{"id":5697,"date":"2015-04-30T14:12:17","date_gmt":"2015-04-30T18:12:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/guidedhistory\/?page_id=5697"},"modified":"2015-04-30T14:18:33","modified_gmt":"2015-04-30T18:18:33","slug":"the-puritan-legacy-in-new-england","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/guidedhistory\/law-and-religion\/cc-204-bibliographies\/the-puritan-legacy-in-new-england\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"

An annotated bibliography of s<\/span>ources on the topic of:<\/p>\n

The Puritan Legacy in New England<\/h2>\n

compiled and annotated by\u00a0Rich Driscoll<\/a>
\nfor the course CAS CC 204: Religion and Secularism in Spring 2015<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Hall, David D. A Reforming People Puritanism and the Transformation of Public Life in New England.<\/em> New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2011.<\/p>\n

Hall attempts to deconstruct two leading perspectives on seventeenth-century puritan society: the first being that the Puritans established an authoritarian regime, and the second being that they were overly democratic. Hall reconciles this by arguing that the Puritans combined aspects of both forms of government, which created \u201ca more appealing, and more complex\u201d society than either perspective leading perspective.<\/p>\n

Worlds of Wonder Days of Judgment: Popular Religious Beliefs in Early New England.<\/em> Harvard University Press, 1990.<\/p>\n

Hall investigates the popular religious practices of seventeenth-century New England, which would be practiced by the average person. He contrasts new religious developments in New England with developments in Europe, which were founded on long-standing tradition. He also argues that the New England inhabitants were able create a \u201cdifferentiated\u201d society with \u201csemi-independent governments\u201d because they were not bound by old traditions.<\/p>\n

Tocqueville, Alexis de. Democracy in America.<\/em> Translated by Stephen D. Grant. Indianapolis, Indiana: Hackett Publishing Company, 2000.<\/p>\n

In the section, \u201cThe Point of Departure and Its Importance for the Future of the Anglo-Americans,\u201d Tocqueville credits America\u2019s democratic attitudes and origins to the New England, Puritan settlers of the seventeenth-century. He writes in the context of the French Revolution and the spread of democracy in Europe. Tocqueville concludes that both the religious sphere and civil sphere \u201cwork together in harmony\u201d and provide \u201cmutual support to one another.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wertenbaker, Jefferson. The Puritan Oligarchy: The Founding of American Civilization.<\/em> New York: Charles Scribner\u2019s Sons, 1947.<\/p>\n

Wertenbaker criticizes the \u201cMassachusetts Bible State\u201d of the seventeenth-century, which he argues was ruled by ministers and other religious elite. He primarily focuses on the religious leaders\u2019 strict control over education and the franchise. He also challenges the perspectives that the Puritans contributed to American democracy and ideas of religious freedom. Instead, he considers the reformers, who came after the Puritans, much more influential.<\/p>\n

Winship, Michael P. Godly Republicanism: Puritans, Pilgrims, and a City on a Hill.<\/em> Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2012.<\/p>\n

In the section, \u201cDesigning a Godly Republic,\u201d Winship discusses the formation of seventeenth-century Massachusetts\u2019 governing structures and political ideas. He argues that the Puritans resisted tyranny, and also asserts that Governor John Winthrop assisted in the disestablishment of Massachusetts\u2019 purely oligarchic rule. Winship also investigates the role of the franchise and considers it to be democratic, despite the limitations of those who received it.<\/p>\n

The following articles were collected by David Hall in Seventeenth-Century Massachusetts<\/em>. He has paired them to provide opposing perspectives on a similar topic.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Adams, Brooks. \u201cThe Rule of the Priesthood.\u201d Edited by David D. Hall. Seventeenth-Century Massachusetts<\/em> (Holt Rinehart and Winston), 1968.<\/p>\n

Brooks provides a strong criticism against the influence of ministers in seventeenth-century New England. He argues that ministers imposed their influence upon matters, in which they had no prior experience or authority.<\/p>\n

Brown, B. Katherine. \u201cThe Puritan Concept of Aristocracy.\u201d Edited by David D. Hall. Seventeenth-Century Massachusetts<\/em> (Holt Rinehart and Winston), 1968.<\/p>\n

Brown argues against Parrington, saying the governing structure of Massachusetts, which John Cotton supported, was in fact democratic by modern standards. She argues about Cotton\u2019s definition of the terms \u201caristocracy\u201d and \u201cdemocracy.\u201d She argues that \u201caristocracy\u201d resembles contemporary representative democracies (in which the people elect magistrates to rule). \u201cDemocracy,\u201d on the other hand, was used to mean the pure, and direct rule of the people. Brown concludes that the Puritan system, although containing may differences from modern systems, primarily functioned under similar democratic institutions and beliefs.<\/p>\n

Parrington, Vernon L. \u201cPuritanism as an Antidemocratic Ideology.\u201d Edited by David D. Hall. Seventeenth-Century Massachusetts<\/em> (Holt Rinehart and Winston), 1968.<\/p>\n

This is a commentary of John Cotton\u2019s influence and perspective on the governing structure of Massachusetts. Parrington argues that Cotton favored an aristocracy, not of heredity, but of the saints. Parrington seems to like Cotton, but has difficulty accepting his influence in the prolonging of antidemocratic sentiments.<\/p>\n

Seidman, Aaron B. \u201cChurch and State Reconsidered.\u201d Edited by David D. Hall. Seventeenth- Century Massachusetts<\/em> (Holt Rinehart and Winston), 1968.<\/p>\n

Seidman challenge the view that the Puritan clergy swayed \u201cgovernmental decisions to a highly impressive extent.\u201d While he recognizes the convergence of religious and civil aspects, he discusses the formation of distinct civil and religious spheres.<\/p>\n

Winthrop, John. A Model of Christian Charity.<\/em> 1630.<\/p>\n

Winthrop makes a call to establish a Godly society, which he argues is necessary for the success of their new colony. He clearly joins the religious and civil spheres together in his effort to establish a moral society. This document shows the foundational Christianity would play in both the civil and religious aspects of Puritan life.<\/p>\n

The Massachusetts Body of Liberties.<\/em> 1641.<\/p>\n

This law establishes the legal rights of people as citizens of the community and members of the church. While Protestant principles still influence aspects of the civil law (primarily through references to the Old Testament), it demonstrates the formation of different spheres for the church and civil authority.<\/p>\n

\n

<< Return to the CC 204 Bibliographies homepage<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An annotated bibliography of sources on the topic of: The Puritan Legacy in New England compiled and annotated by\u00a0Rich Driscoll for the course CAS CC 204: Religion and Secularism in Spring 2015 Hall, David D. A Reforming People Puritanism and the Transformation of Public Life in New England. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2011. Hall […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":438,"featured_media":0,"parent":5635,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/guidedhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5697"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/guidedhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/guidedhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/guidedhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/438"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/guidedhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5697"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/guidedhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5697\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5703,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/guidedhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5697\/revisions\/5703"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/guidedhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5635"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bu.edu\/guidedhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5697"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}