"PURITAN CONSERVATISM" (pp. 20-28)

I'm going to be very honest here... it's been a very long time since I've read this book, therefore I'm reading it again. The series was recommended to me by a couple of my college professors as I began to prepare to take the GRE's to attend grad school.  It's tough reading, but I learned a ton or two of great information.

However, this section on "Puritan Conservatism" is what I'll admit is pretty boring stuff. The author, Daniel Boorstin, is one of America's great historians. He earned a law degree (hence the detail he goes into in this section) from Yale, and has a Ph.D. in history from the University of Chicago. After a prolific career as a writer, he became the Librarian of the Library of Congress (is this redundant?). As I said, it's a little heavy reading, but I'm reading it along with you this summer. So please be frank, let it rip in the comment section! Tell me what you like, and what you don't (as I just did). Even if you "get" 10% of what Boorstin discusses, you'll be way ahead of the game.

For further guidance, go to the post entitled, "Directions." 

Therefore, let us cut to the chase. Skim this section looking for a couple of main ideas that I'd like you to share in the comments section (each of this "posts" will contain their own comment section). Before commenting, you'll have to register as a member of this blog. Scroll down to the very bottom of the comment section, and you should see a link to click on to register.

I only ask that you pay attention to Lechford's complaints against the Puritan church membership.

He also thought the church too democratic, why?

Also, what was the "Half-way Covenant" and what was it's purpose?

Georgia

There are 11 questions, please respond to as many as you can in the "comment" found at the bottom of each of the posts -- This post is entitled "Georgia."

1. How did Georgia become a victim of its own benefactors?

2. How did the "promotional" literature depict Georgia?

3. According to Boorstin, what was Percival's and Oglethrope's "one crucial mistake"?

4. What was the "purpose" of the colony of Georgia?

5. What role did the British government play in Georgia's "philanthropic" endeavor?

6. How did the colony of Georgia distribute land to its inhabitants?

-- How was this a mistake?

7. What was the reason blacks (slaves) were prohibited?

8. Describe the silk-making industry in Georgia?

9. Please pay special attention to the chapter entitled, "A Charity Colony."

10. In what specific say did the "universal ills of buraucracy: pettiness, arbitrariness [and] corruption" doom the colony?

11. What reasons were given in 1750 to allow slavery in Georgia?

Quakers

1. Comment on each of the following Quaker philosophies:

a. Belief in equality

b. Informality

c. Toleration

d. Martydom

2. Why did the Puritans treat the Quakers so poorly (use as part of your explanation the experiences of Mary Dyer)?

3. What was a characteristic of Quaker worship?

4. According to Boorstin, why didn't Quakerism become the dominant religion in America?

5. What problems arose of the Quakers in the "taking of oaths?"

6. What internal dilemmas did the Quakers face in their attempts to govern the colony?

7. What happened to Quaker rule in 1756?

8. List examples of Quaker legacies that can be witnessed by the 18th century.

9. What did Thomas Jefferson mean when he referred to Quakers as "Protestant Jesuits"?

10. What is meant by the Quaker description of themselves as, "dissenters in their own country"? 

11. See page 69 for an interesting quote.

12. Although Quakers were pacifists, how did Quakers deal with the constant warfare that surrounded them, and what role did Benjamin Franklin play?