Puritanism in America
Early American Puritan Authors
Resources about Puritan Period
1. "Chapter One: Early American and Colonial Period to 1776." Outline of American Literature. December 2006. USINFO.STATE.GOV. < http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/oal/oaltoc.htm >.
The page offers well-written, organized insights on the Puritanism period as well as lists a few of the authors of the period. The list of authors also includes a short biography and titles of some of their work. The page presents information to those interested-- teachers, students, or public-- for research use or personal interests. It provides detailed information about the beginning period of Puritanism, how it began and developed. The authors listed are significant figures as they aid in the establishment of beliefs and principles of the Puritanistic period through their writings and teachings. Among the list of authors is William Bradford, one of the writers of the Mayflower Compact.
The site offers help by listing the authors, defining the period, mentioning the author's works and influences. The possible theme derived from the information offered would be Identity. The Puritans were strict believers of God. Puritans identified with spirituality, where they "interpreted all things and events as symbols with deeper spiritual meanings." This page has offered great information and it also appears to be credible as it is maintained by a bureau of the Department of State and is up to date. -Dolmii Remeliik
2. Seiferth, Michael S. "Travel Literature In Early Virginia." The Seventeenth Century: Echoes Of The Renaissance And Reformation . Related Resources on American Literature on The Web. 3 June 2007 < http://lonestar.texas.net/~mseifert/amlit1.html >.
The page contains notes by an English professor defining the writings and influences of the significant authors of the Puritanism period as well as a historical analysis of the period. The site offers a view into the period through the historical analysis and through each of the authors works and contributions that had effects in society during his/her time. Although the site fails to address a date of publication for the site, the information contained, however, appear helpful to those who are interested: students, teachers, researchers, or any interested individual in the subject of early american literature and its history. What is most appealing about the website, in one's own opinion, is that the site offers a brief biography about the significant writers during the 16th and 17th century and their influences, as individuals and through the writings and other accomplishments, on society.
3. Feldmeth, Greg D. "U.S. History Resources" < http://home.earthlink.net/~gfeldmeth/USHistory.html (31 March 1998) >
This website is designed to give a general outline of puritan New England in the United States. It does so by giving an outline highlighting the cultural, religious, and social beliefs and events that highlighted the puritan era. The puritan era is defined in this website by the dates it cites. The first date cited in this source referring to the puritan era is 1636. This is the year that Harvard is founded. The last date mentioned pertaining to the puritan era is 1692. It is then presumed that authors who wrote between 1636 and 1692 could be considered puritan authors. This website is helpful because it provides a concise and clear outline of the major events highlighting the puritan era. The puritan era was defined by its theocratic ideals. This website mentions such ideals and helps the reader understand how important religious worship was at the beginning of the country. The author of this website, Greg Feldmeth, is a teacher of teachers. He has taught AP history in high schools, and has authored websites to help teachers teach.
4.Miller, Kevin; Galli, Mark. “The Puritans: Behind the Myths”. EBSCO Host. 1994. June 2, 2007. < http://web.ebscohost.com.ezp.mc.maricopa.edu/ehost/detail?vid=13&hid=17&sid=16915483-5ec4-437d-a981-b2edfd77df83%40sessionmgr2 >
This article is an interview conducted with an expert of the puritan experience. Dr. Stout is a professor of American Christianity at Yale University. The purpose of the article is to look at puritan life with a little more depth. The puritan period is defined by Dr. Stout with dating. He cites the years 1629-1730. This article is helpful for our purposes because it give a different perspective on puritan life. Dr. Stout seeks to dispel some of the misconceptions that have developed over the years. Many believe that the puritans were boring and solemn people. The were deep feeling and very religious, but they were passionate about their lives and mission. Yale University is one of the premier universities in the United States, and a leading university in the world. They hire the best academics to teach their classes. As such, Dr. Stout can be found credible.
5. Lindholdt, Paul. "Early American culture and the canon." Sewanee Review 100.4 (Fall 1992): 675. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Mesa Community College Library, Mesa, AZ. 3 June 2007.
< http://ezp.mc.maricopa.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=9306106567&site=ehost-live >.
