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John Winthrop 's Sermon, On The Model Of Christian Charity Essay

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The call of John Winthrop for the Massachusetts Bay colony to be a “City on a Hill” literally meant for the members of the colony to be a spiritual example and guide for others, but also implies the ontological statement of exceptionalism through capital gain. In this paper, the reader will discover the connection between John Winthrop and mercantilism, which is a branch of capitalism that focuses on merchants trading using the government to help regulate the expansion of capital. In addition, the content of this paper will extrapolate on the pragmatic implications of this economic system and its effects on the people involved. John Winthrop’s sermon, “On the Model of Christian Charity,” establishes a pre-capitalist ideology through the presupposition of Winthrop’s personal/political beliefs, Puritan thought, and the manifestation of these thoughts actualized in the marginalization of Native Americans. Firstly, John Winthrop earned the reputation of a compassionate and just judge over a decade of service, but he came to realize that it would be impossible to reach fame and fortune in England without substituting his Puritan values. In 1629, stockholders came together and elected John Winthrop as lead of the company, which existed due to the vast amount of opposition that the Anglican Church received from the Puritan community. John Winthrop believed that his fellow Englishmen should join him in his idea that the company must subsist bound together with mutual consent to be
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