Describe Puritan psychology and state how this has left an imprint on the modern American character.

 The ideas put forth by the Puritans are not simply an important starting point for American culture because they were the first in the country, but because they offered ways of thinking that are still ingrained in our culture today. Although many of the thoughts of Puritans have gradually dissipated or become less meaningful over time, it is important to note that Puritan writers and thinkers such as John Winthrop and Roger Williams offered ideas that were new at the time that stayed with the American consciousness-culturally, socially, and politically. 

Notions of freedom, liberty, and the role of religion within the state have long since been at the forefront of national debates. When the Puritans tonsidered Stich ideas, their thaghts and writings on the matter were never quite forgotten only shifted and modified to suit the taste of contemporary concerns. In “The Journal of John Winthrop” and waliahis Treatie. Che Bloody Tendtof Persatution for the Calsed.Conscience many ideas that are still present in modern American life and culture are brought forward and explored. By examining these writings, it becomes more possible to trace the philosophical development of America from the colonial to the modern period.

The idea of government and the coming onlinerty hale bien questions plaguing Arcticans since the time John Winthrop wrote in his journal in 1648. In many ways, the issues he addresses, most notably in the section of his journal containing his speech to the General Court, are the same that are alive in contemporary debates about the role of the government and what moral liberty means. In the beginning of his speech he states, “The great questions that have troubled the country are about the authority of the magistrates and the liberty of the people” and the modern reader cannot help but think about how such a statement resonates today. This shows that the Puritans paved the way for constantly questioning the political and moral foundations from the very beginning.

In addition to this more general notion about Puritan culture in early America, Winthrop brings forth the question of what true liberty means. While it differs from more contemporary notions, he does provide a valid starting point for American culture’s obsession with an ever-broadening and changing definition of liberty and freedom. For instance, Winthrop writes that there are two types of liberty: natural and civil. In terms of nature Winthrop writes in one of the important quotes from The Journal of John Winthrop. “Man, as he stands in relation to man simply hath the liberty to what he lists: it is a liberty to evil as well as too good. By making this claim he is building the foundations for later American ideas such as what freedom is and to what extent personal liberty should be allowed, particularly if the possibility of evil exists. Aside from this early allusion to more modern debates in America, Winthrop also puts forth the related idea about how liberty is something that is God-given.

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