Puritanism, Colonial Society, and Religious Movements in New England

Puritans

Puritans were English Protestants who wanted to reform the Church of England and eliminate practices they considered too Catholic.

The Elect

The Elect were people whom Puritans believed God had chosen for salvation according to the doctrine of predestination.

Conversion

Conversion was the personal religious experience through which a Puritan believed he or she had received God's grace and become spiritually saved.

William Laud

William Laud was Archbishop of Canterbury under King Charles I during the 1630s and supported efforts to strengthen religious conformity in the Church of England.

Massachusetts Bay Company

The Massachusetts Bay Company was an English joint-stock company that received a charter to establish a colony in New England.

John Winthrop

John Winthrop was a Puritan leader who helped establish Massachusetts Bay and served as its governor for much of its early history.

City on a Hill Speech

John Winthrop's 'City on a Hill' speech, delivered in 1630, described the Puritan colony as an example that would be watched by the rest of the world.

Great Migration (1630-1640)

The Great Migration was the movement of thousands of English Puritans to New England between approximately 1630 and 1640.

Pure Congregational

Pure Congregationalism was a form of Puritan church organization in which individual congregations governed themselves rather than being controlled by a central church hierarchy.

Established Church

An established church is a church officially supported and recognized by the government.

Closed Corporate Community

A closed corporate community was a tightly controlled Puritan community in which political participation was generally limited to recognized members of the religious community.

Patriarchal Family

A patriarchal family was a household structure in which the father or husband held primary authority over family members.

Anne Hutchinson

Anne Hutchinson was a Puritan woman who challenged the religious authorities of Massachusetts Bay during the 1630s.

Chief Massasoit

Massasoit was the English name for Ousamequin, the leader of the Wampanoag people who established an important relationship with the Plymouth colonists.

King Philip's War (1675-1676)

King Philip's War was a major conflict between New England colonists and Native Americans led by Metacom, whom the English called King Philip.

Horse-shed Christians

'Horse-shed Christians' was a criticism of people who attended church mainly for social reasons but lacked genuine religious commitment.

Jeremiads

Jeremiads were Puritan sermons that warned that society was moving away from religious principles and needed to return to proper behavior.

Salem Village Witchcraft

The Salem Village witchcraft crisis occurred primarily in 1692 in Massachusetts when accusations of witchcraft led to trials and executions.

Tituba

Tituba was an enslaved woman in Salem who was among the first people accused of witchcraft during the Salem crisis of 1692.

Spectral Evidence

'Spectral Evidence' was testimony claiming that a person's spirit or apparition had appeared to witnesses while the accused was supposedly committing witchcraft.

From Puritan to Yankee

'From Puritan to Yankee' describes the transformation of New England society from a community centered heavily on Puritan religious identity into a more commercially oriented and diverse society.

Great Awakening

The Great Awakening was a series of Protestant religious revivals that spread throughout the American colonies during the 1730s and 1740s.