Massachusetts+Act+of+1642

Back to Legislation English Puritans founded the colony of Massachusetts Bay in 1630 upon the belief that they could create a model commonwealth in the New World based on the Christian principles of faith in God and obedience to His will. They believed that Church and State worked best when linked closely together. Suffrage was granted only to those males who had "owned the covenant" before a congregation of "saints," the community of believers who cared for and watched over each other. Personal liberty was subordinate to civil liberty, which was the right of the individual to conform to the laws of the commonwealth. It was of utmost importance, then, that children be raised in proper ways to become useful, obedient members of the commonwealth. The Puritans believed that the best approach to educating the young was prayer and work. Masters who had charge of children apprenticed to them until they reached maturity were just as responsible as parents to inculcate proper Christian beliefs and respect for the civil authorities. In 1642, the General Court of Massachusetts assumed the responsibility of overseeing masters and parents in the education and employment of their apprentices and children. To the English Puritans of Massachusetts, such firmness seemed the only way to guarantee order in a religious commonwealth. ||
 * [[image:Massachusetts Act of 1642.jpg]] || ==**Massachusetts Act of 1642**==
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