Puritans Vs. Quakers
Puritan vs. Quaker The Puritans and the Quakers did not have an easy life when the first came to the new world. They by no means handled the pressure well. At first they had no idea what things were going to end up like. As they arrived in the “New World”, they had optimistic plans for creating model societies that would fulfill God’s will on earth. Most groups trying to find their way almost immediately encountered social and political challenges that threatened those plans. In particular the Puritans struggled with this. The Puritans had the belief that their status on in the New World was as God’s “chosen people.” John Winthrop’s “Model of Christian Charity” describes exactly the nature of their “sacred errand” and outlines a blueprint for the model Puritan community. When these groups came into contact with each other or other migrants, it was not a pretty sight. Especially between the Puritans and Quakers there seemed to be an amplified amount of animosity between each other. This is partially due to the fact that they had such different views on so many things, one of them being how to treat Native Americans. Mary Rowlandson’s narrative of her captivity among the Narragansett Indians offers a later, more dystopian vision of New England. Her text denounces the sinfulness of her society, urges repentance, and provides a model for salvation. It shows the distaste the Puritans had for the Native Americans and how they thought of them as evil and threatening people that should be treated as animals. The Quakers on the other hand had a strong commitment to nonviolence, tolerance, and inclusiveness. Penn’s “Letter to the Lenni Lenape Indians” shows a respect for Native Americans’ culture and rights that is quite different from Puritan attitudes toward Native Americans. Theological differences between the Quakers and the Puritans led to hostility and persecution between the two powerful religious groups. While groups like the Puritans and the Quakers failed