Social and Political Upheaval During the Seventeenth Century in British North America Essays

Social and Political Upheaval During the Seventeenth Century in British North America Essays Social and Political Upheaval During the Seventeenth Century in British North America Essay Social and Political Upheaval During the Seventeenth Century in British North America Essay For every student, historian, profession, or average civilian, when you ask the question about early American history they will immediately and ultimately respond with one exact answer; the Puritans came to New England in search of freedom and new religion. During the late seventeenth century, religion gave the Puritans the opportunity to begin a new life, achieve social class, gain respect in the colonies, and have individual morality. Although that was a bit difficult to overcome for most Puritans; because the founders of the colonies on the mainland of British North America were in no hurry to arrange religious establishments. Laws were introduced by the Church that sidetracked the Puritans beliefs and aspirations. Political stress comes into play as soon as the civil government appoints only Puritan men the right to vote. In these colonies, a few brave Puritans were not afraid to speak their minds and stand in front of the civil government and the Church. Anne Hutchinson, Roger Williams, William Penn, Nathaniel Bacon, and many other colonists weren’t afraid to disagree and go against this new Puritan way. Gender role, race, and social class were amongst many of priorities of forming British North America, formally known as the thirteen colonies. With the influence of the civil government, the founders, and the Church, life for the Puritans wasn’t as sweet and pleasant as they hoped for when they journeyed over to this country many centuries ago. Roger Williams, the founder of Rhode Island, played an important role throughout the Puritans. Williams believed that no matter what your religious views are, the freedom to fully enjoy your religion with your own judgments and consciences, you are a good Puritan. The civil government however, did not believe in that statement. Roger Williams published his most famous text, The Bloody Tenant of Persecution. His book defines many principles that defend the liberty of conscience and portrays a great dialogue between truth and peace. The first principle starts you off with a pretty distinct image, â€Å"That the blood of so many hundred thousand souls of Protestants and papists, split in the wars of present and former ages, for their respective consciences, is not required or accepted by Jesus Christ the Prince of Peace†. In my own opinion, I believe Williams is not a fan of war. The next few principles he lists are all about the blood of poor souls, the use of weapons, and enforcing uniformity to be the destruction of millions. Roger Williams’ next book, To the Right Honorable Both Houses of the High Court of Parliament, mainly focuses on the persecution of conscience and the rights of mankind. â€Å"I acknowledge that to molest any person, Jew or Gentile, for either professing doctrine, or practicing worship merely religious or spiritual, it is to persecute him; and such a person, whatever his doctrine or practice be, true or false, suffers persecution for conscience†. That statement he makes in this passage really reveals a bit of United States law today. No matter what crime he or she might commit, they should all be persecuted, not mattering who you are, because it is the right thing to do under conscience. Anne Hutchinson was another brave soul who came forth to speak to the colonies. Hutchinson held private bible meetings for young women and eventually more women and men attended. Anne Hutchinson is a key figure in the development of religious freedom in the early British North American colonies. She is a very courageous woman and is a fine representation of what the struggle a Puritan woman’s life was like living during this time. The Trial and Interrogation of Anne Hutchinson in 1637 can further explain her fight against the Church and State. John Winthrop, the governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, interrogated Hutchinson during this trial. â€Å"Mrs. Hutchinson, you are called here as one of those that have troubled the peace of the commonwealth and the churches here; you are known to be a woman that hath had a great share in the promoting and divulging of those opinions that are causes of this trouble, and †¦Ã¢â‚¬  Anne Hutchinson held her ground throughout the interrogation very well. She answered the questions that were put upon her very intelligently and respectively. Hutchinson was accused for holding private bible meetings that were not organized and approved by the Church. She of course thought there was nothing wrong with her teaching women and some men much more than what was being said during normal church meetings. Winthrop and the rest of the committee believed that her sermons going beyond the normal Bible study were offensive and disrespectful to the community and ultimately God. â€Å"Your course is not to be suffered for, besides that we find such a course as this to be greatly prejudicial to the state, besides the occasion that it is to seduce honest persons that have called to those meetings and your opinions being known to e different from the word of God may seduce many simple souls that resort unto you†¦Ã¢â‚¬  This trial clearly shows how serious religion was to these people. No way would you see this kind of trial happening in the United States court system today, it would be made a mockery! Religion is what gave these Puritans hope, social ranking, gender power, and belief of anything. John Winthrop created a few statements justi fying his establishment for the New England colonies and as a defense against their enemies. Statement number two states, â€Å"All other churches of Europe are brought to desolation, , or sins, for which the Lord begins already to frown upon us to cut us short, do threaten evil times to be coming upon us, who knows, but that God hath provided this place to be a refuge for many whom he means to save out of the general calamity, seeing the Church hath no place left to fly into but the wilderness, what better work can there be, then to go provide tabernacles food for her against she comes hither†. What justified the New England colonies during the seventeenth century was the Church and State. There was no formal judicial system; the government was not the highest power during this time, technically the government was just the law. Religion was the almighty power during that century, until the civil government started to take control once the Church and its people started to act up. The late seventeenth century dealt with many orders of transformations that caused big amounts of social and political stress throughout the colonies. But as stated, â€Å"Extreme social and political stress often results in social and political upheaval and transformation†; everything that is challenging and hard to achieve, always has a greater and stronger outcome. The most vivid and the most striking event during the seventeenth century was the revolution known as Bacon’s Rebellion. William Berkeley, governor of Virginia, wasn’t a favorite amongst the people of Virginia. When the Native Americans started to attack the lands on the frontier settlements, Berkeley never set any action to resolve this issue. Nathaniel Bacon decided to take this matter into his own hands starting a rebellion and attack the Indians. Ultimately Bacon and his followers chased Berkeley straight out of town from Jamestown, Virginia and ended the fight with torching the capital. This rebellion was the first fight that actual civilians took part in. There were many protests, torching, and an alliance that had a great control over the court. Unfortunately this rebellion did not remove all the Native Americans from the Virginia frontiers, but Bacon was happy when he got recalled to England. Bacon’s Declaration and Manifesto are big primary sources that conclude his rebellion. Bacon’s Declaration in the Name of the People was pronounced on July 30, 1676. This list of complaints towards William Berkeley articulated unjust taxation and the failure to protect the colonists from Native American attacks. Bacon’s Manifesto was a furthermore to his Declaration. Obviously he mentioned religion, freedom, and political intentions to declare and ensure safety to the people of Virginia from the Native Americans. Nathaniel Bacon had a lot of courage and strength to defeat the governor of Virginia and take over Jamestown at only twenty years old. Another key figure during the seventeenth century was John Locke. Locke was very liberal; in fact he was a firm believer in modern liberalism. His many formal essays that all had to do with some political meaning gave him the upper hand in the government. An Essay Concerning Human Understanding†, â€Å"Two Treatises of Government†, and â€Å"A Letter Concerning Toleration† were his most valuable pieces of work. Locke was a very political man and came from a very political background. He was a great asset to New England during the seventeenth century. The history of British North America during the seventeenth century focused a lot on religion, the government, and above all, the fight f or freedom and trust. Many Puritans dealt with social stress that ultimately saw the light and gave them a better, more valuable life to live in New England. For the government, there were times where new settlements were being fought over, territories were being stolen, battles were being fought, etc. , but in the end, New England is still here today right? Everything happens for a reason, no matter how stressful and challenging, all that seems terrible at the time, only turns out to be extraordinary when it’s all over.