The impact of puritanism on american modern life.

Abstract

The USA is one of those nations which have succeeded in engraving its name with golden scripts. The USA is still a powerful country characterized by a very solid background. It seems evident that a part of the American success and glory could be traced back to earlier times, especially to the Puritans with their powerful and profound moral values. Puritanism forged a great part of the American identity for many centuries, remaining influential until the present day. Puritan values are considered a core element that shapes the American individual to the extreme till nowadays. The researchers have noticed that today’s Americans subconsciously still hold those puritan values. They have deduced that those puritan ideals are so hard-wired in the American psyche to form a subconscious mindset. The thesis used some of American presidential speeches and archives as original sources that expressed clearly the impact of those Puritan ideals on American individuals and society. As an example of these are some typical Puritan vocabulary like mission, calling, city on a hill; in addition to the rhetoric of the jeremiad which are still used by the USA presidents, especially, in times of crises as a means of persuasion to unite the nation. The analysis of data revealed that those Puritan values still shape the USA individuals and their society. It also shows that a great part of American success is mainly due to those ideals which still forge the American individual and make him particular. It is crucial to mention that Puritanism still has a hold on American’s psyche today and still influences American individuals consciously and subconsciously.