Puritans

            A vast and untamed wilderness surrounded the first Puritans who landed in New England. Civilization was unknown in this land of dense forests and deadly natives. Yet, miraculously, these same Puritans were able to carve out of this wilderness an oasis for cultured learning, the poetic arts, and theological training. The Puritans were a group of English colonist who settled in America in 1558. They left England because of freedom of religion. The Puritans wanted to pray to their own church. They built their houses in dense forests. Some of the houses were big, most were small. Based on this desire Harvard University was founded - just one example of many Puritan cultural achievements.
             One of the beliefs of the Puritans was the devil, whom they feared. Witches and the devil's servants were always battling the Puritans. Anyone who didn't believe in the devil would be haunted by him for the rest of their lives.
             At each home they made clothes, tools, soap and many other everyday goods. Some of the town workers included: black smiths who made things out of metal like horse shoes, white smiths who made things like candles, joiners, who fashioned furniture from wood and cobblers, who crafted wood for tools and later became joiners. .
             The Puritans got their food sources from: hunting, fishing, and farming. They cooked their food. The first few winters they struggled through because of very little food. .
             The Puritans didn't like the way the English created new taxes, and Puritans saw this as taking away their independence. Because the Puritans felt that way they helped convince other colonies to rebel against England. For instance, an example would be the Boston Tea Party. After six years of battling England the British colonies won the Revolutionary War.
             On my stamp I want to show the reader what a normal day for the Puritans would be like. It would include: men chopping wood, black smiths creating horse shoes, and women and children cooking.