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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This 6 page paper uses the work of two historians, John Demos and Edmund Morgan, to explore life in Colonial New England. Bibliography lists 2 sources.
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6 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_HVFamCol.rtf
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that we dont question our perceptions; that is, we "know" that the Puritans were harsh and judgmental, for instance. But what if our perceptions are incorrect? This paper uses John
Demoss popular book A Little Commonwealth: Family Life in Plymouth Colony and Edmund Morgans The Puritan Family to see what these historians suggest life was really like in the Colonies.
Discussion Demos, whose 1970 book is still in print, concentrated on the Plymouth colony. To do this, instead of rehashing previous scholarship, he went back to the original source documents
such as probate records, wills and legal documents to see what he could find about Puritan life. He was one of the first to employ what we might call a
"social" approach to history, examining details of daily live and drawing reasonable inferences. Demos begins the book with an interesting thought experiment: he asks us to sit in a "high-backed
chair" and look at other objects (Demos, 2000, p. 20). Because they are familiar, we assume we know how they were used, but do we? As an example, he considers
the sieve: "Its everyday function seems transparently clear; presumably there has been little change in this regard from 1650 to our own day" (Demos, 2000, p. But this common kitchen
tool was also "used by conjurers magicians in obscure ceremonies of fortune-telling" in the 17th century, thus making adding extra meaning to it (Demos, 2000, p. 20). He also points
out the presence in many households of a number of books, which makes little sense in a semi-literate population (Demos, 2000). Why did the Puritans have them? Were they valuable
in themselves? Good financial investments? Status symbols? (Demos, 2000). He doesnt know, and cant explain: "[I]n the narrative that follows, little enough will appear to throw light on such questions,"
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