People of Colonial Connecticut: Puritan Roots, Diversity, and Revolutionary Spirit

A Society Shaped by Faith and Conflict

Connecticut Colony (1636–1776) was defined by its Puritan founders but evolved into a diverse, resilient society.

Puritan Core (Majority Early On)

• Fled Massachusetts Bay for greater purity (Thomas Hooker, 1636).
• Theology: Calvinist predestination — "visible saints" only for full communion.
• Governance: Fundamental Orders (1639) — first written constitution; town meetings, elected legislature.
• Daily life: Sabbath strictness, literacy mandatory (read Bible), modest dress, communal oversight.

Religious Diversity (Growing Over Time)

• Anglicans: Established church after 1701 (Society for Propagation of Gospel); minority but influential.
• Quakers: Persecuted early; tolerated later; strong in Nantucket whaling families.
• Baptists: Separate churches; Isaac Backus led liberty of conscience fight.
• Great Awakening (1740s): Split "Old Lights" vs "New Lights"; revivalism, new denominations.

Economic & Social Character

• Subsistence → Market: Mixed farming, livestock, timber, coastal trade (horses, onions, barrel staves to West Indies).
• Education: Yale (1701) — Congregationalist training; high literacy.
• Slavery: Present (6,500 enslaved 1774); gradual emancipation 1784.
• Women: Legally subordinate but managed households, farms, businesses; notable: Prudence Crandall (later).

Revolutionary Leadership

• Jonathan Trumbull (only colonial governor to support Revolution).
• Nathan Hale (spy, "I only regret...").
• Israel Putnam, Silas Deane, Roger Sherman (Declaration, Constitution).
• 5,000+ Continentals; "Provisions State" — fed Washington's army.

Legacy

Ordered liberty, local self-government, education, industrial innovation (Whitney, Colt, Terry) — all trace to colonial character: disciplined, literate, independent, community-oriented.