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"Wayward Puritans", 2004.
An analysis of Kai T. Erickson's "Wayward Puritans: A Study in the Sociology of Deviance", looking in particular at the social-control approach of the Puritans.
852 words (approx. 3.4 pages), 1 source, APA, $ 30.95
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Abstract
This paper introduces and discusses "Wayward Puritans: A Study in the Sociology of Deviance" by Kai T. Erickson. Specifically, it presents an extra chapter to "Wayward Puritans", demonstrating how the study illustrates the social-control approach to deviance. The Puritan society of early New England is an excellent example of how a small society carefully controlled deviant behavior that frightened them.
From the Paper
"Fearful of witches and the black arts, the society encouraged members to turn on each other in the name of "confession." Erickson writes, "As they [the possessed girls] became caught up in the enthusiasm of their new work, then, the girls began to reach into every corner of the community in a search for likely suspects." The community encouraged this behavior in their maniacal search for deviants in league with the Devil, and this shows how the community's beliefs and fears controlled the deviant behavior. Anyone could be accused, and so, the rest of the community had to strictly adhere to every Puritan policy, or become suspect themselves."
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Kai T. Erikson's "Wayward Puritans", 1994.
This paper examines Kai T. Erikson's "Wayward Puritans": Puritan moral structure related to 20th Century American culture, deviance and witchcraft and the role of religion and Bible.
1,350 words (approx. 5.4 pages), 1 source, $ 47.95
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From the Paper
"This study will examine Kai T. Erikson's "Wayward Puritans". The examination of major ideas in the book, subtitled "A Study in the Sociology of Deviance," focuses on the Puritan moral philosophy in relation to American culture today; the relationship between Puritan "crime waves" and deviancy; witchcraft; and the role religion played in the Puritan response to deviancy.
To Erikson, the Puritan ethos was based on a simpler and more direct way of seeing and experiencing one's relationship with God. This world view "suggested revival more than reform" (46), although there were elements of reform involved. The Puritan ethos saw the Church as an institution which was an obstacle to be changed if the individual ever hoped to have a direct experience of God. According to this ethos, the Puritan ... "
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Wayward Puritans, 1996.
Compares ideas on deviance & conformity, sociology & history, hypocrisy.
(Kai Erikson) & Confidence Men & Painted Women ( Karen Halttunen )
1,350 words (approx. 5.4 pages), 2 sources, $ 47.95
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From the Paper
"Kai T. Erikson offers a clear statement of the traditional role of the sociologist:
"According to an honored tradition of scholarship, sociologists are people who study the general outlines of society, the "laws" governing social life, while historians are people who study those special moments in the past which have shaped the character of a given age or tempered the course of future events (Erikson vii).
Erikson argues that this distinction between the work of the sociologist and the historian has been popular for some time but is not a good distinction when applied to a given piece of research. He sees the distinction as artificial because human events do not arrange themselves in such a fashion. Erikson..."
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From the Puritans to Ben Franklin, 2001.
This paper compares Ben Franklin's attitude to American identity to that of the Puritans.
930 words (approx. 3.7 pages), 1 source, $ 33.95
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Abstract
This paper analyzes the early American settlers in regard to their identity. It compares the attitude of Ben Franklin and the Puritans. It surveys the history of the pre-Revolutionary Puritans and what lead to the search of their identity. It shows how Franklin was a figure who addressed all these issues and was one of the first to document them.
From the paper:
"From Puritan writings onward, and throughout all American literature, a dominant concern has been the question of identity, and/or the search for identity. Puritans, for example, sought to retain their identity and so found themselves having to escape to a ?New World? in order to preserve their convictions about God. In the end, Puritans came to view themselves as a ?chosen people? (?Introduction? 2). Benjamin Franklin, on the other hand, as one of the authors of the ?Declaration of Independence? (amongst other important revolutionary documents), helped construct a later version of the American identity as both independent and self-determining. And as he further advanced the question of identity in American letters, he helped bring to the table related notions of the ?American dream? and personal virtue. In so doing, Franklin?s vision of America was forged in ways much different than the more communal vision of his Puritan ancestors."
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The Relationship between James I and the Puritans, 2006.
This paper explains the importance of foreign policy, in relation to other factors, in influencing the relationship between James I and the Puritans in the years 1603 - 1625.
