Alright, so I wanted to start of by saying that there is a distinct difference between the Pilgrims and the Puritans. Even though many use the two interchangeably, the two are not synonyms for each other. Both the Pilgrims and the Puritans disagreed with many things about the Church of England and both groups settled in large numbers in what is now Massachusetts. The Pilgrims were separatists who believed that the Church of England could not be reformed. Separatist groups were illegal in England, so the Pilgrims fled to America and settled in Plymouth. The Puritans however, were non-separatists who wished to adopt reforms to purify the Church of England. They received a right to settle in the Massachusetts Bay area from the King of England.
Now that we have that out the way, I shall move onto the more interesting things. The Puritans were obviously not actually as the Hollywood movies portray them to be. For many, the word "Puritan" provokes ideas of constant bible reading, no fun and dull colors. This is simply because that's what's depicted in the history books. While on the contrary, Not all Puritans wore only black-and-white with hats as tall as Abe's and flooding pants. Many painted their homes in multicolor, not only brown. In addition to this, many wore colorful clothing, drank alcohol in moderation, and even dated. The Puritans also danced and enjoyed life all together. They were human-beings not just zombie Jesus-Followers. But, God was the center of their Universe and they were completely obsessed with not wasting a second and in some cases, outlawed Holidays (even Christmas) because they saw them as a waste of time.
The Puritans were behind many witch trials, scares and hunts. The most famous of those occurred in Salem, Mass. Over the period of 10 months, 165 people were accused of being a witch in Salem. Also, in that same 10 month period, 150 people were put in prison. 19 young women were hanged in Salem accused of being a witch. One man refused to admit he was a witch and was crushed to death with stones as the authorities tried to get a confession. It is a common belief that witches were burned in Salem after being convicted, while actually they were only hung until dead.
300 years after these horrid events, the Governor of Massachusetts, Jane Swift, issued a proclamation that stated that those who were accused of committing "witch craft" or any wrong doing to others were innocent. This proclamation was issued on October 31, 1992. Today, there is a theory that identifies the cause of Salem's hysteria to be Ergot or Fungus Poisoning. While imagination also played a large role in the trials. Many falsely accused others out of greed and vengeance. Thus resulting in unjust convictions.
After the 17 century, the Puritans' attitudes and ethics continued to develop an influence on American society. They made a virtue of qualities that made for economic success and also influenced modern social and economic life. Qualities included: self-reliance, frugality, industry, and energy. Their concern for education was important in the development of the United States, and the idea of congregational democratic church government was carried into the political life of the state as a source of modern democracy.
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