In 1630 John Winthrop led a group of intrepid settlers to America inspiring the immigrants to create a new society based upon the values of mercy and justice. However, Winthrop’s vision of America lacks two fundamental aspects of modern American society that makes it a shining example to the world: religious tolerance and social
Massachusetts Bay Colony Goals It was established by a group of puritans led by a John Winthrop with a goal of colonizing a wide area in the New England where they would establish what he referred to as a model religious community in the New World. This was a theocracy that forced people to worship and live in an orthodox way, a theory based on John Calvin’s teachings. John Winthrop was tired of trying to reform the church in England in which he believed there was the need to purify it against the influences of Catholicism. The Puritans had been opposed by both the Anglican Church and the ruling monarch in England. It is for this reason that they migrated to America, established the Massachusetts Bay colony and create their own religious community.
There are forgotten pieces of history that must have shaped what the United States of America is today. The people who kept George Washington alive when he was little and how they did it have been forgotten by most. Some of the less obvious inspirations John Locke had and what caused them have been lost. Even some of his meaning is lost in his writing. These things helped to make America and its government the way they are today.
Being the first two well-known places in which the English would set out to colonize in 1607 and 1620, Jamestown, Virginia and Plymouth, Massachusetts hold very separate set of beliefs, standards, and outlooks on life then and the future to come. While paving the way for things such as slavery, taxes, ownership of land, inclusion of women, tobacco and government assemblies, John Smith and the people of Jamestown became a classical foundation for new life and economic growth for the new world that is, the United States. On the other hand, William Bradford and his people began to realize the intentions of the Church of England were unholy and had strayed away from God’s teachings from the Bible. With this in mind, the Pilgrims set on a voyage to the new world to seek religious freedom. As we know it, the Pilgrims sought for peace and a new way of living that was fair, just and free from religious corruptions.
Throughout the seventeenth century, conflict between Europeans and Native Americans was rampant and constant. As more and more Europeans migrated to America, violence became increasingly consistent. This seemingly institutionalized pattern of conflict begs a question: Was conflict between Europeans and Native Americans inevitable? Kevin Kenny and Cynthia J. Van Zandt take opposing sides on the issue. Kevin Kenny asserts that William Penn’s vision for cordial relations with local Native Americans was destined for failure due to European colonists’ demands for privately owned land.
In the seventeenth century, the Pilgrims left England to head for the “new world” we know today as the Americas with the hopes of finding a place independent of King James and England. In traveling across the vast Atlantic Ocean to live independently the Pilgrims were given the task of creating a successful society. They sought a place to express their religion freely and independent from the restrictions in England. They aspired to make this society succeed in several crucial areas. They pursued strong protection and in very unfamiliar territory in order to keep their people safe and happy.
Winthrop believes that the church in England is corrupt and requires purification to become more pleasant to God. Winthrop finally moved to the US and settled in Massachusetts. Winthrop’s migration is helpful in the determination of his views on the relationship between the government and religion in an ideal society. He was involved in the formation of a
This journal, “Of Plymouth Plantation”, which was from Norton Anthology of American Literature, Vol. 1, written by William Bradford between 1630 and 1651, and edited by Samuel Eliot Morison in 1953, describes the story of the pilgrims who sailed from Southampton, England, on the Mayflower and settled in Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1620. Those pilgrims were English Christians in the 16th and 17th centuries and religious separatists who saw no hope of reforming the Church of England from within; therefore, they hoped to separate from the Church of England and form independent local churches in another place. In order to , those pilgrims overcame many obstacles. The author had used the power of rhetoric, especially in the use of the three rhetorical
The New Englanders took religion seriously, making unitary laws according to Puritan standards. John Winthrop, later chosen as the first Massachusetts Bay Colony governor, was seeking religious freedom. Wishing to inspire the colonists to dwell in brotherly unity, he summoned them together to remind them “that if we [colonists] shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken, and so cause Him to withdraw His present help from us, we shall be made a story and a by-word through the world.” On the other hand, those in the Chesapeake region came for the wealth that America promised. They were there to become prosperous or die trying.
The ideas constructed by the Puritans were not simply a principal starting point for American culture because they were the first in the country, but because they offered distinct ways of thinking that are still deep-seated in our culture today. Although many of the ideas of Puritans have evolved or vanished over time, it is important to give credit to the Puritan writers and thinkers such as John Winthrop and John Cotton who offered ideas that were new at the time and that stayed with the American consciousness—culturally, socially, and politically. “John Winthrop's legacy can be seen primarily in the fields of government, commerce, and religion. It was religion that would most impact John's life; his religion would ultimately impact the
In the colonial era, through the Revolutionary War, the foundation of America was oratorically clarified as an act of prudence—that is, God led people, specifically the white Europeans, to America to find a new and superior or incomparable societal order that would be the light unto all realms.2 In fact, many settlers also believed in creating a new nation filled with history and stories. Along the same lines, Americans imagined a community created through selectively and elaborated events, myths of origin, courageous stories, and asserted values.3
The New England colonies were first founded in the last 16th to 17th century as a sanctuary for differing religious groups. New England was made up of the Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Hampshire. New Hampshire, however, was formed for economic reasons instead of religious ones. The Chesapeake region, which is made up of the colonies of Maryland and Virginia, was founded by the British colonies for the purpose of farming. However, by the 1700’s, despite both being settled by Englishmen, New England and the Chesapeake region had developed differently.
John Winthrop, a wealthy English puritan lawyer and governor who was leading founder of the Massachusetts Bay colony, had a completely different perspective when it came to liberty. In “Little Speech on Liberty” He says that liberty is one of the great questions that trouble the country and says he sees a “great mistake” in the country concerning its meaning. Winthrop defines two completely different liberties that he believes are prevalent in society, natural liberty and civil or federal liberty. Natural liberty he describes as being a liberty we share with creatures and beasts. In this, man has the ability to do whatever he desires— in essence this liberty gives you the will to do either good or evil, it is your own decision.
The subject of this sermon is the ideology of success in the colonies. Winthrop used various emotions to create imagery of the ideal society. He presented the subject through the ideals of God: unity, community, and self-pleasure under the
The arrival of the first Europeans in the Americas is dramatically captured through the many writers who attempted to communicate what they saw, experienced and felt. What is more, the very purposes of their treacherous travel and colonization are clearly seen in their writings; whether it is poetry, history or sermons. Of the many literary pieces available today, William Bradford and John Winthrop’s writings, even though vary because the first is a historical account and the second is a sermon, stand out as presenting a clear trust in God, the rules that would govern them and the reason they have arrived in the Americas. First of all, William Bradford provides an in-depth look into the first moment when the Puritans arrived in the Americas. In fact, he chronicles the hardships they face on their way to Plymouth, yet he includes God’s provision every step of the way.
In these letters De Crevecoeur addresses how America is a new type of person. This new type of person De Crevecoeur refers to are the individuals who came to America during the frontier. These individuals came from all over and hold different beliefs. De Crevecoeur finds that “Diverse nationalities and faiths, he said, might well ‘melt’ into a more peaceful, justice-loving, and prosperous original, and it should be the envy of the world” (Horwitz 23). The frontier brought about a whole new race of individuals who could bring a whole new perspective.