1,427 words (approx. 5.7 pages), 1 source, MLA, $ 47.95
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Abstract
In this article, the writer looks at the relationship between James I and the Puritans, focusing on the significance of foreign policy. The writer notes that the Puritan's view regarding foreign policy, although the Millenary Petition of 1603 acknowledged James's authority over all such matters, was stringently anti-Spanish. The writer maintains that in the eyes of the Puritans, Spain was something of a Catholic super-power and, along with the traditional hatred of the Spanish, they took the more extreme view that the Pope was the "Anti-Christ" and that all Catholics were irretrievably evil. The writer points out that when compared to James's tolerant attitude, this was potentially dangerous for both parties. The writer notes that before 1618, foreign policy did little to damage James's relationship with England's Puritans, who were largely conformist. The writer concludes that after 1618, however, with the increasingly serious negotiations with Spain over the match, the Puritans became far more concerned about James's tolerant attitude towards Catholicism and, in a Millenarian point of view, the potential danger of James failing to ensure a Protestant victory in the Battle of Armageddon.
From the Paper
"James's 1618 Book of Sports was, by going against extreme Puritan Sabbatarianism, a further attempt to separate the conformist Puritans from the non-conformist individuals, which added to his lengthy list of such efforts. These endeavours, whilst casual, did help James in recognising some extremists, but also helped to further alienate some - such alienated groups would have been particularly adverse to any foreign policy sympathetic to Catholic powers (and more prepared to resort to extreme measures), which was especially dangerous because most such Puritans were by no means poor: Puritanism required, to some extent, literacy, and literacy was largely restricted to richer members of society, who were therefore more likely to be MPs, or MPs' more important constituents (as part of the Gentry). Such Puritans were, fortunately for James, rare (partly owing to their emigration) and so they had little effect. Puritans in Parliament were conformists at least to the extent that they recognised parliament, and so had little effect on foreign policy - the reasons for anti-Spanish sentiment in Parliament were varied, but had little to do with extreme Puritanism. Until 1618, there was little reason for souring the relationship between James and the majority of Puritans (specifically) through domestic policy, finance, the constitution or other areas, as the dissatisfaction that could arise from these problems were not religious issues. After 1618, however, with the increasingly serious negotiations with Spain over the Match (now with Charles, since Henry, James's older son, had died), the Puritans became far more concerned about James's tolerant attitude towards Catholicism and, in a Millenarian point of view, the potential danger of James failing to ensure a Protestant Victory in the Battle of Armageddon."
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The Rise and Fall of the Puritans in England, 2006.
An examination of the era of the Puritans.
1,072 words (approx. 4.3 pages), 4 sources, MLA, $ 37.95
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Abstract
In this paper the author describes the era of the Puritans from their rise in the reign of Elizabeth I until their demise. It discusses the meaning of their title and the allies and enemies that they had. The paper concludes with the fall of the Puritans due to their intolerance and surmises that religion and politics never mix well although a lesson was learnt by the Puritans that came to America.
From the Paper
"The Puritans, ultra-conservative in matters of religion, now had a political cause. They saw Roman Catholocism as their enemy, and felt that the Anglican Church did not go far enough to distinguish itself from Catholicism. So, it found followers who, more for economic and social reasons than religious ones, came to agree with the Puritans that it was time to do away with "Absolutism" in religion as well as in the ruling classes. Charles I believed that English Kings had a hereditary right to be absolute rulers, creating laws at will, and refusing to be opposed at the pain of exile or death. This meant that the Church of England would not permit dissent from other Protestants."
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Piracy and Puritans, 2006.
An examination of piracy as it was perceived in colonial New England, particularly by the Puritans.
3,025 words (approx. 12.1 pages), 9 sources, MLA, $ 88.95
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Abstract
This paper examines piracy as it was perceived in colonial New England. It specifically examines the interaction between Puritans and pirates and provides a history of piracy in the colonies. It then looks at the conceptual difference between "piracy" and "privateering." The paper
examines the sudden Puritan objections to piracy circa 1700 (even though it had made the colonies very wealthy).
Table of Contents:
Hardened In Their Sin
Pursued By Evil
The Death of Piracy
From the Paper
"Piracy must be considered one of the world's oldest professions. Ever since civilizations have settled near coastlines, building ships to move goods and find cultures foreign to their own, there have been men (and women) desperate enough to take to the sea to become pursuers of great fortune. The colonies of North America are not an exception. They had their share of pirates as well, the most infamous becoming revered legends, while the less prosperous found their way to the back pages of the first colonial newspapers, mentioned as having merely died by the noose with little pomp or fanfare. The matter-of-fact nature of colonial writings towards piracy makes it clear that the practice was widespread, as common as any bank robbery or mugging might be considered today. That does not mean, however, that colonists were willing to accept the actions of pirates without retribution."
