Encyclopaedia of the Social Sciences PURITANISM, a term with a wide variety of connotations, is applied most often to those group movements of the sixteenth and seven- teenth centuries in England and the United States which attempted to arrive at a purified Lutheran doctrine had been insistence on imme- diate contact between the individual soul and God. Puritanism endeavored to remove all hin- drances to this contact. It distrusted hierarchical ‘ecclesiastical organization and elaborate cere- monies and vestments, and was disposed to seek guidance solely in the teaching of the Bible and to deny the value of ecclesiastical tradition. ‘The term Puritan first appeared in England about 1566. In 1567 a secret conventicle met at Plumbers’ Hall in London to use the Genevan, order of service instead of the Book of Common Prayer. A foreign observer wrote from London in 1568 that there had been discovered “‘a newly invented sect, called by those who belong to it ‘the pure or stainless religion,’” The Puritans began by criticizing ecclesiastical vestments and ritual and by expressing a preference for Cal- vinistic dogma. They then passed to a criticism of the existing system of church government. During the session of 1576 the House of Com- mons, which was becoming Puritan in sym- pathy, considered an abortive scheme for trans- ferring ecclesiastical authority from the crown and bishops to more democratic bodies. After 1580 Presbyterian organization increased, and the units known as “classes” were established in various parts of the country. There occurred also a growth in the numbers and pretensions of the Independent sects. In 1575 the Spanish ambassador referred to the presence of Anabap- tists and “many other sects” in London, and in 1581 Browne and Harrison set up an independ- ent, self-governing congregation at Norwich. Opposition to the bishops became more violent and in 1588 the scurrilous Martin Marprelate tracts were published. By the end of the teenth century the main lines of the historical development of English Puritanism were laid down. In comparison with its continental and Scottish prototypes it implied rather a way of life and habit of mind than a fixed and definite doc- trine and system of church government. Presby- terianism and Independency, the latter itself a comprehensive term, counted among their ad- herents only a part of the total number of English Puritans. By the end of Elizabeth’s reign it had already become apparent that Puritanism had special affinities with certain sections of the commumty. It struck its deepest roots among the rising middle classes, who were conscious of their growing importance in the state and eager to remove whatever barriers stood in the way of a full development of their powers. The reason for this affinity is not easy to discover or define. It was due possibly to the attraction felt between broadly similar ideals and interests. Puritanism, with its insistence on the importance of the individual and on the expression of faith through a righteous and industrious way of life, found a natural home among those classes which were engaged in carving out an improved position for themselves. Again, the affinity may have been due to the fact that Puritanism was to them an enchanted mirror, in which they saw an enhance- ment of their own particular virtues. Whatever the cause of the connection, its consequences were far reaching. ‘The importance of this connection became apparent first in the political sphere. During Elvzabeth’s reign it was noticeable that the most stalwart champions of parlamentary rights were the Puritan members of the House of Commons. ‘This was partly because the Puritans hoped to introduce a reformed religious polity by means of parliamentary legislation. In 1576 Peter Wentworth, one of the Puritan members, was committed to the Tower by order of the House itself for making a too outspoken plea for free- dom of speech in Parliament and for criticizing the power of the bishops. In 1587 he again spoke on similar lines in support of the proposals for alteration of the prayer book brought forward by another Puritan member, Cope. As a result of an interview with the Privy Council, Went- worth, Cope and three other members were ordered to the Tower. The House of Commonswhole began to show itself increasingly Puritan in sympathy. In 1584 it drew up a peti- tion for ecclesiastical reform which revealed Presbyterian tendencies and which questioned the legality of the proceedings carried on by the Court of High Commission against Puritan offenders By the beginning of James 1's reign the connection between Puritanism and parlia- mentarianism was widely discermble ‘The king greatly increased both his religious and his po- Iitical difficulties by adopting an intransigent attitude toward the Mallenary Petition and the Hampton Court Conference. Parliament sup- ported the petitioning ministers in 1604 and in 1610 reiterated