The Roots For The Puritan Movement - 1639 Words

The introduction of the Puritans in New England, both as a society and as a culture, was necessary as a catalyst for change in early New England, and to a larger extent, British North American government. Historical roadmap - â€Å"Help, Help, I’m Being Repressed!† The roots for the Puritan movement go further back in history than the agreed upon date of 1517. This is the point in time when Martin Luther first came on the scene with his Ninety Five Thesis, in which he detailed the grievances that were evident to Luther, and centralized around the acts that had been either ongoing or had been recent additions to the proper observance of the Anglican branch of the Catholic church. Amongst the Ninety Five items were practices like: Indulgences,†¦show more content†¦Martin Luther and his philosophy, along with the treatises from John Calvin, served as a foundational doctrine for the next generation of Protestant Reformers. This offshoot of religious thought process also produced far reaching effects that would cause dissent between the Anglican Church and the Protestants. This would provoke the Anglican Church, the state church to begin sanctions and oppression of the Protestants within the borders of England. This would be everything fro m seizure of lands and property, to withholding of wages to people showing overt approval to the protestant claims. For many Puritans, already displaced and discouraged from the state religious, this served as a polarizing stance, and the major part that would strengthen the resolve of many Puritans to risk the trip to British North America. How to create a government – on paper Out of the morass of repression arose a notion: Escape! Several journeys were attempted, with colonies in mind for the Puritans, notably the Popham Colony, who finally made a short run on North American soil in 1609. Ultimately a failure as a colony, surviving only a year before the remaining population returned to England. Even though it failed as a colony, it served as a viable concept to whet the appetites of others, and open the doors to a flood of immigrants to this land without direct English involvement or influence. The main attempts to pursue the immigration took off officially in around 1620 with the Pilgrims,