Hierarchy and Exclusion: The Construction and Maintenance of Order in First-Generation Puritan Massachusetts, 1630-1660

In 1630, a company of English Puritans established Massachusetts Bay Colony and, in doing so, the settlement that offered a foundation for life in Colonial New England. Facing great change, the colony\u27s leadership developed religious, economic, political and social devices to maintain control throughout the transition, thereby establishing a strict order that permeated the lives of all who settled. Those who sought to transcend their place in this order faced discipline in various ways, though the General Court doled out these punishments unevenly. The inconsistency of application of these devices allowed for progress in some areas but restricted growth in others. Puritans in Massachusetts Bay Colony thus stepped into a new world while still retaining the order of their lives from the old, transitioning to a new way of life and establishing a foundation for following generations