its request for a purification of religion and the abolition of the Court of High Commission. When James turned a deaf car, Parliament retaliated by refusing or stint- ing supplies. The bishops, already criticized 1n their ecclesiastical capacity, now became doubly hateful as champions of the royal prerogative in opposition to parliamentary claims During the eleven years of personal government discon- tent with the government’s ecclesiastical policy spread Using the weapons of the Court of High Commission and the Metropolitical Visitation, Laud endeavored to enforce complete religious conformity. In doing so he frequently vio- lated individual hberties and roused indignation among men outside the Puritan ranks. The fusion of political and religious grievances did much to precipitate the civil war. In the social and economic sphere the affinity. between Puritanism and the middle classes was particularly well marked and significant. While Puritanism was widely diffused and was not peculiar to any one class or locality, itis evident that its most numerous and enthusiastic ad- herents were among the middle trading classes. Roland Usher in The Reconstruction of the Eng- ish Church (2 vols., New York 1910) has con- ducted a statistical inquiry into the distribution. of Puritan ministers in England in the first decade of the seventeenth century. Of the 281 munisters whose names are known 35 belonged to London and Middlesex, where a very large proportion of the middle trading classes were congregated; 96 to the important manufacturing counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex; 29 to Northamptonshire, a county of prosperous farm- ers; 17 to Lancashire, which was becoming increasingly important as a center of the clothing industry; and only 104 to the reat of the country. Usher aiso estimates that the strength of the Puritan laity lay chiefly in the economically ad- Encyclopaedia of the Social Sciences vanced area of the southeast and midlands, showing its greatest strength in the weaving towns. This statistical evidence is confirmed and supplemented by contemporary opinions. “Free- holders and Tradesmen,” said Richard Baxter, “are the Strength of Religion and Civility in the Land; and Gentlemen and Beggars and Servile Tenants are the Strength of Iniquity.” The course of the civil wars in England made it ‘unmistakably clear that Puritanism was strong- est among the middle classes, especially in the towns. London supported the parliamentary cause vigorously and became known es “the rebellious city.” The clothing towns of Lan- cashire were Puritan and parliamentarian, de- spite the existence of a surrounding Roman Catholic countryside, In Yorkshire, Bradford, Leeds and Halifax; in the midlands, Birming- ham and Leicester; in the west, Gloucester, Taunton and Exeter, were all Puritan strong- holds. Puritanism was therefore strongest among, those classes which for economic reasons ob- jected to the restrictions imposed by monarchi- cal and Anglican rule, Thus spiritual conviction and economic interest reacted upon and reen- forced each other Puritanism was a factor common to the most vigorous opponents of prerogative power in politics, religion and trade. Its binding influence helped to unite the different parties and inter- ests against a common foe and to give them a zeal which they might otherwise have lacked, Broadly speaking, the ideal of the Stuart gov- ‘ernment rested on a conception of divinely ap- pointed kingly power, exercised arbitrarily for the good of the state in all departments of life. To this, Puritanism opposed the ideal of vig- orous, untrammeled individualism, expressing itself freely in the House of Commons, throwing off restrictions in trade and commerce, and dis- pensing with traditional forms of authority in religion, although the conception of full religious freedom was not to develop until later. The whole theory and practise of monopolistic power was criticized, but the sphere in which it was attacked most vigorously was that of industry and trade. The custom of granting monopolies in the manufacture or sale of commodities was an important part of Stuart economic policy. While the grants were made with varying inten- tions, some of which were good, the economic consequences were nearly always disastrous. When the Long Parliament met these monopo- lies were attacked, some of them were called in and the system never regained its old vigor. InPuritanism 5 polities, the concentration of power in the hands of the ruler and a small circle of advisers had to give way before the claims of a partally repre- sentative Parhament, and some of the paper constitutions of the Interregnum attempted to diffuse the powers of government even more widely. In religion, the powers of the bishops were attacked by Puritans of all shades of opinion. John Lalburne in England's Birth-Right Justified (London 1645) and London's Liberty in Chains Discovered; a