# data[].attributes.body
While I don't have any questions about the readings one thing that I couldn't quite wrap my head around is why anyone would treat children this way. I understand that this was most definitely a different time than what we live in now but I simply just don't understand

# data[].attributes.body
One of my favorite quotes was from Chapter 2 "When a slave ship arrived off the coast to take them away to the New World, "it was a most horrible scene; there was nothing to be heard but rattling of chains, smacking of whips, and the groans and cries of our fellow men."" by Ottobah Cugoano. I liked this quote because it allows the reader to see how descriptive that children could be and the horrors they had to witness

# data[].attributes.body
I feel like the author is arguing for the children by giving them a voice through his book. He shows the world what the children of the past had to say and he's arguing for their position in society. Therefore, one of his main arguments is that children need to be heard

# data[].attributes.body
The key aspects of Puritan childhood was being made aware of sin, learning the expectations, and most importantly to be kept away from immorality. Throughout childhood children were expected to earn their place by obeying the spiritual rules and they had to do this because infants and their souls were seen as doomed for torment in hell.

# data[].attributes.body
Seeing what childhood was like in the colonial era allows us to gain a deeper understanding of what certain peoples held valuable. The way people treat their children nourish what they want them to be when they get older. Such as the values Indians held compared to the Puritans. Puritans wanted submissive children and Indians wanted their children courage to flourish resulting in much different punishment systems. Therefore, allowing us to see what the first generation wanted the second generation to be

# data[].attributes.body
Much like my comment to the previous question the readers can also see the differences in religion and circumstance between Indians and Puritans which also affect the child rearing and experience that comes with it.

# data[].attributes.body
"The happiness of your life now depends on the continuing to please a single person" --Thomas Jefferson to his daughter Martha
This quote is so powerful because it shows how much a woman was expected to forget herself in order to please a man in this time period.

"Death, more preferable than life."    --Ottobah Cugoano
I found this quote to be very powerful. It really puts into perspective how terrible the slaves ships were if one would rather die. The entire section on slavery made me sick to my stomach because of how vividly this reading described the experience.

# data[].attributes.body
I believe the author wants to show us a new perspective on history. So many things that happened in our history were sparked because of how children were treated. The first settlers in America quite literally caused the Revolution through their treatment of children. It created a domino effect that only gained more power as time advanced.

# data[].attributes.body
Lack of childhood, emphasis on religion, fear of hell and sin, and a severely structured childhood.

# data[].attributes.body
By considering childhood, the roots of many of todays practices become apparent. In reading about how both Native Americans and Colonists practiced certain rituals such as a baptism, we can make a connection to present day America.

# data[].attributes.body
A colonial childhood depended on many factors. Gender, race, class, ethnicity, geography, and religion defined the childhood experience granted to an individual. A slave childhood was by far the worst childhood, but all childhoods came with their challenges and benefits.

# data[].attributes.body
The Great Awakening was a turning point that influenced childhood. It brought children and youth closer to religion at will because they wanted to be saved by divine grace. They were essentially being given a second chance.

# data[].attributes.body
I do not have any questions but it is hard to understand how Eunice, the child who would not go back to her family, could just forget about her whole family and leave them behind in the past.

# data[].attributes.body
"Cotton Mather saw eight of his fifteen children die before reaching the age of two. "We have our children taken from us," he cried out, "the Desire of our Eyes taken away with a stroke." "
I think this is a really meaningful quote because it shows the hardship of trying to start a family in New England at the time and how hard it was to loose a child. It also shows us how much parents care even though they were taught to be quite harsh on their children.

# data[].attributes.body
There were a few main arguments I found within the text. At the beginning of the reading the author focused on the difference between how the New England Puritans and Mohawks treated their children. Then the author went into more detail of child life in a Puritan house hold. This showed how hard the Puritan parents were on their children.

