The puritans came to America to fee religious persecution from the Non-Anglicans of England. They wanted to purify and simplify the Church. They thought all men were sinners and it was al because of the original sin of the apple from the forbidden tree. These beliefs affected the writing of the time including William Bradford "Of Plymouth Plantation".
The puritans believed that the elite would go to heaven. The elite were the ones who did not sin. Therefore, whoever did sin would be "smited" by God. William Bradford shows an example of this when he speaks of a sailor "... who would always be condemning the poor people in their sickness and cursing them daily... But, 'it pleased God before they came half-seas over, to smite this young man with a grievous disease, which he died of in a desperate manner."…