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Hawthorne and Puritans, 2002.
Examining Nathaniel Hawthorne's attitude to the Puritans in two of his famous novels - "The Minister's Black Veil" and "Young Goodman Brown".
1,982 words (approx. 7.9 pages), 5 sources, MLA, $ 62.95
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Abstract
This paper deals with the way that Nathaniel Hawthorne comments critically on the beliefs of his Puritan ancestors. Although the two stories are very different, both of them involve the problem of seeing as a metaphor for Puritan doctrine. The paper provides an explanation of key Puritan characteristics and how these tie in to each of the novels.
From the Paper
"The Puritan sect deplored the decline of the English church and in their colony they sought, in the words of their first governor John Winthrop, "a Citty on a hill" that would be an example to the world, showing that "to doe justly, to love mercy, to walke humbly with our God" and to "be knitte together in this work as one man" was the way to salvation (quoted in Morison 73). They believed that humanity had fallen and that individuals could only save themselves through "an extreme form of piety" that depended on "a particularly self-deprecatory and submissive stance" toward God (Conkin 9). This self-critical approach saw every action as a moral choice and every aspect of life was to be guided by its potential impact on the possibility of being saved. Thus the Puritans "wanted every possible act to be considered, rational, and voluntary, and consequently subject to praise or blame," that is, subject to possible censure from the united community or from an authorized voice of the community such as a parent or a minister (Conkin 13)."
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The English Puritans, 2002.
A look at the history of the English Puritans and the establishment of settlements in New England.
3,364 words (approx. 13.5 pages), 10 sources, MLA, $ 95.95
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Abstract
This paper looks at the English Puritans who objected to the sinfulness of life in England and the degeneration of the Church of England and began to emigrate to America at the start of the seventeenth century. It examines how the success of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and other settlements was due in large part to the fact that the Puritan settlers agreed on principles that supported a life of hard work dedicated to the service of God. It examines how the settlers fared over the years with their common beliefs, carefully ordered civil society and devotion to hard work as simple farmers and also how their beliefs caused rifts such as the case of Anne Hutchinson who was accused of promoting the heresy of Antinomianism.
From the Paper
"Like most Protestant sects the puritans were fond of finding justifications for their courses of action in Scriptural precedent or command. Thus they sought Biblical support for the general notion of worldly prudence in the management of one's affairs. And they did not have to look far to find quite precisely qualified support. In the Book of Proverbs, for instance, the faithful are admonished that "a good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favor rather than silver and gold" (quoted in Perry 300). These words do not, of course, preclude the pursuit of the latter half of each of these equations, but merely orders the faithful to maintain a sense of proportion regarding what is truly important. Other citations from the Bible offer even more unqualified support for business pursuits when they directly "affirm and proclaim the fact that diligence, self-control, and foresight conduce to power and riches" (Perry 300). Even more importantly, however, the notion of worldly prudence was assuredly theologically sound because it conformed completely to "that subordination of immediate to ulterior goods which is the central motif of the gospel" (Perry 300)."
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The Puritans, 2005.
This paper discusses the works of John Winthrop, Mary Rowlandson and William Bradford to prove that the Puritans were on a Divine mission.
900 words (approx. 3.6 pages), 6 sources, MLA, $ 31.95
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Abstract
The paper uses the works of John Winthrop, Mary Rowlandson and William Bradford in order to prove the Puritans were on a Divine mission and that enduring ordeals and hardships were part of that mission and a test of faith by God.
From the Paper
"According to James Schafer, the primary purpose of existence to the Puritans was "Love the Lord, your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." Fleeing what they viewed as political corruption and religious persecution in Europe, the Puritans would arrive in America and be instrumental in forming the Colonies."
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The Puritans, 2002.
This paper discusses the intolerance of the Puritans.
1,900 words (approx. 7.6 pages), 10 sources, $ 71.95
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Abstract
This paper debates whether the Puritans were narrow-minded, undemocratic bigots who had no conception of religious liberty. The author frames the issues in the words of a current prevailing viewpoint. and then presents information that will refute that viewpoint.
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The Puritans Leaving Britain, 2006.
An analysis of the factors leading up to the Puritans leaving their homes in Britain for the New World.
2,434 words (approx. 9.7 pages), 9 sources, MLA, $ 74.95
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Abstract
The paper discusses the creation of the group of people referred to as the Puritans and what led them to leave Britain for the New World. The paper goes into detail about the political, religious and economic factors behind their decision to leave their homes. It then discusses the Reformation in England and the reasons behind it.