# data[].attributes.body
The key aspects of Puritan childhood are a strong paternal authority, working, religion (as to try to get rid of the corruption of the children through sin) , breaking children's sinful will, childhood corruption, child nature, schooling, viewing play and childhood as frivolous, and not sentimentalizing childhood. The Puritan children were taught to grow up fast, treat their elders with respect, and start working at a young age.

# data[].attributes.body
The childhood aspect of the Colonial Era shows a more harsh aspect of New England Puritans. When going to the new world it is shown as a better place compared to England and other European countries. Yet, for children it is harder due to the Puritans' mindset.

# data[].attributes.body
When thinking of how childhood differs due to regions and circumstances I focused on the Mohawks compared to the Puritans at the beginning of the text. The Puritans treat their children as soon to be adults and the Mohawks are more indulgent of children in comparison. In the Mohawk community children have harvesting (girl) and hunting (boy) duties instead of doing hard labor and being servants in the Puritan households. The Mohawk community also lets their children work at their own pace and treats them with kindness where as Puritans saw newborns as potential sinners.

# data[].attributes.body
A few turning points I saw were a 50% decline in real wages 1500-1620, Puritans rising in popularity in New England, and young people being more assertive. The decline in real wages caused more poverty and more children to be forced into work to support their families. Puritans rising in popularity caused parents to be stricter on kids and treat them like sinners. Young people being more assertive caused a moral panic for adults.

# data[].attributes.body
one quote i thought was very interesting and kind of shocking was "As early as possible, children were taught to prepare for death". It comes as a shock that in the time the puritans took out every instance of the fun and whimsical nature of childhood and changed it to molding their ideal human adult and were so dedicated to preserve their ideals by ingraining so deeply into their offspring.

# data[].attributes.body
I see it as the author is showing us threw the eyes of the youth and portraying the struggle they had not only to make it physically threw natural illnesses but mentally threw the harsh teaching of the puritans beliefs.

# data[].attributes.body
for the puritans the key aspects of childhood was teaching them to be aware of their sin and molding them to their ideal adult expectations through their beliefs. By harsh thorough teachings and cutting out all the "unnecessary" aspects of childhood such as sports and games.

# data[].attributes.body
Two of my favourite quotes come from chapter 1 of the reading, the first being “For puritans, the moral reformation of childhood offered the key to establishing a godly society”, as I feel it perfectly summarizes the puritans goals and reason for raising their children in such a demanding way. The second quote further emphasizes this point by stating “the chief task of parenthood was to break children's sinful will”. It shows that puritans did not believe childhood and adolescence was innocent and pure like many other societies, they believed it was foul and sinful, and that children must be molded in to religious members of society.

# data[].attributes.body
I do not have a question but I think it is so strange to see how children were treated back then, compared to how children are treated today.

# data[].attributes.body
The author displays a portrait of life for childhood in puritan society. Displaying and delving in to the core aspects of the maturing of children, as well as explaining the puritan mythos and reason behind treating children as sinful creatures. Showing that puritans believed childhood was something that should be grown out of as quickly as possible.

# data[].attributes.body
"Go into Burying-Place, CHILDREN; you will see Graves as short as your selves. Yea, you may  be at Play one Hour; Dead, Dead the next."--Cotton Mather
I really like this quote because it shows how children were expected to perceive death during this time period. Most of these children were not expected to make it past their first birthday and this quote shows how they were supposed to acknowledge the fact that they will most likely die at a young age.

# data[].attributes.body
The wants to show us how the childhood of someone in the seventeenth century is very different compared to someone's childhood today. Most children are not expected to make it past their first birthday which is hard to believe with the medical advancements of today. The author also wants people to see how societal norms have changed so drastically since this time period.

