Puritans traveled to the colonies to get away from the Church of England, and the religious ideas they were forced to believe and they were being persecuted by the English church and government which were intertwined. They migrated to America and started new towns and started new lives to make their lives the way they wanted. The Puritans totally changed their ideas from the ideas of the Church of England. After the first pilgrims came over on the Mayflower the first of the Puritans arrived in America in 1628.
These dedicated Christians wrote up to about 100 different compacts, covenants and constitutions. They also chose delegates from each colony. Together these delegates who were chosen by their community signed the New England confederation. They built colonies and made a structured system and society based upon the idea that God was the most important thing in life. Puritan ideas and values influenced the political, economic, and social development of the new colonies, and in 1636 they used the idea of political and economic freedom, as a foundation from which they completed a detailed constitution which laid the groundwork for a free and
Christian America. Puritan ideas on community and doing God’s bidding made a lasting impact on New England and a future America. Their work ethic was very strict, because they believed that all their work was done for the glory of God. They also had to work to survive in their community, because they believed that if “anyone shall not work, neither shall he eat” 2 Thessalonians 3:10. Those who weren’t physically able to work the church helped take care of them. Also they weren’t allowed to do a lot of social activities because of the strict beliefs the Puritans had. They had very strong families and strong morals. In 1630
Puritan leader John Winthrop delivered a sermon called, A Model of Christian Charity, which was designed to bring people of the community closer together. He emphasized the importance of the community’s needs over individual needs in order for the community to grow. So a sense of community and strong family values and work ethic were some of the contributions the Puritans gave socially. Many of the Puritan children would later want to know what existed Out in the yet unexplored wilderness Of the new world, which led to a future economic boom in America. All of these contributions led to the Puritan lifestyle and how it shaped their community.
