do for the foreign people when they arrive in the new land?

Writing is Thinking

• Are the Puritans selfish or selfless? • Based on these documents, how might the

Puritans’ religion shape their actions in the New World?

• How can you connect these documents to the unit question see above?