Adam in Seventeenth Century Political Writing in England and New England

Investigating seventeenth-century writings from England and New England-with a focus on Roger Williams and John Eliot, Gerrard Winstanley, John Milton, and John Locke-this study explores the varying significance afforded to the Biblical figure of Adam in theories of the polity. It counters over-simplified views of modern secular political thought breaking free from the confines of religion, by showing the diversity of political models and possibilities that Adamic theories supported.