Puritanism Today

After reading articles and essays on the views of whether or not America still exhibits signs of early Puritanism, I have decided that there are some aspects of our society that are similar to Puritan views, and others that are not. I believe that the basis of our views today came from the Puritans; however, our lifestyles have shaped those views into something new.

I think the aspects that the article written by Matthew Hudson, titled Still Puritan After All These Years, explored brought forth some very compelling arguments. The first one that caught my attention was the study he referenced that involved students solving puzzles and being primed to words related to salvation. The study concluded that students primed with salvation-related words were able to solve more anagrams. I do not know the specifics of this study, but I agreed with what was presented in the article. I think when the students were primed with those words, they had the mind set that God was watching them, and that they needed to set forth a good example. I also connected the study the article presented about judging people who act/dress more promiscuous back to Puritan views. The Salem witch trials provide a good example on how Puritans did not agree with some of the lifestyles chosen by certain groups of people. This idea also connects with one we studied in the Minister’s Black Veil. This essay was about a minister who wore a black veil over his face, but nobody knew why. We, as a class, concluded that he used that veil to show he admitted committing to sins and/or secrets of his life. However, we never find out quite what the sins are. I think this is similar to how Americans act nowadays because most people are afraid to admit to their sins. On the other hand, some people today feel that admitting your sins is necessary for moving on with your life. Other people talk about their sins in order to get help and fix their wrongdoing. In the end, I think the Puritans provided us with a solid foundation in which to build our believes from.

Some aspects of the Puritan way of life are not so prominent in today’s society. For example, in Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, Jonathan Edwards stated that people who have sinned have no way to redeem themselves. Their fate was left up to God, and if God didn’t think you belonged in heaven, he sure wasn’t going to let you in. Calvinists like Edwards believed strongly in Predestination which is when you know if you’re going to heaven or hell the day you were born and there was no way to change your fate. In today’s society, I think people are more forgiving of others and willing to work towards making a right from a wrong. People commit their lives to helping others turn wrong into right, and I think this a big step for our society. The article on Puritanism in America today also mentioned how the Protestant Ethics Scale showed how much more racially unaccepting people in America are today compared to other parts of the world. I don’t think it is fair to judge just by your ethnicity or religion how racist or judgemental a person is. Other factors like immigration, family values, and personal experiences also build hatred towards other ethnic groups.

To say that everybody in a country is the same is not fair. To say that everybody in America acts just like their ancestors did 400 years ago is also not fair. I think that people are looking for a way to place blame for the actions of our country, and our ancestors were an easy target. I believe that our ancestors played a role in providing a basis for our moral values, but I also believe that other factors play a role. I do not think it is right to jump to conclusions without about our society as a whole.

Map Anaylsis

Virginia Map 1608

1. The first thing I noticed when I looked at this map was the word, Powhatan, written across the map. This signifies that the settlers knew they had come into territory already inhabited by somebody else. The settlers marked all areas known to be taken by different Indian Tribes by writing the names of the tribes over the area they lived in. This maps clearly shows the rivers and lakes, including the Chesapeake Bay,  that branch off what the settlers call Virginische Meer. This map seems to be written by John Smith himself. In the upper right corner stands an Indian holding some type of weapon. In the upper left corner is an Indian Tribe ritual. The Indians look to be inside a barn of some sorts doing something with fire. On a translated version of this map, I noticed that underneath the picture of the ritual there was a description saying that John Smith was held their prisoner. Also on the map was an English Coat of Arms.

2. From looking at this map, I can infer that the English settlers knew they had come into already inhabited territory. They knew the areas that were taken by the Indians by marking with tribal names. I also think that the settlers thought of the Indians as the enemy and bad guy. The ritual in the upper left corner shows Indians dressed more like animals playing with fire and smoke. They also included the Indian in the upper right corner with a weapon. This means that they saw the Indians as a threat to their settlers. Included on this map is red dots where the English had set up forts. All of these forts were located on the rivers, which shows that they were trying to use their resources to their advantage. The forts are also named and that shows that the settlers intended to stay and prosper. I think this map is different and similar to other maps. It is the same in that it depicts a growing sense of English entitlement. The coat of arms shown gives a sense of royal ownership to the land. I think this map is different than other maps because it includes the Indian tribes on it.

3. In the piece of writing by Babb, Mrs. Babb frequently refers to the English thinking they have a divine right to this new land. I think the map that I found shows this really well. One quote that sums up the map I found talks about how some earlier maps have Indian tribes on them, but as time goes on, the Indian tribes slowly fade off the maps, which shows how the English grew imperialistically. “What this map displays is a land is not yet English, one still the domain of its native peoples. Maps in subsequent Smith works portray growing English imperialism, however.”

Presidential Inaugural Address Analysis

It was very intriguing to me to look at the words used by the Presidents of the United States in their inaugural addresses. I think the words they chose to use reflect the spirit and ideals of the country at the time. The one thing that caught my attention when looking over the words most frequently used was the most used words of our first President, George Washington, and our current president, Barack Obama. I noticed that Mr. Obama used words like nation, America, people, and work most frequently. On the other hand, Mr. Washington used government, and public the most. I think these words reflect the feelings of Americans during their time.

I found it very interesting that when the country first started the president was using words like government and public in his address. This shows how much impact the government had on the people, and possibly how much the people respected the government back then. When immigrants first came to America, the fled for religious reasons. They did not like how the King of England had become so powerful, so I was a little shocked to notice how much government played a role in their lives. I think Mr. Obama used words like nation, and America to try and bring people together more. Nowadays some people have strong views on how much government should play a role in our lives, and I think Mr. Obama was trying to capture the hearts of people of all different views in his speech.

By looking at the words in the different Presidential Inaugural Addresses, I could draw many conclusions about the feelings of government during that time. It is interesting to note the different trends in the addresses of different time periods. I think the status of government plays a huge role on what words the President chooses to use in his address. It will be interesting to see what future Presidents choose to say in their addresses.