# data[].attributes.body
Children were made very aware of their own sinful nature, and were also made acutely aware of their own mortality. Children were forced to view hangings and were taught to be forever mindful of the 4 inevitable things, "Death, Heaven, Hell, and Judgement"

# data[].attributes.body
The childhood perspective shows puritans as being a society that truly placed God and religion above all else. Concessions are not made for defenseless and unknowing children, they most come to understand their own sinful nature as the puritans believed that children were the opposite of pure. The Childhood perspective reinforces the fact that the New England Colonies were extremely religious, but were also the first colonies to create mandatory schooling for their children, as they believed religious education was vital.

# data[].attributes.body
Children were expected to know that they were born sinners, and that they needed to accept their own deaths. Children were also expected to constantly study the Bible, pray, and sing psalms so that when they grew up they could teach their children the same things.

# data[].attributes.body
It drastically changes your perspective considering a lot of people see the new world of the colonies as being amazing and full of opportunities while for the children it was still a very harsh and grueling time under the Puritan families upbringing and the kids were very limited.

# data[].attributes.body
By considering the perspective of childhood we can understand how these people understood how important it was to educate the next generation. They wanted these children to be educated so that when it comes time for their generation to die off they will be able to teach their children. Basically, they want their children to carry on their traditions.

# data[].attributes.body
There were drastic differences in the childhood experiences depending on the religious upbringing. A great example was the children taken captive by the Natives not wanting to return to their families even after great bartering by the families. This is do to the different expectations of the two ways of life and the more revered children were in the native tribes.

# data[].attributes.body
The Mohawks were said to act more freely and were not as structured in their everyday lives compared to the Puritans. The captured Puritan children liked the lifestyle of the Mohawks better because they were not expected to read and work constantly. This is most likely why the captured children did not care if they were ever returned to their parents.

# data[].attributes.body
People started to believe that parents were failing to teach their children so people started turning towards schools. In 1647 Massachusetts Bay Colony that each town that had at least fifty families needed to open a school so that the children there could being receiving a better education.

# data[].attributes.body
Captured puritan children much preferred living Mohawk society over their own native one. They were not expected to fill countless duties and always work, they were not constantly told they must mature and become right with god. Children in a Mohawk society were allowed to simply be children and do as they please, eventually finding their place and doing work for the good of their people.

# data[].attributes.body
The decrease in wages was a major influence on the experience of childhood, as children were forced to mature quicker and move out and find jobs and pursue apprenticeships to be able to make enough money to live.

# data[].attributes.body
“The Mohawks were much more indulgent of children, and females, far from being regarded as inferior to males, played an integral role in Mohawk society and politics,”
This quote is from the first chapter of the reading. This is one of my favorite quotes because it mentions things the Puritan's did not have in their society that drove children to return to the Mohawk society. The chapter goes on to describe the societal pressures within the Puritan society that are imposed on children such as the constant reminders of their sins.

# data[].attributes.body
The main argument's
of the author's are to describe the typical childhood within the Puritan's and how it was disregarded. It was no surprise that Puritans regarded most things as the devils work and would condemn their children since they are born. In effect to this, things like the Salem Witch Trials happened, crawling was considered bestiality, and most youth had little to no say in their lives due to parental authorities.

# data[].attributes.body
Some key aspects to a Puritan childhood included reflection of your sins, proper education and discipline. Another key aspect included reciting the scriptures, learning through prayers and hymns. One of the main aspects of having a childhood during this time was that you really didn't, due to the authority of Puritans.

# data[].attributes.body
"When white persons of either sex have been taken prisoners young by the Indians, and lived awhile among them, tho' ransomed by their Friends, and treated with all imaginable tenderness to prevail with them to stay among the English, yet in a Short time they become disgusted with our manner of life, and the care and pains that are necessary to support it, and take the first good Opportunity of escaping again into the woods, from whence there is no reclaiming them."

I think this shows how good the English were expected to be treated while others are put into actual slavery. It really opened my eye on the double standards that was accepted by society during the time.

# data[].attributes.body
Puritan children learned hardcore on what it was like to be a child. They learned that things they due is wrong and sinful and must be forgiven. They learn from the bible. Also they have very specific roles in society. Like the girls must stay home and clean.

