Natural And Moral Liberty By John Winthrop

During the time of English colonization and settlement, John Winthrop wrote many pieces related to the importance of religion in society. These writings include A Model of Christian Charity which focused mainly on Puritan ideas on how to treat one another in order for the colony to survive.Winthrop, a very influential Puritan founder, proposed a society in the new colony of Massachusetts centered around religion and the idea that Puritan beliefs were the only sure way to ensure God’s blessings. Winthrop discusses that it is a civil duty amongst colonists to involve the Puritan religion in everyday life in order to preserve the colony as well as Puritan values. In the piece Winthrop writes that if the colony “ ...shall neglect the observation of these

Adapting a Puritan lifestyle drastically affected Winthrop’s perspective on the world and his role in it. He knew that he could not completely disconnect himself from it “as monks and hermits do” (Morgan 6) so he had to adapt to the struggle of finding a balance of his role of worshiping God and “lending his hand to shape [the world]” (Morgan 14).

In the early 1600’s, John Winthrop grew up in a very wealthy family. He attended college at 15 and at 17 he was married. Winthrop loved his wife very much but at times he thought maybe too much (he remarried 3 times because his first 2 wives passed away). As a Puritan, Winthrop dedicated his life to God, but as he got older, England’s government made it harder and harder to be a Puritan, due to the fact that the king said outright he hated Puritans. Winthrop went on to study law and eventually became a common attorney in the court of wards; though Winthrop was happy to get this job, it kept him away from his family. After a short while in this position, Winthrop began to feel less and less important, as Puritans were the

Natural liberty leads to the evils in the society and make individuals even worse, because it allows everyone to do what they please, good and bad. Moral liberty, which Winthrop agrees with, is defined by rules, laws, policies of society and help in the development of

Politically, Virginia and New England differed in the basis of their governing systems. Virginia focused on the desire of its individuals: “(t)hat our governors by reason of the corruption of those times they lived in, laid the foundation of our wealth and industry on the vices of men.” This standard of government was an early precursor to democracy and allowed Virginian’s to feel the rights of being freemen. New England, instead of basing their government on the individual desires of man, governed the colony on the basis of Christianity. The New England settlers strongly believed the spirit of God would deliver them and create greatness in the colony: “the God of Israel is among us, and ten of us shall be able to resist a thousand of our enemies. The Lord will make our name a praise and glory.” The colony wanted to be set above the rest, or in other words,

John Winthrop's dream was for the Massachusetts colony to be respected by the world for how its people give to others in need and for the relationships people in the community had with each other. The Pilgrims and Puritans came to america to practice their own religion. When the Pilgrims arrived in America; they were supposed to be in Virginia. A storm set them off course and they ended up in Cape Cod. The Pilgrims decided to call the area Plymouth, and because there was no government there; they created a new government known as the Mayflower Compact. When the Puritans came 10 years later with John Winthrop. He wanted to make a government that was based around God and one that would be a good example for other colonies to follow in the future.

Throughout the sermon, John Winthrop makes himself very clear about what he wants the Massachusetts Bay Colony to accomplish when he establishes it. He desires it to be a strictly religious society that will act as an example for the rest of the colonies. Winthrop lays out a plan of exactly how he wants the colonists to act

Mankind has been fighting for Liberty and Freedom for as long as we can remember. Liberty and freedom has been a topic which has been debated for many decades. What does it mean to be free , and how far can we go to strive for freedom. These important questions have been answered and studied by two of the greatest English philosophers, John Locke and John Stuart Mill. Locke and Mill men will attempt to uncover the mysteries of Liberty and Freedom and unveil the importance of being free. This essay will look at John Locke’s principle works” Second Treatise of government” and John Stuart Mills. “ On Liberty and Other Essays”. This essay will attempt to compare and contrast Lockes ideology on Liberty and Freedom to that of Mill.