Postscript Written i the Tower of London (London 1646) traced a direct connection between the three main types of monopoly—that of the trading concerns, the Anglican church and the Stuart government— and declared that each bolstered up the others. In 1649 Puritanism traumphed Until then it had been concerned manly with the work of destruction and had been able to unite various elements within itself Now it became apparent that 1t was not homogeneous At one end of the scale was Presbyterianism, which represented stringent control on a democratic basis. At the other was Independency, which stood for indi- vidualism in all sts various forms. In between were men of a Puritan trend of opinion who refused to group themselves definitely under eather party, but who would be influenced by whichever group gained the strongest position Because of uncongenial features in English social stratification and political development Presby- terianism failed to establish itself, despite the efforts of the Scots. Independency, on the other hand, attained a wide and enduring influence. Although the monarchy and the Anglican church ‘were restored in 1660, Independent Puritanism persisted as a religion and still more as a way of life and type of outlook. In the political sphere its main influence was ended It had helped to bring about a rebellion whose chief objectives were successfully obtained and retained Future lines of political development owed hittle to the direct influence of Puritanism. In the religious sphere it combined with other factors to secure greater toleration. In the economic and social sphere its influence was exceedingly important. A particular type of character and way of life received a powerful stumulus. Puritanism now gave an unqualified blessing to the middle clase individualistic and economic virtues. The attrac- tion already felt between Puritanism and the middle trading classes increased after the victory of Independency, despite a temporary demo- eratic outburst during the Interregnum on the Part of some of the more extreme sects, An austere way of life and devotion to a “calling” which should be crowned with moderate worldly success became at once the ideal and the hall- mark of Puritans and of many others who adopted their view of life. ‘The reverse of this ideal was an attitude of stern reprobation toward those who failed to achieve such success. Pov- erty and failure, like frivolity and idleness, appeared the outward manifestations of an un- regenerate soul. It 1s not surprising that in the eighteenth century many of the pioneers of the industrial revolution were nonconformists, ‘The influence of English Purstanism was not confined to England. In the early seventeenth century the colonization of America was carried out mainly by Puritan settlers. The motives for colonization were mixed, the economic motive playing an important part. Following upon the economic changes of the sixteenth century a certain displacement of population had taken place, particularly in the more advanced eco- nomic arcas, where Puritanism was strongest. As in England, it was the role of Puritanism to act as a binding force and motive power among the settlers, In New England, 1t was possible for the Puritans to develop their ideals unhin- dered in a pecularly favorable environment which put a premium on the Puntan virtues. The soil was hard to cultivate but moderately fertile, the chmate fairly severe. To the west lay a great continent with vast resources to be discovered and exploited. In such an environ- ment the skilled and strenuous workman who represented the Purtan ideal would flourish, while the idle or incompetent would go to the wall. In later years unfettered individualism carried all before it, but in the early period of the New England settlements the side of Puri- tanism which favored stringent control was domunant. This was aue partly to the exigencies of the situation, partly to the religious zeal of the leaders. For a small band of settlers in un- known territory surrounded by enemies it was ‘expedient to pool resources and set lumits to in- dividual enterprise. Membership in the state was synonymous with membership in the church, and in his double capacity as citizen and church member every individual was criticized and con- trolled. Industry was enforced upon all settlers, but it had to be carried on for the good of the whole. Acts regulating wages were to be found in almost all the Puritan colonies. In Boston markets and sometimes gristmills were publicly regulated. The Massachusetts government at- tempted to impose a just price for all essential6 Encyclopaedia of the Social Sciences commodities, But from the first such regulations were difficult to enforce; and theocracy in Mas- sachusetts was weakened by the terms of the new charter of 1692, which substituted a prop- erty qualification for church membership as a basis for the franchise. ‘As in England the