# data[].attributes.body
I am honestly curious how people from today would act if they saw children be treated how they were from the past? That all children are evil and full of sin.

# data[].attributes.body
I think one of the main points made from the author was how different the children were being treated from two different societies. This shows how the children from the puritans were treated would eventually lead to the Salem witch trials. When children who never had any power are suddenly given unlimited shows how dangerous their lifestyle really was.

# data[].attributes.body
"Treated with great kindness by the Indians (Deerfield children were carried on sleighs and in Indians' arms or on their backs), and freed of the work obligations imposed on colonial children, many young people found life in captivity preferable to that in New England."
This is one of the many quotes that stood out to me during the readings. I find it significant because it allows insight into how children were impacted during these times. I think this is so important to look at because it allowed me to make a comparison between the Native's perspective of children and the perspective Puritans/New England held. Not only this, but it also allowed me to understand how mistreatment changed the children and affected their future.

# data[].attributes.body
One thing I couldn't wrap my head around was what led the Puritans to believe that children were full of sin the minute they were born?

# data[].attributes.body
Of the many arguments made in the readings, the one I seemed to take away most was the comparison of how children were treated by different regions during this time period and how children are treated in today's world. Childhood seems like such an innocent period of life, but these readings definitely cleared up that misconception. I also think the author was trying to convey how such treatment impacted the children and led them to develop their own mindset and values. This in the long run affected how they behaved and responded to discipline and authority from both the church and their families.

# data[].attributes.body
From a perspective of childhood, you get a better understanding of the values held by different people in the Colonial Era and how it differs from our values today. To make sense of these values is to understand the difference in time periods. It gives insight to how the American perspective of children and the values they instilled in children evolved over time, eventually leading up to the standards we have today. By studying how children were treated how they behaved, and how their generation developed , one may be able to comprehend both prosperity and hardships faced during the Colonial Era.

# data[].attributes.body
Children, from birth, were regarded as potential sinners, having aggressive traits, and vulnerability to temptation, in which needed to be restrained. Childhood was not considered a time of play, it was strictly a time to prepare for adulthood, salvation, and the workforce. Boys and girls and specific responsibilites such as tending to livestock or cooking and gardening. Children were required to memorize the Lord's Prayer along with other psalms, hymns, and scripture. They were also exposed to the aspects of death so that they would reflect on their sinful behavior.

# data[].attributes.body
There were many similarities and differences in how the Natives treated children versus New England. However, in terms of the amount of freedom given to children, punishment, and the values instilled in children, they are significantly different. While boys and girls were raised differently in both the Mohawk and New England region, the Mohawks did not require children to work constantly, religion was not enforced, and children were not obligated to fulfill the life and values the church had in mind for them.

# data[].attributes.body
The Great Awakening was a major turning point I noticed. It encouraged new childbearing practices, reduced the age of conversion, and promoted a new code of values. During this time, young people were also given the opportunity to make "religious" decisions, such as joining a church, more independently. Young people began to embrace different values (ex. self-control/self-restraint)

# data[].attributes.body
I would have liked to know the intense psychological effects on the children raised under strict Puritan rules. Puritan ways of raising children don't seem to allow them any freedom. It's no question when Puritan children were taken by Native American tribes they never wanted to leave because authoritarian households are hardly ever healthy ones, so I would like to better understand these children from a modern psychological standpoint.

# data[].attributes.body
I do not have any questions but I have always been raised as a family person and its hard to think that Eunice would just leave family behind and just join a tribe.

# data[].attributes.body
A quote that stood out to me was "Mary Angier declared that her reason for venturing across the Atlantic was "thinking that if her children might get good it would be worthy my journey." " This stood out to me because it showed parents wanted new oppurtunites for their children.

# data[].attributes.body
I believe the Author is trying to give the puritan children a voice by explain how they were looked at and treated during colonial times. The author may also be trying to show that the Native Americans were not bad people especially to women and children.

