Who Were the Puritans, Really?

As Thanksgiving rolls around, so does talk of the Puritans, those famously grim-faced settlers who fled England and hosted the iconic 1621 feast. Over the centuries, they’ve become shorthand for all things prudish and repressive, even lending their name to the word puritanical. But were they really as uptight and joyless as we’ve been led to believe?

According to the Christian History Institute, the answer is: not quite.

The Puritans were English Protestants who emerged in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, frustrated with the lingering Catholic elements in the Church of England following the Reformation. Some, like the Pilgrims who sailed on the Mayflower in 1620, broke away entirely, seeking religious freedom — but not the kind we think of today.

They weren’t champions of pluralism. In fact, the Puritans were focused on creating a “godly” society, a New Jerusalem where their strict interpretation of Christianity would guide every aspect of life. They banned Christmas, saw Quakers as dangerous dissenters, and viewed idolatry lurking in many cultural practices. For them, suffering was noble, and hardship was evidence that they were doing the Lord’s work.

And yet, the popular image of the Puritans as colorless killjoys isn’t accurate.

They wore colorful clothes (black dye was expensive and reserved for special occasions), painted their homes in vibrant hues, and wrote poetry, made jokes, and, surprisingly, drank quite a bit. In fact, by some estimates, the average Puritan consumed more alcohol per capita than Americans do today, though they frowned on drunkenness.

So where did the myth of the dour, humorless Puritan come from?

Partly, it’s thanks to critics like journalist H.L. Mencken, who, during the Prohibition era, asked: “Whom do we blame for this Victorian America we live in?” The Puritans, he decided — and the label stuck.

In reality, the Puritans were a complex people: visionary and intolerant, devout and human, capable of both sternness and joy. They didn’t always live up to their ideals, but they believed — deeply — that their experiment in the New World mattered.

This Thanksgiving, as we pass the stuffing and give thanks, it’s worth remembering that the Puritans left more than just myths behind; they left a legacy of conviction, contradiction, and a community that helped shape American identity.