Colonial America

Paper Summary:

This paper examines colonial period literature that deals with the conflict between the Christian community and cultural relaxation that occurred from the 17th to 18th centuries. According to the paper, the majority of colonial era immigrants came to the United States to escape religious persecution.

From the Paper:

"In his essays, Roger Williams expresses his disgust at the inability of the colonies to deal with religious toleration. He is especially frustrated that Puritans, who were persecuted for their religious piety in England would do the same to condemn other religions in New England. He writes, "It is the will and command of God, that a permission of the most Paganish, Jewish, Turkish, or Antichrisitan consciences and worships, be granted to all men, in all nations" (Williams, npg). Williams identified the key contradiction within Puritan logic, the need to be strictly sectarian in the new world. When in fact, the concept of Colonialism depended on the granting of freedoms which could not be obtained within Europe. His essays defined the transition between the traditional views of Puritan dogmatism and the transformation into religious tolerance. In the end he was able to resolve such conflicts through the formation of Rhode Island and Pennsylvania, both bastions of religious freedom for diverse religious groups."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Strandness, T.B. Samuel Sewall: A Puritan Portrait. Michigan State UP, 1967.
• Elliott, Emory. ed. American Colonial Writers 1606-1734. Detroit : Gale, 1984.
• QUAKER JOURNALS, (Varieties of religious experience among Friends), Howard H. Brinton, Pendle Hill Publications, 1972.

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