The Puritans: Builders of America

The Puritans: Builders of America

The Puritans were builders of America, demonstrated in their significant development of educational systems, creation of the first form of democracy, and establishment and enforcement of laws.

The Puritans were a group of English Protestants of the late 16th and 17th centuries who regarded the Reformation of the Church of England under Elizabeth as incomplete and sought to simplify and regulate forms of worship. During the colonial era, many Puritans migrated to America, and eventually controlled a large portion of the New England colonies. To this day, it is debated whether the Puritans were builders of America, or merely bigots.

The Puritans significantly accelerated the development of the education systems of the colonial era. It was required that once a community reached the population of fifty families, an elementary school must be built. This increased literacy, which was a huge step in this time period. The Puritans also established colleges in America, the first opportunity to further educate colonists without having to go back to England. This put an emphasis towards education, facilitating the growth of America.

The idea of democracy was first established by the Puritans. In the Massachusetts Bay Colony, all white men who owned land and were members of the church were given a vote in the decisions of the church. Although not everyone was given this right, this laid the foundation of the idea that choices should be made by the decision of the majority, rather than by a select few. This idea is still used in today's government.

The Puritan's establishment and enforcement of laws was a huge step in colonial society. In other areas of the colonies, laws had been established, but never followed. This was due to the displacement of people and lack of people to enforce them. The Puritans changed this with an effective system of punishments, which created a social norm of following the laws given to citizens. This idea was, and still is greatly important towards the interactions between the government and its citizens.

The Puritan's significant development of educational systems, creation of the first form of democracy, and establishment and enforcement of laws all demonstrate the idea that they were builders of America, rather than bigots.