Winthrop’s argues women were given the right to choose their husbands under marital liberty, but she must obey and view him as a godly figure. He says “such is the liberty of the church under the authority of Christ, her king and her husband (VF 31)” which illustrate the authority of Christ being implemented into civil liberties while showing the women’s role within his understanding of “liberty,” to view her husband as a king. Winthrop uses an analogy to the status of women that shows they have little freedom, lack individuality, live under men and overall have a low status in society. Winthrop also used women as an example of how people should behave, not doing evil things, picking their husbands, having an admirable family’s and over all having a good life which is the opposite of what he originally stated making his statements an oxymoron. For example Winthrop’s said “she is to be subject to him, yet in a way of liberty, not bondage (VF 31)” he then follows that statement by saying she is “subject to her husband’s authority over her. (VF 31)” Winthrop clearly contradicts himself in his analogy, or it’s not clear what exactly he means.

In the trial of Anne Hutchinson, we meet a well intentioned yet lost people described and labelled as the Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Company. These self governing Puritans, once a people who sought God to set them on their way, settled only to be found as a people who simply lost their way. This journey to lost began when first motivated by a desire for religious reform and separation from the liturgy, ceremonies and practices of the Church of England. Once they banned together, they set on their way and traveled in groups to the New World. With the Word of God as their ultimate authority and the desire for a personal relationship with God, these people landed in Boston in 1630 united to self govern the newly founded Massachussets Bay Colony. Unfortunatly, this self rule resulted in a government of intolerance, fear and a liturgy not much different from what was once found in the Church of England. A system designed to set apart outward morality, or sanctification, to strengthen the authority of the Church only worked to neglect the place of true piety purposed to strengthen the spiritual lives of the people it served.

Within the colony of Massachusetts, religion played an important role in shaping the community’s people and interests. The reason for the Puritans move to North America was to escape the convictions the Christians of England were placing on them (Divine, 89). Winthrop and his followers believed that in this new land they must create a place where they could come together as a people and build the perfect religious society (Divine, 90). In a speech about his vision for the land, John Winthrop said, “We must delight in each

Winthrop’s political theory developed from an early age. As a religious man, one would expect him to be a preacher, but he found his calling through law and leadership. Because he was such a devout Puritan, he was chosen to spearhead the project of establishing the Massachusetts Bay Colony, which was originally purposed for economic uses. This changed when the group elected him as governor, which altered the purpose of the colony to be more religious in nature. As a result, this group of Christians made an “exodus” from the old world with the mindset of establishing a “true Christian society”, much like the Jews fleeing from Egypt, as described in the first testament, book of Exodus in the Bible. They felt it was not only a privilege but a duty of God, and as the metaphorical and literal hands of God, to uphold the values of a true Puritan society. This cemented in him a purpose to erect a community that would be that “Citty on a Hill” that is so famously quoted.

John Winthrop’s 1630 sermon, “A Model of Christian Charity” is one of the first examples of early “American exceptionalism”. (Noll, 2012) In his sermon, Winthrop (1630) talks about how the citizens in colonial America should set a good example for others, and obey God, as they are looked up to by non-Americans. This concept of America being chosen, or somehow unique in a divine manner was the fundamental meaning of American exceptionalism to Puritan society.

John Winthrop principle of society where everyone gets along with one another is an ideal world that everyone would like to live in. Although, America has tried to follow John Winthrop’s principles of a Christian society, it has never truly abided by its principles because history shows that America has always been unfair in equality to all people and always embraced hatred rather than love one another.

In John Stuart Mills’ profound work, On Liberty he preaches against the conformity of the nations and outwardly encourages and restlessly defends voice of the individual. The philosopher expresses the importance of individuality by warning against forces such as the government and other citizens silencing their opinion. Though Mill’s gives due recognition to virtues such as free speech, liberty and individualism he also rightly places limitations on our freedoms to ensure our own freedoms do not infringe upon the ones of those around us. In essence, I believe that Mill’s insightfully provides a logical answer to society on how to live and how to allow others to live; freely unless harm will ensue. By Mills’ statement that, “[i]f all mankind minus one were of one opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind” one can gain insights into his justification for this argument, the limitations that should rightly be placed on free speech, the assumptions that are the basis for this argument.