If Jesus and J.P. Morgan sat down to write a social history of
early New England, this would be it. Innes (History/Univ. of
Virginia; Work and Labor in Early America, not reviewed) deftly
combines religious and economic historiography to tell the story of
those who, armed with a "moral capitalism," created in New Canaan a
worldly society out of God's word. Innes argues that the particular
strain of Protestant worship that the Puritans brought with them to
Massachusetts Bay contained within itself the formula for a
capitalist state and the ingredients for the early colonial
theocracy's undoing. A culture of discipline imbued each aspect of
Puritan life with holy significance. Every act, personal or
professional, had as its aim the celebration of God, and labor was
no exception: Raising one field of corn glorified God, but raising
two fields glorified him more. To signify their righteousness,
Puritans thus set to their daily tasks with holy zeal. But such
discipline brought wealth, prosperity, and success, which in turn
brought the Puritans face to face with a dilemma. As Innes puts it:
"Piety produces industry, which produces wealth, which produces
status conflicts and worldliness." To abandon their formulation
would be to abandon the very definition of New World Christianity,
but to continue to pursue it would be to corrupt their religious
community slowly from within. The author dramatically delineates
the theocracy's slow unwinding as reflected in the sermons and
speeches of the Puritan fathers, showing bow Puritan society moved
inexorably from righteousness towards worldly prosperity. Though
his thesis is a familiar one, Innes gives new strength to an old
idea, exploring the myriad ways in which the Puritan ethic became
the capitalist's greed. (Kirkus Reviews)
Marshaling rich new evidence, Innes focuses on enterprise in early
New England and its relation to the prevailing culture of
Puritanism. He finds in our beginnings at Massachusetts Bay a
fierce devotion to God that fed a social commitment to engage th
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