Constitutional Government

• The first Puritans were members of the Church of England who wanted to reform or "purify" the church and the English government to ensure that both were based on the teachings of the Bible. The English Civil War of 1642 to 1649 resulted in a Puritan victory and the overthrow of the monarchy. When the monarchy was eventually restored, its powers were limited and balanced by a stronger Parliament. The modern British system of a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy is a legacy of the Puritan Revolution.
  
  

The Massachusetts Body of Liberties

• Some Puritans seceded from the Anglican Church to found the Congregationalist church of New England, the church of the settlers of Masachusetts. In 1641, the Massachusetts Bay Colony adopted a list of 93 civil rights known as the Body of Liberties. The Body of Liberties was ahead of its time in several respects, including provisions banning spousal abuse (Liberty 80), child abuse (Liberty 83) and animal abuse (Liberty 92). The Body of Liberties established the concept of a legal guarantee of civil rights in the land that would later become the United States and foreshadowed the Bill of Rights of the American Constitution.
  
  

Puritan Independence

• The Puritans in early New England believed that church congregations should be independent, with the freedom to select their own ministers. Individual believers should read and study the Bible rather than simply having it explained to them in church. This emphasis on the independence of both the congregation and the individual believer influenced the development of the New England Town Meeting, a form of direct democracy still practiced in some towns.
  
  

Importance of Education

• Because of the Puritan emphasis on individual Bible study, the Massachusetts colony was the first government to require parents to educate their children. From 1642 onwards, parents were obligated to teach their children how to read and write. In 1647, every town with more than 50 households was required to maintain a public school.Towns with more than 100 households were also required to maintain a college preparatory school.