Reconciles two conflicting schools of thought within the historiography of American Puritanism. This book contends that under the threat of social and intellectual chaos on the frontiers of America, there emerged a core Puritan mission that was either embraced or spurned by New England's founders, but widely understood by all.

"Agents of Wrath, Sowers and Discord" reconciles two conflicting schools of thought within the historiography of American Puritanism, and provides a new look at religious and political controversy in colonial New England. Addressing more recent scholarship that dismisses the notion of a discernable "Puritan identity", Timothy L. Wood challenges previous interpretations that have depicted a monolithic Puritan establishment ruthlessly crushing all principled opposition within the colony, and instead emphasizes the enormous importance the colony's leadership placed upon balancing their allegiance to the colony and its institutions with the Christian duty of reconciliation. Wood's book contends that under the threat of social and intellectual chaos on the frontiers of America, there emerged a core Puritan mission that was either embraced or spurned by New England's founders, but widely understood by all. For renewed understanding of seventeenth-century Purtian America, students will not find a more informative or useful book.

Acknowledgements.
Introduction
1. A World Torn Asunder
2. Toward a Religious Identity
3. Toward a Civil Identity
4. Channels of Authority
5. Avenues of Dissent
Conclusion.
Appendix: Reflections on Authority and Dissent.
Notes.
Bibliography.
Index