This first group of people had been living in self-exile in Leyden, Holland. They were known by 3 different names, their leader William Bradford called them Pilgrims, those who held them in contempt called them Brownists, and to King James and his court they were known as Separatists (Williams, 48). They were forced to leave England, because their complete and unchanging belief that religion should be completely free from government. They became tired of Holland, because of their poor worship of the Sabbath, and were ready to find a new place to live, but only 35 were brave enough to go to the America, they were joined by 66 people from London.

Their desired destination is not known, but they ended up landing at Cape Cod. After some exploring surrounding land the Pilgrims chose Plymouth Rock as their permanent settlement (Williams, 52). Although the first year almost half of the population died, by 1632, 11 years after the beginning thei

In 1652 Massachusetts began coining her own money and officially proclaimed to be an independent commonwealth. But with New England's founders dead and the turn of events in England this was Massachusetts's last grasp at Independence. William Bradford, one of the first Puritans in New England and Governor of Plymouth died after 37 years of service to New England and all of the Puritans (Williams, 215).

Puritans, like all Protestants, believed in predestination; God, they declared, had determined in advance who was to be saved and who was to be damned (Morgan, 67). A person's fate was therefore decided before they were born, and their progress in the world either in the direction of salvation or the direction of damnation was simply the unfolding of a mandate before they were born. Calvin believed that it was impossible to for a reliable opinion about whether or not a moan is one of God's selected, one of those destined for salvation. He had although furnished a number of clues by which concerned Christians could predict their chances. Calvin made it clear, for one thing, that justification depended on faith, not works, and that sanctification was the product of justification rather than the cause of it (Morgan, 67). Sanctification, therefore, though it could not in itself assist a man toward salvation, could be a sign that he was saved (Morgan, 67).

The Puritans in Massachusetts although had similar beliefs ran their churches differently from the Separatists. Puritans in Massachusetts all believed that from the beginning church membership should be limited to those who could demonstrate by a narrative of the religious experiences that they had received saving faith (Morgan, 65). Separatists' churches in Holland or Plymouth required any similar test. It is unknown where, when, and how the belief and the practice did originate of testing prospective members of the church for signs of saving grace, and therefor attempting to make the visible church a spiritual approximation of the invisible church (Morgan, 65). In this instance the Separatists churches in Plymouth mocked the Puritan churches of Massachusetts instead of the other way around.

In 1629 Deacon Samuel Fuller of Plymouth visited Salem, and John Endecott, found out that his and Fuller's view of the church closely resembled the others. A little while later the Salem church was founded. In 1630 when the next churches were bein formed, Fuller visited again the Bay area, accompanied by Edward Winslow, one of Plymouth's acknowledged leader. The two conferred with the Massachusetts people about church matters, and it is believed that the Separatists Puritans converted the Salem men to Congregationalism and that Salem men converted the rest of the Massachusetts settlers.

The man who settled Massachusetts Bay belonged to a group of Puritans who believed like the Separatists in the way they organized the people in their church, but differed in that they believed the churches of England, while corrupt, to still be true churches. They did not separate from the Church of England and condemned the Separatists for doing so (Morgan, 65). The majority of Puritans believed like this, that the churches of England were true churches, just required reform (Morgan, 65).

Puritans made many settlements and had trade routes in between the cities. Inside of the cities life was organized and run very strictly. The church was the government and controlled everything under strict rule. They believed punishment for everything should be

Some common words found in the essay are:
Church England, Holland Plymouth, Puritans Massachusetts, England England, Congregationalism Salem, Puritans Protestants, John Winthrop, Plymouth Rock, Robert Child, Practices England, church england, morgan 65, puritans massachusetts, church membership, saving faith, separatists puritans, morgan 67, saving grace, anglican church, puritans england, believed churches england,
Approximate Word count = 2359
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)