The Influences of Puritanism on American Culture
American mainstream culture was developed from what is known as “WASP” (White Angle-Saxon Protestant) culture and that people who settled in the thirteen North American colonies that would become the United States were mostly Protestant believers. The patterns that the colonies were established had great influence on the American society and culture.
Reasons to Build Colonies in A New Land
Most of the European emigrants left their homelands to escape religious persecution and political oppression, and were consequently in the hope of seeking the freedom to practice their religion, or for adventure and opportunities that denied them at home. Still others deserted their homelands because of the poor living conditions, were with view to seek a better life in a new land. Thus the immigration. Legislation and enslavement
The first settlers landed in Virginia which was land of nothing, they had to make their own houses and grow food to survive, which led to the establishment of the independent character in American culture. In 1619, two events took place in Virginia, which had great influence on the shaping of American culture. The first one is the assembly held on July 30, 19619, in the Jamestown church, to discuss the enactment of laws for colony. This was the first example of an elected legislative for the future US, which shaped the American political culture such as the congress. Another event is the enslavement of Africans who were sold to America as commodity, which I think has something to do with the racism in American, because black people have been discriminated by white people for centuries as we can see in that black people served as servants or slaves under the white, and could not hold important positions in mainstream culture such as politics, finance,etc.,or even enjoy the mere freedom until the declaration of Emancipation of Proclamation which abolished the slavery. Nevertheless, this event still influences the American culture even until today as we can tell from the severe phenomenon of discrimination of racism that prevails the American society. These two events mentioned above create
a unique phenomenon that the Europeans went to North American to seek freedom, but in the meanwhile deprived the freedom of the black Africans. Puritan cultural legacies
A group of people thought that the Church of England was too catholic and wanted to “purify”the church,hence the name”puritans”.Puritans believed that everyone had a divined calling. The success in one’s calling was the sign of being God’s elect.Therefore, everyone must work hard, spend little and invest for more business. This belief rooted deeply in American culture that no matter who you are, where you come from, you can succeed if you work hard. To put it another way, the chances of being successful are equal. In the mean time the Americans are encouraged to start their own businesses and lead a simple life in the light of puritans’ belief. What is more, puritans were convinced that every puritan must read the Bible to find God’s will and search for one’s individual contact with God. To be able to read the Bible and understand God’s will, education was of great importance for puritans, which is why today’s Americans value education so much. The puritans emphasized the individual contact with God, which means everyone is equal in the presence of God. Thus the idea of equality takes root in American culture.
The puritans are no longer in existence today, but they left behind them cultural legacies such as the ideal of building “a city upon hill”, making Americans view themselves as the worthy model of the world. In addition, the puritans believed that governments should enforce God’s morality,thus, another tradition, a strain of intolerant moralism, was established. Capitalism
The notable figures, Lord Baltimore and his father had tremendous contribution to the establishment of capitalism in Maryland in that they attracted religious believers to a new world and the former even encouraged pilgrims of other sects to settle there with the aim of introducing his feudal plan which was dropped later, Maryland set its foot on the road to capitalist development, which,to some extent, resulted in the later establishment of capitalism in North America.
Equality and liberty of Quaker Pennsylvania
Different from other Protestant sects, the Quakers firmly believed that all were born equal, so they had the same status as the king and nobles, and anybody else. Besides, people were not born sinful. These beliefs encouraged the spirit of liberty and equality to root deep into American character and culture. William Penn, a confirmed Quaker, encouraged people to settle in Pennsylvania without any restrictions on immigration, which laid a foundation for the establishment of multiracial society in US. To be consistent with Quakerism that religion was a person’s private business with god, which the government should not interfere in, William Penn implemented the policy of separation of state and church in his colony. Some American forefathers were inspired by Penn’s experiment, which made what is the United States of America today, a country of freedom, equality and separation of state and church.
The Influence of Puritanism on American Culture
