Post Puritan Examples Of Jeremiads

LeAnn Struckman paper’s thesis is that the Puritan community, the weather, political events, and illnesses that were happening to the Salem region led to the Salem witch trial. This is supported by looking at the Puritan community and establishing the context behind the event. The paper starts by looking at the importance of the Massachusetts Bay Charter. This gave them the right to establish a colony in the New England area and the protections that came with it. The Puritans believed and desired to create an ideal society in the New World that England would want to emulate. The paper claims that the Puritans believed that the church and state should not be separate, which made their Puritan religious doctrines flow over into their government. This influences the role of the church and its membership. The Puritans believed in a strict system to gain membership of the church. Church membership carried over into the governance of the state and certain political rights like voting. The following generations were not as involved with the church and membership soon declined as they were unable to meet the strict standards. This decline created tension within the church, which created the need for reforming the standards of membership. However, with the change in membership there still was tension between the Puritans.

“What to the Slave is the Fourth of July” 1852 speech by Frederick Douglass is a passionate speech that cuts across the difficulty of black slaves particularly in the pre-Civil War America. Seemingly, the speech is rationale, elaborates, and incorporates emotional touch. On the other hand, the “Ar’n't I a Woman?” speech by Sojourner Truth is remarkable in its ability to incorporate historical precedents and sense of humor. Importance, is that in the speech Truth makes use of the biblical accounts such as the birth of Jesus through the Virgin Mary as a strategy to show how superior women are in scriptures but diminished in real society. Therefore, the essay seeks to display the similarities and differences between the two speeches as well as

The setting took place at the time when the English immigrated to North America with the belief that the English church was not strict enough. Because the immigrants were extremely religious, they had formed a new church known as Puritan Christianity. In addition, the Puritans believed that there was no separation between the church and the justice system. One must follow the Ten Commandments strictly, or else they will be punished to the fullest extent of the law. The reverends or the judges, those who were responsible for resolving any legal matters, were said to be the ones pulling through God’s will. Ultimately, the punishments brought upon the accused were extreme, as they were either publicly whipped, had their ears removed, or were ordered to be hanged.

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” is considered one of the most effective pieces of rhetoric in written literature. Doctor King was an accomplished scholar fighting for civil rights. He used the different rhetorical appeals to respond to eight white clergymen that had criticized him for his actions. Reverend King was so persuasive with his letter that he influenced others to join his fight for equality. As Osborn tells us, Mr. King’s “Letter” went on to cause problems for these eight men (32). He was very effective in portraying his undesirable situation from the point of view of someone that held authority. Along with portraying his circumstances, he provides logical arguments to contradict the white clergymen's statements. In addition to a logical approach, he uses his emotions and passion to make his readers feel for disturbing situation places upon the segregated community.. Reverend King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” provides a vivid insight to the civil rights movement along with rhetorical appeals that persuade his audience to join his fight for justice by establishing authority, reasoning with logic, and engaging our emotions.

Since the beginning of slavery, leaders called on their faith to justify the immoral actions of the slave trade. These strong preachers for their communities’ strategically defined the meanings of scriptures to sway members into the ideals of North vs. South. Richard Furman and John G. Fee are historical activists using scripture to inform the community of their views. Both figures, arguments juxtaposed reveal the stark differences in their interpretations of the connection between human nature and scripture.

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.

“A Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr. was written in the margins of a letter posted by the clergymen of Alabama at this time that sparked his interest and while he inhabited the jail cell for parading around without a permit. This time allowed him the ability to respond wholeheartedly to this cynical oppressing. King’s letter addresses specific points presented in the Clergymen’s and this direct response distinguishes King’s strong points through his powerful writing.  Unethical and immoral mentions came to the attention of the Minister through the letter, and he expressed his differing views and defended his ideals and actions through Aristotle’s three rhetorical devices, ethos, logos, and pathos.

For example, according to Molly Wallace’s valedictory address, due to a woman’s natural timidity, they are confined to domestic situations. However, Wallace argues that a person’s gender does not define the means in which they are able to deliver a speech (Document G). Her use of rhetorical questioning conveys her argument that women should be given opportunities in the public sphere, a radical idea at the time, which shows traditional gender norms being challenged during 1792. Another example of a concept being challenged is slavery. In the Pennsylvania Packet, the author describes slavery as a British-made concept, warning Americans to despise the institution that the British instilled in a land for freemen (Document A). At the time, slavery was gradually becoming abolished in the North while Southern states maintained the institution. However, this document reveals the challenge in beliefs that occurred in 1779. The views expressed in Molly Wallace’s speech and the Pennsylvania Packet connects to the Enlightenment because in both cases, reason was used to progress societal values. In the Enlightenment Age, traditional Christian beliefs were challenged to promote intellectual thought. This is exemplified in Wallace’s speech in which she uses reason to explain why women deserve a part in the public sphere. This is also the case in the Pennsylvania

