Compare And Contrast John Smith And William Bradford

Both John Smith and William Bradford were Englishmen who came to America and helped to found the earliest colonies in New England. They came at different times and for different reasons. Both tell of events during these travels in their written accounts, but these accounts show that the two men, as well as their goals, were drastically different.
Captain John Smith, considered to be the first American writer, came to America in the spring of 1607. He had many adventures prior to the voyage to New England, and thought quite highly of himself, as is clear in his writings. Smith wrote in a third person viewpoint for much of his account. He wrote about many sailors planning to go back to England, and desert their mission, and said: “Smith, unexpectedly returning, had the plot discovered to him, much trouble he had to prevent it, till with store of saker and a musket shot he forced them to stay or sink in the river: which action cost the life of Captain Kendall.” Smith writes his account like a narrative, telling it like a story, where he is the main character.
William Bradford, on the other hand, wrote his account in a first

He claimed: “If a man work but three days in seven, he may get more than he can spend, unless he will be excessive.” Bradford, however, warned of the dangers of prosperity, and that too much prosperity can destroy community, as he said here: “For now as their stocks increased, and the increase vendible, there was no longer any holding them together…” Bradford believed that community was the best form of prosperity, while Smith valued wealth and success. John Smith wrote in a way that exaggerated about New England, so that people would come there to seek their fortunes and build cities, “…they fish but an hour a day, to take more than they eat in a week…” whereas, Bradford’s writing was simply a narrative, recounting the stories of the puritan