How did the Puritans form their society in the New World?

The Church of England was established as a result of King Henry VIII desire to divorce his wife, Catherine of Aragon. This was because he was determined to have a son to take over the throne but she produced a daughter. The Catholic Church would not allow King Henry to divorce her so he came up with his own denomination for the entire nation to follow in 1535. With the newly founded Church of England, King Henry VIII declared that England's monarch would be the absolute head of the Church. Despite the frowned upon cause of the establishment of the Church of England, it was a new start for people who were becoming unhappy with the corruptness of the Catholic Church (http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/cofe/cofe_1.shtml). 

The separation from the Catholic Church did not please everyone. Soon after the new church was formed, people were becoming dissatisfied with the leadership and morals just as they were with the Catholic Church. They disagreed with the idea of corrupt leaders in the Catholic Church such as the Pope. But replacing the Pope with a King, whose main motivation was strictly political, did not keep them from speaking out against the Church of England. They believed religious leadership should come solely from scripture.  These people were known as Puritans. The Puritans, fearing persecution from the Monarch and other followers of the Church of England, decided to re-establish the Church and move to a place where they could freely practice their religion without the corruption of the government getting in their way. They did not wish to separate themselves from the Church of England but to reform it in their own society. They wished the "purify" it and turn the Church into was it was like during the time of Christ. To ensure there would be no corruption in their newly established church, the Puritans acquired their knowledge for their religion from reading the text of the Bible. People could interpret the text on their own. This was greatly different from the Catholic Church or the Church of England who had a more authoritarian structure with corrupt priests who might interpret the scripture to only benefit the Church or Monarch. Because the Puritans based their religion on the text, they stressed education which enabled them to become a complex and highly functional society in the New World (http://xroads.virginia.edu/~cap/puritan/purhist.html).

The leadership of the Puritans was generally based on class and education but every member of the congregation had to do their part for the community in the New World. Offices held within the Church and town were selected by community elections and legislation was established in town meetings. This was another way to prevent corruption in their purified society. The highest authority was always God's word from the Bible, but the Puritans came up with covenants to ensure the functionality of the community. The covenants bound the people of the community together. Since the Church was the only source of government, anyone who wished to break a covenant was not only banned from the Church, but their property was taken from them as well (http://public.wsu.edu/~campbelld/amlit/purdef.htm). 

I admire the Puritan's beliefs and boldness to take on the New World in order to freely practice their religion. They were highly educated which enabled them to form their own society and in their own sense, they accomplished purity to the best of their ability. Their extremely strict covenants and sometimes ridiculous interpretations of the Bible make me feel sorry for the people who were born into the society. Like the original Puritans who were persecuted in England for disagreeing with society's rules, the later generations probably had a difficult time accepting the extreme beliefs. The pressure of the community to live perfect lives one hundred percent of the time or risk damnation had to be stressful. The stress is what I believe brought about the dark reputation of the Puritans such as their witch hunts and extreme punishments for mild acts of mischief. 

What was life like for the Powhatan Indians during the time of John Smith's arrival?

The Powhatan people were not as primitive as I had imagined. The community worked together to form an unexpectedly sophisticated culture with the resources that were available. Unlike the traditional image of a Native American's shelter that we know as the tipi, the Powhatan people lived in sturdy structures that they called yehakins. These yehakins, which were made mostly from wood, kept families safe from the cold. Each family lived in their own yehakin and usually only spent time in it to sleep. A fire was kept burning at all times to keep insects away, keep the family warm, and it was thought to bring good luck (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcNIInL9gtY).

The men in the tribe were responsible for hunting and fishing. Deer, turkey, and other small game animals were commonly hunted using spears and arrows. Logs were hollowed out to form canoes to fish with and travel the many streams that wind through the Chesapeake region. The canoes were 50 feet long and made of cypress. It was a long process but necessary for transportation. The women harvested a variety of crops for their family. Outside of each yehakin was usually a garden. Corn, squash, beans, and sunflower seeds were grown in the gardens. Roots, nuts, wild plants, berries, and grains were consumed during the harsh winters.  The children had an easy life. Boys played around the gardens and kept animals out by throwing stones at them. Girls learned the skills it took to be an adult woman by helping their mother. Both the boys and the girls played together and didn't take on much responsibility until they were young adults. Marriage took place around age fourteen and boys chosen to be leaders had to endure many trials of isolation and hardships in order to prove themselves worthy of the position (http://ab.mec.edu/jamestown/gljpivcc.html).

The Powhatan men generally wore very little for clothing. Animal hide or grass covered the area between their thighs. The people were not afraid to be exposed to the rest of the community. Men with high status would were a garment similar to a shirt made of deer skin. The right side of the men's head was shaved to avoid getting their hair caught in their bow while hunting. The other side of their head had long hair that was decorated with braids and beads. Women wore fringed deer skin as a skirt. The younger girls had to shave the sides of their heads and had long dark hair in the center that was braided. Tattoos were very popular with the Powhatan people which decorated much of their bodies (http://virginiaindians.pwnet.org/culture/clothing.php).

Religion was a major part of the Powhatan society. They had several gods that represented much of nature, but their main god of worship was named Okee. Kwiocosuks acted as shamans who were the spiritual leaders. They lived apart from the rest of the village in huts called Quiocosins. These Quiocosins were also the holy temples where many rituals took place. Rituals took place for eating, hunting, male iniatition, killing of prisoners, and many other activities the people felt necessary to please the gods for. The Powhatan were resistant to be converted to Christianity until the eighteenth century. Most of the Indians in the region today are Southern Baptist (http://encyclopediavirginia.org/Religion_in_Early_Virginia_Indian_Society).

Hi! My name is Brent Books and I like to party. The first question people usually ask me is if I enjoy reading because of my last name. I would rather be doing something with my own life rather than reading about someone else's ideas or stories. However, if I need to read something, I guess I can. The reason I decided to attend JSU was to compete on the rifle team which has been very successful this year.  

 I live over 800 miles away in Pennsylvania. My high school's mascot is a berry. During breaks, I work as a cook in a steakhouse. I enjoy shooting guns, riding my motorcycle, and travelling. I love being outside especially while I'm in Alabama. The weather is much more tolerable here than in PA.