In this Article written for the Sewanee Review, Paul Lindholdt reflects on history and its presentation in literature. While not focused specifically on Puritan literature, much of the commentary concerns Puritan writing. The author is discussing the manner in which history has been conveyed to us either romantically and passionately or strictly dry and scientifically, and how best to merge those elements so as not to alienate readers yet preserve accuracy. We learn that the Puritan writers, firmly under the grips of their religious beliefs, tended to relay cultural information in a compelling, flowering manner, full of imagination. Factual depictions would be filtered through the Puritan framework, leaving at best a highly selective interpretation. All around the Puritans were writers offering widely different viewpoints, but the Puritan absolute would not allow for an intermingling of these angles.
This article seems aimed at theological professors concerning the question of what is or is not appropriate to teach or read in studying these matters. Lindholdt seems concerned with finding the right balance of single-purpose study and a multidisciplinary approach. Though the main content of this article fails to apply directly to Puritan literature, I feel there is enough gleaning of the Puritan mindset in their writings to be a useful reference. The nature of this article is mostly commentary and opinion, but the facts used in the author’s position are well documented. This analysis has been printed in a university literary review publication, so I give it enough credit as a valuable source to be of use.
6. Reuben, Paul P. "Chapter 1: Early American Literature to1700 - A Brief Introduction." PAL: Perspectives in American Literature- A Research and Reference Guide. WWW URL: http://web.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap1/1intro.html (login 06/03/2007).
Dr. Reuben presents here a helpful outline to introduce us to the elements of Puritan literature in early America. Beginning with an overview of the belief system, we see the structure under which this literature would be created. The strictness of these beliefs and rules form the foundation of the literature that would be produced. Puritan writing, as in the rest of Puritan life, is purposeful and direct. The overarching purpose for these writings is aimed at better understanding God in order to better serve and to apply moral duties in everyday life. The literature would be comprised of themes ranging from commentary on the idealistic life to practical applications of these ideals in real life. The literature of this period, heavily dependent on biblical guidance, would eventually be replaced as American culture shifted to more rational approaches to idealistic questions. Dr. Reuben points out several main aspects of what the Puritan movement left American culture, both positive and negative. Puritan philosophy on morality, individual freedoms, work and death reveal much about the life and writings of the time.
This site is very helpful for deciding whether or not a piece of literature or an author would fall into the scope of our examination. By giving us a broader framework of Puritan literature, the site offers us much more than a simple timeline to evaluate the works (style, intent, themes, etc). This site is an online reference guide aimed at providing a breadth of information about American literature to both students and the public. As a research project headed by a national university, this site should satisfy any requirements for valid sourcing.
7.Bowden, Henry W., and Mark A. Noll. "Puritanism, Puritans." Mb-Soft.Com. 31 Dec. 2006. Elwell Evangelical Dictionary. 9 June 2007 <http://mb-soft.com/believe/txc/puritani.htm>.
The main purpose of this website is to present information about Puritanism, including the history and notable Puritans. The way I checked to see whether specific authors or text fits into this period is I looked at the dates given in the history portion of the website and made sure the dates fit into the era. This website was helpful in learning about authors because it has a section about notable Puritans and I could find their names and background information. It was helpful in reading about texts because it mentions some famous texts that were written during the era. It is helpful in interoperating the theme because based on the information given one can assign the theme that best fits. This website is credible because it contains a complete bibliography so you can see where the information was gathered from. It also has a page full of their copyright information. The website also has information about who the authors are and what organization they are associated with.
8. McWilliams, John. New England's Crisis and Cultural Memory: Literature, Politics, History, Religion 1620-1860. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2004. New England's Crisis and Cultural Memory. 6 June 2007 <http://site.ebrary.com.ezp.mc.maricopa.edu/lib/mesa/Top?channelName=mesa&cpage=1&f00=text&frm=smp.x&hitsPerPage=
10&id=10131716&layout=document&p00=puritanism&sortBy=score&sortOrder=desc>
The main purpose of this source is to give information about the literature, politics, history, of Puritanism from 1620-1860. Since the information is from 1620 through 1860 one can see that the information fits into the specific era. The source is helpful in finding reading, and interoperating authors, text, and themes, because it has information about all these subjects. This source is credible because it contains information about who the author is and who published the source. In addition to that the source has a complete bibliography.
