The Relationship Between Puritans And Native Americans

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Puritans and Native Americans would often interact. Sometimes the interaction was good like trading, but for the most part, it was an argument. These arguments would occasionally turn into conflicts and sometimes into bigger fights. This distrust was shown in the book The Crucible. The people in this book would often mention the dangers that Native Americans caused. Sometimes it would be destruction of property or attacking the Puritans. The Puritans had to be careful of where they went because of the dangers that the Native Americans made. The Native Americans were not aggressive when they first met the Puritans, but over time they grew to hate each other and the fights started to break out. The Puritans and Native Americans each had their …show more content…
Witches were very bad, so the town would work together to remove anyone who was suspected to be a witch (Jennings 1). Townspeople would help out because Puritans believed that people were born bad, and had to earn a way into heaven by being good, and killed witches was a great way to do so ("Culture Clash: The Puritans" 1).The Puritans saw themselves as superior to the Native Americans. Part of this was because they thought the Native Americans were sent from the devil (Baker and Kences 1). Native Americans believed almost the opposite of what the Puritans did. They believed that everyone was equal, and no one was superior to another. The Native Americans were very creative about their religion. They found ways to turn their beliefs into ways of life. Simple things like cooking and cleaning were turned into religious traditions ("Culture Clash: The Puritans" 1). Native Americans cared more for each other, they would usually share goods and land. It was rare that they had personal items. Their societies ended up being much closer and trusting of each other ("Culture Clash: The Puritans" 1). Native Americans also believed in a God, but he was not the only thing that they worshipped. They thought of other things as sacred so they would worship living things like trees. They would also pray to and worship their dead ancestors("Culture Clash: The Puritans" 1). This belief broke the Puritans first commandment, which meant, in the eyes of Puritans, Indian societies were “Wallowing in Sin”("Culture Clash: The Puritans"