From the Paper
"For example, seventeenth century England certainly saw challenges to the sacred aura surrounding society, which began earlier when Henry VIII secularized many things besides the church's lands, wealth, and powers (Sommerville). If by secularization, one considers what it meant then, the separation of anything from its religious associations, then one must speak of a secularization of "space and time, language and art, play and work and power; of personal, social, and national identity, even of flags and military technology" (Sommerville). Thus, religion reasserted itself not as a new religious culture so much as a religious faith, a conscious reaction to the disenchantment of ordinary life (Sommerville)."
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Puritans and Federalists, 1991.
A comparison of the themes, ideas, methods and goals of literature of two early American groups.
2,025 words (approx. 8.1 pages), 3 sources, $ 71.95
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From the Paper
"This study will compare the themes, ideas, and methods of the Puritans and the Federalists, including consideration of the main purposes of each in setting down their thoughts on paper.
The fundamental and most obvious difference between the two approaches to literature of these groups is that the Puritans were religiously oriented and the Federalists were politically oriented.
As we read in Miller and Johnson, "The tenets of Puritan faith obstructed any clear formulation of general aesthetic theory. Puritans saw images of divine things in the world about them, and drew analogies between the beautiful objects and the perfect archetype which they conceived as existing in the mind of God . . . The emphasis is theological" (64).
The Federalists, on the other hand, emphasized the..."
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New England Puritanism, 2004.
An examination of the worldview and beliefs of the Puritans who arrived in the United States and how they were affected by the society around them.
1,306 words (approx. 5.2 pages), 3 sources, MLA, $ 44.95
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Abstract
This paper looks at the impact that the Puritans made on their surrounding society and visa versa. The writer states that, throughout their long history in New England, the Puritans were always laying the foundations of the commonwealth and were religiously preserving their faith and polity from unorthodox contamination. It explains that, aside from their religious lives, the Puritans also widened the area of supply and increased the agricultural output for purposes of export into all parts of the north Atlantic world while raising the standard of living beyond the dreams of their early immigrant forefathers.
From the Paper
"In regard to religion, the Puritans were convinced that all forms of church polity and social conduct which had no scriptural sanction were sinful and not to be ignored. To them, the passages of the Holy Bible, as they were interpreted without regard to time, place or origin, were God?s positive command and were an all-sufficient authority for life?s purposes. Life was not a progress but a state of preparation for the life beyond and the things of the earth that were worldly were rejected, not to mention that the Puritans sought only those things which the Holy Bible demonstrated as being pleasing in the sight of God. Beauty, pleasure and the indulgences of the flesh, even if moderately enjoyed, were harmful to the soul. Righteousness was obedience to God?s inscrutable will which the individual was always in direct communication. In essence, ?Puritanism was the reawakened temper of early Christianity.? 8 "
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Puritan Influence in Contemporary America, 2008.
An analysis of Nathaniel Hawthorne's depiction of Puritan society in his work, "The Scarlet Letter", and how Puritan values have influenced American society.
1,149 words (approx. 4.6 pages), 6 sources, MLA, $ 39.95
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Abstract
This paper examines how, ranging from intolerance, persecution, and patriarchy to sympathy, compassion, and rebellion against dominant hierarchies, "The Scarlet Letter" embodies not only the characteristics typical of Puritan society, but also serves as a criticism for those characteristics in its account of Hester, Pearl, and Dimmesdale. The paper looks at how Hawthorne's account of these three societal outcasts in "The Scarlet Letter" demonstrates that there were those who sought to change the dominant Puritan ideals, and that the qualities they exemplified were not non-existent. The paper also discusses how, despite the fact that these opposing qualities of Puritanism clashed and co-existed for many years and in many more instances than simply the fictional town where Hester and Pearl lived, dominant patriarchy, narrow moralism, and the suppression of dissent have affected contemporary American society significantly more than have their opposites.
From the Paper
"Another example of Puritan patriarchy in "The Scarlet Letter" resides in the governor and the positions of power within the town. The governor's breast plate of armor that Hester and Pearl find within the palace illustrates how the positions of power within the town are dominated my masculine ideas such as strict punishment and patriarchic rules (Easton 114-5). This is exeplified in today's society through the domination of men in areas such as politics, corporate leadership, and physically demanding jobs and activities. Likewise in contemporary society, we have seen the rise of women in these areas and they continue to make more of a voice for themselves. Both the dominant and recessive traits of Puritanism are shown in the role of women. The status quo position of women as being subjugated to males runs parallel to the dominant patriarchy that existed in Puritan society. "
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