Was the Puritan Experiment Successful

Burke 1

Shawn Burke Mrs. Grote SUPA U.S History 1 October 2014 !

The Success of the Massachusetts Bay Colony ! In the early seventeen hundreds Puritans were abused by the Church of England and It's

Monarchs. The treatment of the Puritans under England's Monarchs changed greatly. The

Puritans however found that the Monarchs did not reform the Anglican Church enough, and

found themselves dismayed at the sins of the country(Morgan 20). When Charles I rose to the

throne he had a Catholic appointed to the Archbishopric of Canterbury. He himself was married

to a Catholic Princess, to the Puritans this showed Charles I leniency for Catholics(Morgan 24).

For John Winthrop and his compatriots this leniency was cause for major concern as they felt the

sins of their country weighed heavily on their shoulders.

John Winthrop and other Puritans wrestled with what to do considering their present

situation. They could no leave England entirely as it would go against their teachings. They

decided however that leaving England for the New World was not technically leaving England,

as well they felt they could create an ideal society based exclusively on Protestant ideas. With a

charter secured from the King they made use of the loophole that stated the Charter holder had to

meet with one one of the Kings ministers but the King did not mention were the meeting was

suppose to take place which allowed the puritans to live in the New World in Peace(Morgan 30).

! !

Burke 2

! With relative freedom in New England the Puritans could build their ideal society. The

main problem they faced in this was finding a enough food and a way to make money. With the

survival of winter people began migrating to the Massachusetts Bay Colony and the Colonist

already there...