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A Comparison Of Thomas Morton And William Bradford

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Throughout time there has been people who for some reason or another cannot get along, Thomas Morton and William Bradford are no different. Thomas Morton’s and William Bradford’s had a contentious relationship fueled their narratives New English Cannon and Of Plymouth Plantation. Both Morton and Bradford attempt to soil the other’s name by writing about their contradictory experiences with each other. But who comes out of this situation the true hero, Morton or Bradford? William Bradford’s emotional outbursts and irrational thinking regarding Thomas Morton overshadows any good he has done in Plymouth, making William Bradford the anti- colonial hero. William Bradford’s main reasoning for his settling in America is to create a separatist utopia, freeing himself and members of his church from disgraceful behavior and British control. Meeting Morton rehashes old feelings of contempt in Bradford casing an influx of bad feelings. Bradford describes Morton as the “Lord of Misrule” (204) and accuses Morton of “maintaining a school of Atheism” (205). By stating the latter Bradford unknowingly damages his reputation therefore losing all respectability and credence. So, when Morton states “because Mine Host was a man that endeavored to advance the dignity of the Church of England; which they would labor to vilify with uncivil terms, inveighing against the sacred Book of Common Prayer, and Mine Host that used it in a laudable manner amongst his family, as a practice of

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