2. Rejected Elizabeth I’s
settlement of Anglican
Church: Protestant
doctrine, Catholic
appearance
Believed in freedom of
conscience; set up
churches apart from state
4. Persecution drove
them into exile in
Holland (1608)
Separatist Leaders
John Robinson: Pastor, Teacher
William Brewster: Elder
William Bradford:
Plymouth Governor for 35 years; Author,
Plymouth Plantation
7. o Hard life kept others from joining
o Aging prematurely due to hard work
o Looming end to peace treaty with Spain;
feared Spanish Inquisition
o Children lured away from faith
o Desired proselytization of new part of
world… A Christian Society
11. Pilgrims believed God provided
essentials for their survival:
Land cleared before arrival
Essential native help: Samoset, Squanto
50-year peace treaty with Chief
Massasoit of Wampanoag tribe
Return to practice of private property
Drought ended
20. Pilgrims’ Legacy?
Model of hard work and character
Private Property Rights
Commitment to self-government in
both church & state
Small group can start something
big!!
23. Puritans…
didn’t object to a state church
sought to “purify” Anglican church
of its Catholicism
wanted to dictate type of church
to which all Englishmen should
conform
24. Puritans kept from all
positions of authority
Set up society in New World
to make decisions for
themselves
26. • 20,000 migrated to New England
through 1630s
• Most were Puritans
• Governance dominated by small
group of Puritan leaders
27. Church
attendance
required to
be a freeman
Person who possesses all civil and
political rights belonging to the people
under a free government.
28. Problem: government not a church;
laws affect everyone; most did not
have a part in the political
process
29. First Governor
Sermon on the Arabella
John Winthrop
(1588-1649)
Mission:
city on a hill
“For we must consider that we
shall be as a city on a hill. The
eyes of all people are upon us, so
that if we deal falsely with our
God in this work we have
undertaken, and so cause Him to
withdraw His present help from
us, we shall be made a story and a
by-word through the world.”
31. Some Specific Provisions:
o Law One: no man’s life, reputation,
freedom, family, or property to be
taken arbitrarily
o Law Two: equality under the law
o Law Eight: property secure against
appropriation by government
o Law Twelve: freedom of speech
o Law Forty-Two: cannot be sentenced
twice for same crime
32. o Law Forty-Three: no excessive
punishments
o Law Forty-Five: no self-incrimination
under torture
o Law Forty-Six: no inhumane,
barbarous, or cruel punishments
o Law Forty-Seven: death sentence
requires two or three witnesses
o Law Fifty-Two: Special privileges
given to children, mental
incompetents, newcomers to colony
33. • Law Eighty-Nine: refuge for
Christians fleeing tyranny, famine,
war
• Law Ninety-One: no slavery allowed,
except captives in a just war, or
those who willingly enter into the
situation; Biblical treatment of
slaves to be observed
• Law Ninety-Four: Scriptural
guidelines for capital punishment
34. • Law Ninety-Five: liberty of
churches
• Law Ninety-Seven: right to
lawsuit if rights abridged
An impressive list of
rights for such a
“bigoted” people!!
35. Dominion of New England
(1685-1688)
James II revoked all charters
Made into one giant province with a
royal governor
Anglicanism promoted
James overthrown (1688)
36. Allowed CT & RI to retain old
charters
Issued a new charter to MA
Royal governor
Property qualification for
voting, not church membership