aspect of Puritanism which encouraged individual freedom triumphed. In the religious sphere this triumph was marked by the spread of Congregationalism. In the social and economic sphere it was marked by the de- velopment of economic individualism, backed consciously or unconsciously by religious sanc- tions and fostered by a growth in economic prosperity and general security which decreased the necessity for collective control. The repre- sentative attitude is illustrated in the works of Benjamin Franklin, the son of a zealous Puritan and himself influenced by the general Puritan outlook. Franklin lays down a series of maxims stressing the importance of profitable industry, and when asked why money should be so impor- tant replies with a Biblical quotation: “Seest thou a man diligent in his business? He shall stand before Kings” (Advice to a Young Trades man, Philadelphia 1748; also Autobtography, ed. by F, W. Pune, New York 1912). This religious sanction of profitable industry, with the feeling of assurance and stimulus which it gave, exer- cised an important influence on entirely secular men and activities and may be reckoned as one of the formative influences in the development ‘of the modern American conception of business, M. James See, RBFORUATION, PROTESTANTISM; SECTS; RELIGION; Ravioiovs INSTITUTIONS, CHRISTIAN, QUAKERS, RELI crovs Frexpom, INDIVIDUALISM; CAPITALISM; ASCET- icism, Bius Laws, Censorsitr, Leisure. Consult: Tawney, R. H, Religion and the Rise of Capatalism, Holland Memorial Lectures, 1922 (Lon- don 1926) ch. 1v; Weber, Max, “Die protestantische Ethik und der Geist des Kapitalismus” in his Ge- sammelte Aufsatze zur Religronssoxologte, 3 vols. (2nd ed. Tubingen 1922-23), vol. 1, t. by Talcott Parsons (London 1930) p. 95-128, James, Margaret, Social Problems and Policy during the Purstan Revolutton, 1640-1660 (London 1930); Niebuhr, H. R., The Social Sources of Denomtnationalism (New York 1929), es- pecially ch. iv; Select Statutes and Other Constttu- tronal Documents Illustratwe of the Reigns of Ehza- beth and James 1, ed. by G. W. Prothero (4th ed. Oxford 1913); Gardiner, 8. R, The History of the Great Cwvil War, 1642-1649, 4 vols. (new ed. London 1893) vol. i, p. 9-11, vol. u1, p. 203, and History of the Commomoealth and Protectorate, 1649-1656, 4 vols. (new ed. London 1903) vol. ii, ch xviii; Neal, Daniel, The Flutory of the Puritans, 5 vols. (new ed. by J. Toulmun, Bath 1793-97); Doyle, J. A., The Eng- lish in Amenca, 2 vola. (London 1887); Adams, J. T., The Founding of New England (Boston 1921); Schnei- der, H. W., The Puntan Mind (New York 1930). PUTNAM, FREDERIC WARD (1839-1915), American anthropologist. With practically no formal academic background, Putnam came under the influence of Agassiz, from whom he learned his methods of thorough inductive re- search. His interest shifted from ichthyology to American archaeology and ethnology and in 1874 he became curator of the Peabody Museum at Harvard University, where he remained for forty years. There he revolutionized American museum methods by inaugurating scientific ex- peditions; he emphasized that the methods of these expeditions should be determined not by the quantity of specimens to be secured but by their scientific objectives. The excellent museum collections which he assembled manifest the variety of his interests in the history of mankind, Among the most outstanding are those on the antiquity of man in America: materials from the mound and village sites in Ohio and Wisconsin; extensive collections from Mexico and Central America; and archaeological and ethnologica collections of old New England. Putnam was appointed professor of American archaeology and ethnology at Harvard in 1886. In 1891 as chief of the ethnological section of the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago he was in- strumental in founding the Field Museum of Natural History and stimulated other institu- tions to carry on intensive field work among the ‘American Indians. After the exposition he or- ganized the anthropological work of the Ameri- ‘ean Museum of Natural History, where between 1894 and 1903 he extended field investigations beyond the limits of North America and devel- oped a comprehensive program of active acien- tific research. He was largely responsible for the foundation of the department of anthropology at the University of California, becoming pro- fessor and director of the anthropological mu- seum in 1903. Putnam's scientific activities were not con- fined to anthropology. As permanent secretary for twenty-five years, beginning in 1873, of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and as president of this organization in 1898 he played a significant role in shaping the policies of the association and in promoting the influence of science in the United States. Aurrep M. Tozer Consult: For complete bibliography of Putnam’s works, Mead, Frances H., in Putnam Anniversary