Social+Conditions


 * The Legacy of the Puritans **

**Social conditions**
 Religious and secular education was a key element in the home, in the church and in the university. The puritans were an educated group

 The puritan family was the primary unit of social control; every individual was expected to be part of a household, and the head of the household maintained supervision. Single persons in town were looked down; in 1638, the Massachusetts Bay Colony required every town to dispose of them. If not, they must have consent from the town to stay. “Puritans organized their family around the unquestioned principle of patriarchy” (Steven Mintz & Susan Kellogg, Domestic Revolution: A Social History of American Family Life [1988], 9). “Their religion taught that family roles were part of a continuous chain of hierarchical and delegated authority descending from God.”

 Marriage was considered to be a free act, thus, parental influence was strong, but children could veto the parental choice. Economic self-sufficiency was an important factor for marriage and men had to win the girls’ father consent before courtship. Early New England settlers were thought as very religious, but they viewed marriage as a civil contract, not a religious contract. Therefore, Divorce was permitted and either wife or husband could petition for it. Desertion, however, was much more common than divorce.

 The infant mortality rate was high; 10-30% of all children did not live through their first year. Actually, less than two-thirds lived to age ten. Due to the theological beliefs about human nature and original sin, discipline was harsh. In the puritan view, parents’ primary task was to break down their child’s sinful will and build respect. Children were then forced to weekly catechisms, repeated admonitions, physical beatings, and psychological pressure to gain respect for authority. Laws in New England allowed the execution of stubborn and rebellious children sixteen and over. Nearly all children were sent out to live with another family to be a servant. The new family would then take responsibility for all needs.

 Sexual codes were very strict. However, in England in the late 16th century, 20% of all brides were pregnant at the time of the wedding. By the mid-18 century, premarital sex was much more common. A major issue that existed was the accepted view that legitimate sexual relations could begin at the time of engagement, rather than, waiting for the wedding. Penalties for sexual offenses included: public whipping, stand in the pillory, forced to wear a badge on the sleeve, being branded with a hot iron on the check (Nathaniel Hawthorne’s //Scarlett Letter)//, fines, and sometimes death for adultery.

 Anyhow, the south had a more relaxed attitude towards aspects of family and marriage. The south was settled more by detached males looking for fortunes than by families, like in the northeast. Also, settlers in the south lived more on isolated plantations than in dense villages.