# data[].attributes.body
The Author states that puritans made their children aware of potential sin. Puritans also did not go easy on their children it was very by the book and right and wrong. No playing or fun really. Seems like from birth they are given real responsibilities.

# data[].attributes.body
Especially striking was Indian mothers' emotional response to their children's death. Unlike European parents, who were expected to show resignation upon a child's death, Indian mothers responded to children's death with "unfeigned tears, and even for months after their decease will weep at the graves of their departed children. " This quote really struck me because I can't imagine not being absolutely crushed over a child's death, much less your own. I know it has to do with puritan faith and how they view death, but with my own view on death, the difference in cultures highlighted by this quote saddens me.

# data[].attributes.body
Now that I have a better understanding of how children were treated during the Colonial Era it changed my perspective because i though they would have been treated better.

# data[].attributes.body
I believe the author is humanizing children in the colonial era, describing many different intricate relationships with them and providing their perspective to remind readers that these were human beings, not just historical documents

# data[].attributes.body
The author says some of the key aspects of puritan childhood are "training for salvation" and "a

time  of  deficiency associating  an

infantile inability  to walk or  talk  with animality,..." basically childhood was solely for shaping the child into a functioning member of society worthy of salvation

# data[].attributes.body
Considering the perspective of childhood provides cultural context and allows us to think critically about the role of children in colonial society based on how they were raised

# data[].attributes.body
Puritan-raised children were constantly working because childsplay was seen as a "temptation." Native Americans and Anglicans had a much more understanding view of childsplay because children were still untouched by impurities to them.

# data[].attributes.body
The Salem Witch Trials was a turning point for young puritan girls because the "drudgery  and  repressiveness  of  the  life  that  they faced" began to cause convulsions and hallucinations, which was seen as witchcraft

# data[].attributes.body
During the colonial era Native American children and other religions children were very relaxed because they were kids with no real responsibility. But protestant children were loaded with responsibility and treated like adults from day one.

# data[].attributes.body
A turning point is when children started to think for themselves and take themselves out of bad situations such as Eunice joining a tribe because they treated her better.

# data[].attributes.body
I am wondering how the extreme differences between what the children know and then they move towards an extremely puritan society

# data[].attributes.body
Since the children themselves do not have voices to really give, I fell as thought the author is speaking for them. Finally allowing them to have a voice

# data[].attributes.body
 book. He shows the world what the children of the past had to say and 

# data[].attributes.body
One of The Things I saw was how Puritan kids who were kidnapped by natives ended up adapting and enjoying the Native life better. The Puritan kids as little unholy beings, who needed training for adulthood and salvation . Playtime was seen as a "sinful waste of time"

# data[].attributes.body
One question I had was why were the children so unvalued. Today children are incredibly valued cared for and that

# data[].attributes.body
"Death more preferable then life"
Ottobah Cugano
This quote showed how horrible the conditions were on the slave ship. It was honestly hard to read how the slaves were treated but I just kept coming back to this quote thinking how many people must have been praying for death then to come to America.

# data[].attributes.body
For History of America childhood, I think one of the main arguments is how little children are cared for and how their is little motive to care about children because the odds of them living a very long time is very slim.

# data[].attributes.body
Oner of the key aspects I saw was how the children when kidnapped, were treated better by the native Americans then they were their own family. It was crazy how even when given the opportunity to return home, some refused and completely left that part of their life behind.

# data[].attributes.body
Considering the perspective of childhood adjusts how I understand the Colonial Era by giving me this almost forgotten perspective of life during this era. I dont know why but when I think about living through the colonial era I think of being the age I am now and trying to figure out life in a l new country, not from the perspective of trying to grow up in a new country.

# data[].attributes.body
The difference of regions and circumstances with childhood are seen between the Native Americans and the Puritans. The Native Americans clearly values their children more than the Puritans making the Native Americans more of a wanted lifestyle. I also think that because of the circumstances with the Native Americans being more of a settled group made them more desirable to those who were with them.

