Puritans - American History for Kids

Puritans

About 1563 AD, some people in England decided that they wanted to follow a way of life that they thought would be more according to what the Christian God wanted. They called themselves "the godly", but other people called them "Puritans."

Puritan family
A Puritan family about 1563

If they lived this way, Puritan people thought it would help them get into Heaven. Mainly these people wanted to live quiet, simple lives, spending a lot of their time praying, reading the Bible (which had just been translated into English), and listening to sermons. Puritans wore plain clothes and lived in plain houses. They went to church a lot (all day on Sundays and often on other days too). They thought that God wanted them to work very hard and be very serious. Puritans did not have parties. They did not listen to music, or dance. They did not celebrate holidays, not even Christmas or Easter.

Like other people who had different religious ideas from their neighbors - for example the Quakers - , the Puritans got into trouble in England. King Charles had some Puritans killed. So some of the Puritans decided to leave England and start a new town in North America. In 1630 AD, the first Puritans came to Massachusetts to start a colony there.

Puritans
Puritans in the 1700s

These Puritans were mostly richer and more educated than the Pilgrims who had come to North America on the Mayflower. They established schools and colleges, including Harvard College. The poet Anne Bradstreet, for example, was one of these educated Puritans. Today, we call the descendants of the Puritans Congregationalists or Presbyterians.

Learn by Doing - Puritans
More about Charles I
North American colonies
North American religion

To find out more about the Puritans, check out these books from Amazon or from your local library:

Charles I in England
Quakers
Ghost Dancers
Mormons
Back to main North American religion page
Back to main North America page (after 1500)


Cite this page: Carr, Karen (PhD).

Kidipede - History for Kids. 2013.
http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/northamerica/after1500/religion/puritans.htm