Puritan Blue Laws

July 20, 2015 — ancestors, blue laws, Colonial America, Plymouth Colony

Blue laws in Plymouth Colony were created to keep Sabbath exactly the way the Puritans wanted it to be kept.  The Puritans had no tolerance for other religious views, or for slacker Puritans.  The criminal justice system was used to fine and persecute those found guilty of profaning the Lord’s day.  It did not take much to arouse the ire of these founding fathers.  The laws evolved very slowly over time, but still represent a will to control what happens on Sunday. In Plymouth you would be fined for walking anywhere but to church from Saturday at sundown until Sunday at sundown.  This was a no laughing/no smiling kind of religious day and they were serious about preserving it.  The Pilgrims of the Mayflower would freak right out about the televised football games, a tradition many associate with Thanksgiving.