# data[].attributes.body
I think that the Great Awakening was a Turing point in how Childhood was experienced. Because of this new Awakening of faith, people were shown how to treat others and were also given a second shot of their life and faith and I believe this made the parents and the people raising the children, value them more.

# data[].attributes.body
Puritan childhood was centred around a devotion to God, children being expected to practice their prayers (with their parents, especially their father's guidance), learn psalms, and avoid sin/moral corruption. Children were expected to attend school, boys were able to attend grammar and Latin schooling, while girls did often only learned to write. Sons would have emphasis placed on finding apprenticeships, while daughters had their lives centred around marriage, childrearing, and homemaking.

# data[].attributes.body
Mintz is able to construct a thorough and well-rounded perspective of Protestant childhood. As readers, we are able to understand the multifaceted nature of childhood within New England society, explaining the extreme pressures that the youth of Puritan communities underwent, the expectations to become "pure," pious souls that rejected all sin and carried on the values of their forefathers, constantly being reminded that the legacy of their society was in their hands. However, Mintz is able to provide a humanizing aspect within his exploration of Puritan society— providing context over a historically "emotionless" community by explaining the ways in which Puritans arguably bettered the standard of childhood; such as an emphasis on education, communal support of a child's moral development, and sympathy for children (despite being seen as fellow "wicked" sinners.). We are able to understand the desperation of a society that is clinging to retain their foothold on society and pass down their values for what they believed was the betterment of the world.

# data[].attributes.body
Childhood within the colonial era is an often overlooked perspective, and with this new perspective comes new thinking. While I had no delusions of freedom or diversity involving life during this time, after reading this chapter, I certainly have come to understand the realm in which the Colonial child was meant to step foot into was harsh and unyielding, with little room for "frivolous" whimsy at a time critical to the formation of self. Mintz does not frame Puritan society to be absolutely suffocating and grim, and I don't believe that growing up during this era would be utterly devoid of all happiness, but the incredible pressures to become entirely "godly," perfect citizens described in this chapter, with very little toleration for any deviations to the the unwavering doctrine of the Puritans creates a very bleak perspective of the Colonial Era.

# data[].attributes.body
Often enough, childhood experiences would differ based on socioeconomic status, geography, and culture. Lower class families would be far more encouraged to send their children away to pursue apprenticeships, leading to the possibility a sort of independence often inaccessible to children at the time, though Mintz explains that there is a doubling down on Puritan values by communal elders based on the behavior that followed.

# data[].attributes.body
The Great Awakening of the 18th Century seemed to allow for greater independence and a subversion of traditional authority and emotional connection with the Church that encouraged many children to become involved in the church, often instilling a sense of hope and community as they were to spend more time around other children and express their faith in more diverse ways.

# data[].attributes.body
" Puritans did not sentimentalize childhood; they regarded even newborn infants as potential sinners who contained aggressive and willful impulses that needed to be suppressed. Nor did the Puritans consider childhood a period of relative leisure and playfulness, deserving of indulgence. They considered crawling bestial and play as frivolous and trifling, and self-consciously eliminated the revels and sports that fostered passionate peer relationships in England."

I feel that this quote, while omitting any happiness from Puritan childhood, depicts the immense difference that makes Puritan culture so alien to raising children in the modern day, and concisely explains the key differences related to childrearing in Colonial New England that makes it so very unique to many cultures, even vastly different to its contemporaries, such as Native Americans.

# data[].attributes.body
Why were the Natives allowed to continue to dress and act the same way when in the presence of the colonists but the colonists were enslaved and the kids changed from Puritans to Native children?

# data[].attributes.body
Some of the main arguments have to do with the vast difference between cultures and children.He not only shows how Puritan children were seen as "adults in training" but then goes to say that the Natives had huge ceremonies for their kids when they lost a tooth or got their period. His arguments was one between two different cultures and how it effected children while growing up.