The Literature of Colonial America 1620-1776.
The early religion of the colonies was one based primarily on Puritan dogma. The Puritans were a fundamentalist group who felt that the church had become corrupt and that it was the scriptures not the trappings that were important to the religion. Finding no tolerance for their views in Europe they chose to risk their fates in the colonies where they could institute the biblical paradise that they believed in so strongly. Among these early Puritans were the fabled pilgrims who founded Plymouth colony and countless others that followed. .
Puritan Beliefs.
The Puritan belief system was a harsh one which felt that all men were fundamentally evil because Adam, in his original sin, had broken his covenant to God. However, they also believed that a certain select group were descendents of Abraham and thus were eligible for a second covenant that allowed them to receive God's mercy. Thus a paradox was created. Although the Puritans believed in the fundamental equality of man, a spiritual upper class consisting of ministers and patriarchs was created and ruled their makeshift divine kingdom with fervor.
Puritan Literature.
The Puritan literary legacy is not one renowned for its aesthetic virtue. Instead it depicts the hard life that came from living in the underdeveloped American Colonies. Much of it was religious or fundamentally practical in nature. There was not much leisure time for sitting around and writing. One author commented that his ink had a tendency to freeze while still in the vial.
Native Americans.
The Puritan relationship with the early Americans was tenuous at best and downright vicious at worst. Some felt that they were remnants of the Lost Tribes of Israel while other simply believed that they were hell spawn. Thus in a typical fashion conversion or destruction was the basis of Puritan foreign policy with the Natives. The Native Americans, for their part, were equally mystified by the European colonists.
