The Puritan Experiment

A revised and updated edition of a classic text on the early Puritans. First published in 1976, The Puritan Experiment is an accessible, authoritative account of early New England, one with an enduring appeal for students and general readers. This revised and updated edition explains Puritanism while incorporating fresh insights from current scholarship.

Beginning with the Act of Supremacy in 1534 and ending with Jonathan Edwards’ death in 1758, Francis J. Bremer examines the causes and contexts of the Puritan movement and analyzes the religious, political, sociological, economic, and cultural changes wrought by the movement in both Old and New England. From meeting house architecture to Salem witch trials, from relations with Native Americans to the founding of the nation’s first colleges, he details with style and grace “a living system of faith” that not only had profound significance for tens of thousands of Englishmen and Americans in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, but also affected the course of history in the New World. This edition includes new information about lay empowerment, the role of women, Native society, and the enslavement of Native Americans and Africans.

Author Biography

Francis J. Bremer is professor emeritus of history at Millersville University. He is the author of John Winthrop: America’s Forgotten Founding Father; Building a New Jerusalem: John Davenport, a Puritan in Three Worlds; and One Small Candle: The Plymouth Puritans and the Beginning of English New England, among other titles.