9. Atkins, Scott E. 22 Jan 02. “The American Sense of Puritan: The Pilgrims and Plymouth Plantation". University of Virginia 15 June 2007 http://xroads.virginia.edu/~CAP/PURITAN/purmain.html
This website is designed by the American Studies group at the University of Virginia. The purpose of the website is to provide historical information to be viewed by librarians, teachers, parents and schools. The history and criticisms are outlined, along with the links of authors of the Puritanism are available to research. By reading about the Puritans, I was able to find the authors of this time period and relate the theme diversity and eccentricity and the literary term imagery. The Puritans and the Pilgrims were similar in some nature. It is a credible website because of the extensive study going into it. It lists all the References that were used as the resources for this webpage. Puritanism is the doctrine of the Puritans system of belief. Msn Encarta’s online dictionary defines the word Puritan as “Protestant: a member of a group of Protestants in 16th- and 17th-century England and 17th-century America who believed in strict religious discipline and called for the simplification of acts of worship” (Encarta). NatalieT
10. Campbell, Donna M. "Puritanism in New England." Literary Movements. 21 May 2007. 14 June 2007. <http://www.wsu.edu/~campbelld//purdef.htm>.
Author Donna Campbell, writing this historical information for Washington State’s official website, gives a brief historical account of the Puritans, along with a description of their religious ideals and motives for breaking away from the Church of England. She even relates two distinct versions of Puritans, writing, “Although the word is often applied loosely, "Puritan" refers to two distinct groups: "separating" Puritans, such as the Plymouth colonists, who believed that the Church of England was corrupt and that true Christians must separate themselves from it; and non-separating Puritans, such as the colonists who settled the Massachusetts Bay Colony, who believed in reform but not separation.” In addition to a historical and definitional treatment of the Puritans, she relates some aspects in which they differed from mainstream Christianity at the time, namely, their belief in “predestination,” or the idea that only God can determine who will be saved, and who will not.
"Unknown" Period Reflection
Comments (5)
DevonA said
at 5:14 pm on May 30, 2007
It'll be interesting if Shelley lets you read The Crucible.
Shelley said
at 2:28 pm on May 31, 2007
No...Shelley won't let them read...that is a contemporary American lit. text!
Shelley said
at 12:51 am on Jun 12, 2007
Devon's comment moved from the actual page: A note about Henry Miller's The Crucible: The Crucible, the story of the Salem witchtrials of the 1620s, is actually an allegorical text written and published in the mid-1950s to address McCarthyism and the Red Scare in America. Miller, who was most famously known as one of Marilyn Monroe's husbands, took the historical documents surround the Salem, MA hysteria of puritan America and structured a response to the communist scare in America. In schools today, many times, The Crucible is taught as a historical document, which is NOT. Albeit it does neatly address the hysteria of terrorism that prevades our current socio-political geoglobal climate.
Darin Huffaker said
at 11:28 am on Jun 15, 2007
With all due respect, is the "hysteria" of terrorism, as you put it, so completely unjustified? Is it not something to be feared and dealt with? Also, whenever there is an incident involving either the correct or incorrect accusation of Islamic Americans being involved with terrorism, I've yet to read a well-publicized article that didn't side with the suspects. Our current political climate, as far as I can see, is prevaded by an overzealous, irrational desire to be completely, politically correct, lest we offend someone and be accused of racial profiling. Simply put, there is no push, by the public or public officials, to lump all Islamic Americans with Islamic extremists, so I don't see how it parallels McCarthyism at all. Just some thoughts...
DevonA said
at 2:46 pm on Jun 24, 2007
I think you're comment is two narrow. I didn't bring up Islamic Americans, albeit I do believe that we live in a fearful climate similar to the one that pervaded our culture in the 1950s and in the 1620s. As I am sure other time periods and locations have a climate where people do not understand one another, do not tolerate one another, and do fear one another. A fear of ignorance and understanding that does lead to a type of hysteria in some ways, like through a so called war on terrorism and like the red scare and like the religious conflicts in early America.
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