Paper on Puritans and Sex free essay sample

Puritans and Sex Essay In The Puritans and Sex by Edmund S. Morgan, the author explores some of the stereotypes and misconceptions about the puritans and their thoughts on sex. Many people believe that the puritans thought that sex was something to be frown upon and was a necessary evil. However after reading this article your opinion may be changed. The Puritans and Sex should be read by students of an American history course because it offers deeper insight of the puritans’ view of sex. The article begins by stating that the puritans came to America to set a model for the Anglican Church. In order to accomplish this, the puritans had to have many laws that were supposed to be met with harsh punishment. Among these laws were many against sexual crimes, which were among the most frequent crimes. Despite the numerous laws discouraging adultery and other sexual actions the puritans did not discourage sex, on the contrary the puritans believed that â€Å"the use of the marriage bed is founded in man’s nature†(p 18) and that if people were denied sex that it would lead to other, worse crimes such as bestiality. We will write a custom essay sample on Paper on Puritans and Sex or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Sex was actually encouraged inside of marriage so much that it could be considered slander if one man said that another was not having sex regularly with his wife. Sex outside of marriage was met with punishments such as whippings or in a few rare cases, death. Precautions were taken to help lessen the chances of these offenses occurring, â€Å"One precaution was to see that children got married as soon as possible†(p 26) and once married puritan did everything they could to assure the marriage was going well. Even though there were harsh punishments for crimes â€Å"no offense, sexual or otherwise, could be occasion for surprise or for hushed tones of voice†(p 19) The puritans, although they were trying to create a godly community did not delude themselves to the fact that they were still human and that these things were bound to happen. They actually had a certain amount of sympathy and understanding. They were so understanding that the charges in one domestic violence case, where a man had beat and kicked his wife, were dropped because the court thought â€Å"[hey, maybe she had it coming]†(p 27) I believe students should read this article because it shows the method to the madness of the puritans. Pretty much all my life I had not cared to even bother to really study the puritans because I thought I had known everything I needed to know, which was that they were extremely boring, gave the death penalty for any behavior they particularly did not care for, and never did anything wrong. Although I still do not wish to become an expert on puritans I now have a very different look on them. The author’s purpose was â€Å"to point out the puritans, those bogeymen of the modern intellectual, are not responsible for [the squeamishness of the facts of life]. † (p 17) The author was very successful in his objective. The author’s use of actual court documentations furthers the author’s effectiveness. Anyone can just say that people have it all wrong about the puritans but the historical proof is what really changed my perception. The Puritans and Sex offers insight into the reasoning behind the puritans feelings and laws toward sex. The author uses historical evidence to help show that the puritans were humans just like everyone else. After reading this my views on the puritans have changed and I recommend it to anyone taking an American History class.