William Bradford and John Smith were both influential men colonizing the New World during the early 1600s. The two European men wrote of their experiences in America, and had a strong desire to settle the land. Most of the similarities to them end there. They had very different views on the land, people, and who they were as individuals. Looking into both of their writings can, and will reveal more of the United States’ founding writers.
In John Smith’s Generall Historie of Virginia, he emphasizes brave characteristics that he would like to get out of his followers. The tales of hardship and danger he faced, albeit some of the stories are exaggerated, would likely appeal to the adventuresome and the brave. This way of writing seemed like a excellent way to attract the courageous to Jamestown. In a line from his story, "…Then as many as could laid hands on him, dragged
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These characteristics that Smith showed are traits that have been an embedded part of American history. John also has a unique leadership quality to him. He is able to bring people together to endure the newly found difficulties that is settling into a new environment. This type of behavior is called “grace under pressure”. This type of behavior exhibits in Smith the willingness to embark on a new journey, once again proving that he lives for the adventure, and wants to see the same type of traits performed in the colonies. Finally, Smith usually presents himself as the hero of the story. One
John Smith was an agitated Indian man with the will to murder a selfless white man who has done the most damage. He held very close to his spirituality of his Indian ethnicity even though he did not know his tribe. John was impulsive of his
When the name John Smith is mentioned, people of all ages are familiar with it and could tell a lot about him. Why is this? How is it that a man who lived over 400 years ago still so popular today, more specifically to our children? The answer to that question is because John Smith can be viewed as one of America’s earliest heroes. His leadership was vital to the survival of the Jamestown colony. Most people are familiar with his famous quote, “he that will not work shall not eat.” He carried all the qualities of an influential leader, and even had a mystical legend with Pocahontas, in which no one truly knows what happened. His leadership characteristics and qualities possessed hard work, grit, and determination. He was an individualist that had an “American” dream. However, during his time, the colonists did not look at it as an “American” dream. Without him and his leadership, America may not be what it is today.
In the stories “The general history of Virginia” by John Smith and “Plymouth Plantation” by William Bradford, there are many similarities and differences between these two.
John Winthrop and Benjamin Franklin both played pivotal roles in their structuring government, yet were very different in their philosophical views. Winthrop, a Puritan, founded his ideals based on a firm belief in one almighty God. Whereas Franklin, also a believer in a supreme being, founded his ideals on a more scientific ideal. Both men had different visions of government along with a different view of humanity.
Religion was a very important aspect of everyday life, and majority the travelers to the new world had strong beliefs. This powerful faith is shown by puritans, William Bradford and Mary Rowlandson. These two characters in both of their stories showed their strong relationship with God. They tended to be more dependent on God to show them the way, instead of them making their own decisions. Every little thing that would happen they believed was apart of God's plan, and it had some sort of significance. This helped them get through hardships and over obstacles, because they believed God was doing what was best for them. Others were more independent and believed in logic and reason, one person being the slave Equiano. Equiano didn’t have a strong
The author John Smith, a pilgrim who arrived to the Americas, wrote a description of the new land in his book “ A Description of New England ”. In this book Smith shows a wonderful world of vast food and pleasure. Also, William Bradford another pilgrim who arrived to Plymouth on the coast of Massachusetts, wrote a book called “ Of Plymouth Plantation ” in which he describes what really happened, how the pilgrims actually lived. The purpose of this essay is to compare and contrast both authors and their books. John Smith wrote about the wonderful place the New World was, on the other hand, William Bradford wrote about the realities and difficulties of the New World.
In William Bradford’s Of Plymouth Plantation he articulates that living in young America was a tough life that included dangerous living, starvation and disease. Bradford sailed from Holland with the Pilgrims and when their first governor died in 1621 Bradford was elected. Bradford’s opinion was well respected in the community and he was reelected to his position thirty times. This position gave him the ability to have many of his works published and read by many. An example of him describing the new world as dangerous is when he painted the picture of a wicked forest across “the whole country” . He went on to describe this forest as having a “wild and savage hue”. Another problem addressed in William Bradford’s piece is starvation. He described that once winter arrived many people began to die and by February “half [the] company died”. Finally Bradford described the new world as a haven for disease. As the starvation began to set in in the early winter so did the
To many Europeans in the early 17th century the Americas seemed as a new land of opportunity. John Smith and William Bradford were two of the first men who left England seeking adventure and freedom in the New World. Both groups had difficulties while trying to form their colonies and Smith and Bradford were both elected to lead. While they were both great leaders they had very different lives before their journey from England. While starting their new colonies they also took different approaches to making the land habitable. One of the most notable differences between John Smith and William Bradford was their writing style. John Smith and William Bradford were very different people in
Smith was badly burned in 1606 from a gunpowder explosion and forced to return back to England. In 1614 he returned with an expedition to map the New England coastline. He would never return to Virginia again after this. He would from then on only promote colonizing the New England area. His efforts to promote colonizing were blocked by weather, pirates and lack of funding. He then resorted to writing about colonization. In his writing he elaborated about how wonderful it was in the new world. He would say that the fish practically jump into your boat when you go fishing and things such as that. He made the new world seem better than it really was so people would want to travel here and settle in it. His plan worked because year after year more and more people flocked to the New England hoping to colonize and not have to worry about running out
While it is impossible to truly elaborate or even go into much detail on the exploits of Captain John Smith’s life, in this paper I will be covering several of his many achievements. In addition, I will be dispelling several of the popular myths in regards to his life that many modern day Americans believe in. Some of these more modern day myths or false narratives are due to his story being adapted and changed in order to make a children’s video by Disney, while others have been debated by historians ever since they were penned by Smith in one of his most famous works consisting of six volumes: The Generall Historie of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer Isles.
On April 10, 1606, John Smith (an adventurer) explorer and author, and his crew were sent by King James I to start a colony in Jamestown. In December 1606 the company sent out three ships carrying 106 settlers to start the new colony. On May 13, 1607 John Smith named the colony Jamestown in honor of the King. Years later on September 6, 1620 William Bradford (an English Separatist) went to Cape Cod, Massachusetts on the Mayflower due to fear of the assimilation into Dutch culture to start a new civilization. The Mayflower departed from Plymouth, England on September 6, 1620. The 100-foot ship had 102 passengers and a crew of 30-40 in extremely cramped conditions. The two exploration narratives are similar in many ways but they both serve two completely different meanings.
One of the writers who wrote about the hardships they had experienced was John Smith. Captain John Smith was a soldier and the governor of Jamestown. In Smith’s writings, he speaks mostly about the colonization coming to the new land. He and his men believed they were going to build a successful colony. But due to disease, famine, and the occasional attacks from the neighboring Powhatan Indians, and
Throughout history, there have been great leaders, some for the good of humanity, and some for the not-so good of humanity. The one element all leaders have in common is in some way, have changed the course of history. The one great leader I have found to be interesting and envision of a great leader is William Bradford, an original passenger on the Mayflower, and the first ever governor elected on what is to become, American Soil.
There are many things that distinguish powerful leadership figures from those who are well respected by their communities. Both John Smith and William Bradford were leaders in early America, but had vastly different management styles. These variances greatly impacted the quality and length of their leadership. Their personalities are expressed remarkably in their writings from the early 17th century. These pieces show the extreme contrast between the way they led their people and how they were most likely viewed by their troops.
John Smith was selected because he was a Colonizer, soldier and an author as he wrote his first book in English in the New World called “A True Relation of Such Occurrences and Accidents of Note as Hath Happened in Virginia since the First Planting of that Colony (1608)”. While he was only in America for two years, Smith was in charge of the survival of England's first English colony in the New World. He is best known for being in