22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Overview, October 19, 2004
This review is from: The Puritan Experiment: New England Society from Bradford to Edwards (Library of New England) (Paperback)
This is a very successful attempt to produce an overview of the Puritan experience in New England. Arguably the most important single group on American history, this relatively small collection of religously inspired immigrants generated a number of cultural and political trends that continue as important features of American life. Bremer provides the basic narrative structure, social and demographic history, and theological history of the Puritan experiment in a concise and well written book of less than 250 pages. Readers will be struck with how features of the Puritan experience continue to resonate today, particularly certain aspects of the Puritan religous experience. Also impressive is how aspects of Puritan history in the 17th century prefigured events of the later 18th century. The New England colonies' conflicts with the centralizing tendency of the later Stuart kings, the resentment towards imperialistic economic policies, the emphasis on relatively broad political participation, all have important parallels in the struggles that lead up to the Revolution. Not surprisingly, religion occupies a central place in this book. Bremer does a particularly good job of describing the Puritans' sense of themselves as a chosen people, their involvement in a trans-Atlantic religous culture, and their complex theology. Perhaps the only deficiency, and this is relatively minor, is Bremer's less thorough treatment of the 18th century. While the narrative continues up to the death of Jonathan Edwards in 1758, the treatment of the 18th century is more superficial than of the 17th century. This is probably an understandable result of Bremer's desire to keep this book concise. There is also a very nice annotated bibliography. In using the latter, readers should bear in mind that this edition was published in 1995 and there have been important works published since 1995. There is no reference, for example, to George Marsden's outstanding biography of Jonathan Edwards, which was published last year. Overall, this is a very valuable distillation of the broad and impressive body of scholarship concerning these fascinating people.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very good introduction (4.5 *s), November 14, 2007
This review is from: The Puritan Experiment: New England Society from Bradford to Edwards (Library of New England) (Paperback)
The Puritans of late 16th century England could not abide the traditional and passive religious practices of the Church of England as dictated and performed by its clergy and bureaucracy. For them religion was all consuming and demanding not only within churches but in day-to-day lives. As Calvinists they could only hope to atone for the condition of man as deserving of damnation by leading godly-inspired lives. It was in fact such determination and need that led the Puritans to overcome tremendously difficult circumstances to establish hoped-for exemplary religious communities in New England beginning in the early 17th century.
The evolution and subtle religious differences of those New England communities and the greater ramifications of such are the focus of the author. The systems of governance are also closely examined especially in terms of enforcing the religious standards of the communities. The Massachusetts Bay community established in 1630 garners the most attention, although Connecticut, New Haven, Plymouth, and Rhode Island are well covered. The author's narrative continues through the Great Awakening of the 1740s.
Most of the male residents of the colonies participated in selecting government officials, but more so to reinforce legitimacy than as an expression of democracy. Leaders were deferred to, not challenged. The New England Puritans were for the most part Congregationalists which permitted churches much leeway in their religious practice. However, there were core religious tenets of the Puritans which had to be subscribed to, such as the concept of predestination. Initially, persistence in deviant views led to punishments and/or banishment from a colony. Later, more profound challenges to Puritanism, such as that by the Quakers, actually led to executions. Gradually, over the course of the century, Puritan religious practices broadened in response to events and dissenting views - for example, the practice of baptism. The calls for liberty that resounded in revolutionary America seem to have little precedent in Puritan New England.
The author shows in some detail how the political turmoil in 17th century England, especially the restoration of Charles II and the Glorious Revolution of 1688, impacted the Puritan colonies primarily in terms of changes in religious emphasis and the shape of governance including shifts in the standing of colonial charters. The amicable relations that the Puritans had with the natives of the region for several decades completely deteriorated with King Philip's War of 1675-76. Thereafter, racist views began to predominate.
Despite its relative brevity, the book covers a lot of ground concerning the first one hundred years of the history of New England. Many of the leading citizens of the era are identified. Without being a religious tract, the book is strongest in describing the basics of Puritanism, its different strains, and its controversies. The book much like the Puritans starts to run out of steam at the turn of the century, but is nonetheless a very good introduction to Puritanism and the Puritans.
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13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An insightful look at a noble people, May 19, 2006
This review is from: The Puritan Experiment: New England Society from Bradford to Edwards (Library of New England) (Paperback)
The Puritans are often maligned today as a 'narrow minded' 'intolerant' group of religious 'extremists' who hanged people they believed to be Witches and actually banned Christmas
This book shows them in a more honest light. A people who as a group did their flawed best to form a just and honest society. They actually managed to achieve it.
This is the story of the people whose ideology actually became the foundation of this nation.
Easy to read. The material is easy to understand. A good book to have for anyone interested in Colonial American history or for that matter insights into how groups work.
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