Political views & religious Values
The Puritans were the main religious group in England. Unlike the Pilgrims they did want to not want to separate from the Church. They urged to change the Church of England. They believed in theocracy The Puritans wanted to make the Church of England more "pure." Theocracy is the belief that a government should be run by a religious subject or authority; usually pertaining to God. In 1628, a group of Puritans formed in New England, after the discovery of North America. The King of England gave them a charter to make a settlement along the Massachusetts Bay. A charter is a document. John Endecott ran this group in the settlement of Salem, Massachusetts. John Winthrop became the governor of the Puritan colony. The Puritans built small villages around their main town of Boston. The Puritans were allowed to make their own laws and decisions, usually in the meeting house located in the center of each Puritan town. Each meeting house allowed the men of the village met to make the laws and settle the problems of the community. Every child must read the bible, Puritans passed a law requiring parents to teach their children to read. Another Puritan law required large villages to have a school. Puritan children were taught how to read, write and do arithmetic. In villages with less than 50 families, children went to schools run by women in their homes.