Politically, the Puritans helped by the idea of a representative government and that the church elected the reverend. But, perhaps the largest contribution by the Puritans was their experiment with democracy which is still what Americas government is today. Without Puritan ideas, the American government would not work the same as it does today.
Economically, the Puritans worked together within a society to increase the wealth of the community. Also, individually owned farms were common to produce wealth for those families. Fair priced goods were idealistic in New England in the 1600’s. Altogether, economic values helped greatly in the development and growth of the New England colonies in the 1600’s.
Religion helped shape the social development in the New England colonies. The colonies had more literate citizens than the others because the Puritans believed that having an illiterate minister and church would not be beneficial to the community. The Puritans also founded schools such as Harvard to teach the young men of the community to be literate.
It is clear that the Puritans values and ideas helped shape the New England colonies through their strict leadership in church, the economy, the community, and the government.
As mentioned in Document C, “We bind ourselves to study the advancement of the gospel in all truth and peace; both in regard of those that are within or without [church membership]…” In this excerpt from The Salem Covenant, the authors discuss the idea