When the first wave of European immigrants faced the hardships of the voyage across the tumultuous Atlantic Ocean, these English Puritans had hopes of a future free from the harsh persecutions and injustices they were subjected to in 17th century England. Puritans values were documented in the writings of such immigrants such as “A Model of Christian Charity”, written by John Winthrop while aboard the Arabella in 1630, and “The Mayflower Compact”, a constitution-like document drafted and signed by the men on board The Mayflower in 1620. In the former, Winthrop emphasized the significance of maintaining unity under God and sharing in the struggles of one another so that the burdens and hardships of one are those of the community as well as the Puritans arrived in the New World. Similarly, “The Mayflower Compact” encouraged unity and equality through the formation of a civil political body to enact governing laws and constitutions that would uphold their societal and religious values to promote equality and justice for all. Despite such principles that the Pilgrims believed they were instating during the formation of the New World, I believe these values were quickly distorted, leading to a biased and prejudiced society that prevails today. Through the analysis of the history of early America, it is evident to me that though the Puritans left England as the persecuted and claimed to aspire to a just society, they arrived in the New World as persecutors of those whose beliefs

Gore Vidal once said, “The Puritans left England for America not because they couldn’t be Puritans in their mother country, but because they were not allowed to force others to become Puritans; In the New World, of course, they could and did.” In1741, esteemed Puritan pastor, Jonathan Edwards, preached a sermon to his congregation, terrifying everyone who wasn’t truly Puritan into becoming one. Edwards’ purpose was to admonish non-Puritans and emphasizes the importance of the Puritans rededicating their life to their faith. Edwards uses diction, logos, and personification to terrorize the congregation into leading the “perfect Puritan life”.

The banishment of Anne Hutchinson and Roger Williams, due to beliefs that differed from the Puritan’s, exemplified the intolerance of individualism as accounted for in The Journal of John Winthrop. Roger Williams had been “condemned” (Winthrop 106) by “the most judicious ministers” (106) who ordered that Williams should be “convented at the next court to be censured” (106). Ordering Williams to be censured demonstrated the Puritan leaders demand of conformity, as the leaders censured him for his presumption that did not follow their anti-individualistic views. In fact, Williams had “drawn above 20 persons to his opinion,” (Winthrop 107) conveying others had similar opinions, that allowed for

King criticizes, “the judgment of God is upon the church as never before. If today’s church does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as irrelevant social club…” (King 58). This statement warns the church to make a difference or it will become irrelevant. This draws fear, as the phrase “judgment of God” refers to God’s wrath and the consequences placed upon those who cause injustice. By calling the Church, “an irrelevant social club,” King criticizes the church for becoming a club where people joke rather than follow Christ’s word. Lastly, King uses pathos by describing the injustice done to African Americans during their peaceful protests, “I don’t believe you would have so warmly commended the police if you had seen its angry violent dogs literary biting six unarmed, nonviolent Negroes”(King 59). This example awakens emotion, and urges the reader to help those in need.

Major writing project essay 3: Americans are Hypocrites Frederick Douglass states “For it is not light that is needed, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake. The feeling in the nation must be quickened, the conscience of the nation must be roused, the propriety of the nation must be startled, the hypocrisy of the nation must be exposed: and its crimes against God and man must be denounced.” This statement expresses that the country should have conflicts among itself, and it should experience “events” to trigger the conscience of its citizens to realize what the country is going through. He also uses this quote to “expose” to society that Americans are hypocrites and are committing a sin against God, and he believes that men should be punished as

During the time of the witch trials, dishonesty and jealousy was very typical in Salem. An orphan named Abigail Williams was working for John Proctor and his wife, Elizabeth, as their servant. An affair between Abigail and John angered Elizabeth greatly. She quickly fired Abigail. Later, Abigail, her cousin, and a few other girls were caught dancing in the woods, which happened to be illegal at the time. Abigail drank blood as a charm, that night, to kill Elizabeth Proctor. Elizabeth is now being accused of witchcraft and is being taken to jail. In The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, Abigail Williams is constantly attacking Elizabeth, because she is jealous and she wants John for herself.

Faith has played an incredibly large role throughout all of American history. This is shown especially in early America when the Puritans settled in North America. Writing in this time period shows just how prominent faith is in this time period, as much of it directly alludes to the Bible. Throughout the time period writing and beliefs evolved. This is highly noticeable when comparing American poet Anne Bradstreet, and clergyman Jonathan Edwards. Bradstreet’s works include poems such as “To My Dear and Loving Husband”, and “Upon the Burning of Our House, July 10th, 1666” and while Edwards wrote many sermons, the most famous is “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”. These works differ in many ways, but many comparisons and contrasts can be made in regards to writing style and beliefs presented in these works.