The Puritans

The Puritans

Just a few years after the Pilgrims’ first feast of thanksgiving in Plymouth, another group of people came to New England. They were called the Puritans. Like the Pilgrims, the Puritans left England because a king would not let them worship as they wanted. 

Multiple Choice

What group of people came to the New World after the Pilgrims?

• Puritans

• Jamestown

• Pilgrims

Multiple Choice

Why did the Puritans want to come to the New World?

• to become rich

• freedom of religion

King Charles I was happy to get rid of the Puritans. The king signed a paper called a charter, giving them permission to start a colony in Massachusetts Bay. 

Worship

means “to pray to and honor God. "

The Massachusetts Bay Colony was run by the Puritans, and not by the king of England. From the beginning, this colony was bigger than Jamestown or Plymouth. It began with a thousand men, women, and children! 

Multiple Choice

Which colony was bigger?

• Massachusetts Bay Colony

• Plymouth

Massachusetts Bay Colony was a little more successful from the start. The Puritans had brought lots of food and tools with them. They began building a city called Boston, as well as a number of towns. 

Multiple Choice

What city did the Puritans build?

• Boston

• Newton

This colony also did well because the Puritans made sure that everyone worked. Even young people had to work. The Puritans believed that children should be taught job skills they could use when they became adults. This way they would always be useful. 

Multiple Choice

The Puritans believed it was important for everyone to _______.

• teach

• work

• hunt

The Puritans also wanted their children to learn to read and write. They wanted everyone to read the Bible. Because education was so important to them, Puritan law said that every town must have a school. 

All the townspeople had to pay for the school and the teacher. We still pay for public schools this way. The Puritans also started Harvard College. 

Multiple Choice

What college did the Puritans start?

• Boston College

• Harvard

• Amherst

After a while, the Puritans and others began moving to areas farther away. New settlements began in what would become Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Hampshire. Before long, there were thirteen colonies. Although they didn’t know it at the time, the colonists were helping to create a new country—the United States of America. 

Multiple Choice

Are the Puritans the same people as the Pilgrims?

• Yes

• No

Multiple Choice

What do the Puritans and the Pilgrims have in common?

• They both wanted freedom of religion

• They both wanted to become rich