Building a New Jerusalem

John Davenport, a Puritan in Three Worlds

Bremer Francis J.

The life of John Davenport, who co-founded the colony of New Haven, has long been overshadowed by his reputation as the most draconian of all Puritan leaders in New England – a reputation he earned due to his opposition to many of the changes that were transforming New England in the post-Restoration era. In this first biography of Davenport, Francis J. Bremer shows that he was in many ways actually a remarkably progressive leader for his time, with a strong commitment to education for both women and men, a vibrant interest in new science, and a dedication to promoting and upholding democratic principles in his congregation at a time when many other Puritan clergymen were emphasizing the power of their office above all else. Bremer's enlightening and accessible biography of an important figure in New England history provides a unique perspective on the seventeenth-century transatlantic Puritan movement.

About the author

Francis J. Bremer is professor of history and chair of the history department at Millersville University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of "Puritanism: A Very Short Introduction" and biographies of Anne Hutchinson and John Winthrop.

Reviews

"Frank Bremer has written a richly detailed biography of a major figure that retrieves his career on both sides of the Atlantic and throws a fresh light on theology, the making of the Congregational Way, and the building of New England institutions. Anyone interested in the seventeenth-century Anglo-American world can learn from this impressive book" – David D. Hall, Harvard Divinity School