The History Of The Dividing Line Analysis

One of the major differences between both societies was unity. The Puritans came with the knowledge of working together and becoming closer to God. When they travelled they travelled together not separately like the inhabitants of Virginia. Document G vividly illustrates the mistrust between the colonists as it states,” ….Virginia is intersected by so many vast rivers as makes more miles to defend than we have men of trust to defend them. John Winthrop’s, “A city upon a hill” characterizes the puritans as caring human beings who stuck together through hardships. Bacon’s Manifesto was best way to describe how disunited the pilgrims acted. In Nathanial Bacon’s speech, Document H, he declares, “All people in all places where we have yet been can attest our civil, quiet, peaceable behavior far different from that of rebellion.” Bacon and his supporters later could bear no more and burned Jamestown into ashes. This is a result of the disunity and lack of respect these pilgrims had for each other.

A second reason for the religious prevalence in Colonial America was the evil that people faced. “The providence of God was ‘wonder-working’ in making manifest the reach of his sovereignty; such acts of ‘special providence’ represented God’s clearer and more explicit than usual intervention into the affairs of man. But he was not alone in having supernatural power. The events

William Bradford wrote Of Plymouth Plantation to inform readers about his journey to the new world. Bradford joined the Puritans when he was a young boy, which he later on separated from. Bradford came to the new world in search of religious freedom. The Puritans

Introduction. The new boundaries and opportunities in the seventeenth century grew and challenged an idea of religious liberty. The lifestyle of the first colonists in the New England was heavily influenced by religion and church. Settlers considered that success of social life depends on the obedience to God’s will. The governor John Winthrop maintained and developed this idea. With a help of his Speech to the Massachusetts General Court in 1645, he summed up and explained an important idea of liberty. Winthrop did not only define a blessed way for a better life of the community but also clarified the role of citizens through the analogy of women’s position in the society. His concept of natural and moral liberty turned up to be suitable and clear for the settlers. With a help of well-built speech, Winthrop emphasized and explained correlation among society, authority, and God in the New World.

“The General History of Virginia” and “Of Plymouth Plantation” are similar and different in many ways. They are the first settlers of America and came for different reasons, different goals, and different ways of life. Although they were different they both risked their lives for a new life in return. John Smith and William Bradford were two different people. John Smith was an Adventurer and William Bradford was a Puritan. Their differences and similarities personified through two works of writing.

In Of Plymouth Plantation, William Bradford writes of multiple acts of God’s divine providence acting on the Pilgrims during their journey to Virginia and the subsequent founding of Plymouth Plantation. Bradford’s portrayal of events he labels providence, such as the death of the lusty seaman, the finding of the corn seeds by the exploring party, and the repulse of the Native American attack, shows his belief that God acted through natural events and reveals aspects of Puritan theology and thinking.

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

William Bradford said he believed, “Plymouth people were the chosen people to live out their last days in the earthly church” (Daly pg 560). Puritan settlers came to the new world seeking a better life and to get away from the rule of the Catholic Church they wanted to become a primitive Baptist church like in the Old Testament. The Puritans wanted to live their lives in Old Testament biblical way of life; when the settlers came to the, “New England they thought they had landed in God’s country” (Callicott). They thought they were the chosen ones the new

The poems, journals, and sermons by William Bradford, John Winthrop, Anne Bradstreet and Jonathan Edwards displayed these characteristics: the love of something, the courage to do something, the belief in something, and the ability to stand strong and stable in their beliefs. In “Of Plymouth Plantation” the people traveling to find the people on the ship had the love and desire to seek God in everything they did. They believed in God so much they were putting not only their health but lives in jeopardy by traveling so far. “Thus his curses light on his own head, and it was an astonishment to all his fellows for they noted it to be the just hand of God upon him.” Even though they under came harsh conditions they were determined to find a safe

The Puritans came to colonize New England with the intention to create a place free from the Church of England. John Winthrop spoke to the passengers aboard the Arbella, proclaiming they must be unified in their religious mission, or they would fail. As Calvinists, they fully believed the harder they work, the better chance they had of achieving enlightenment. The concept of unity and hard work ethic inspired by their religious beliefs lead to the early form of a democratic society in the New England Colonies.

Ships the Puritans sailed on contained sails, which means if there was no wind, then the ship could not move. After a few days of no wind, “they put to sea again with a prosperous wind, which continued divers days together, which was some encouragement unto them;” (Bradford 74). Bradford transcribes how the wind gave the Puritans encouragement that their journey will continue on. Only through respecting God’s Covenant and believing in God will the wind continue. Bradford continues on about a storm the Puritans were caught in, but “they resolved to bear up again for the Cape, and thought themselves happy to get out of those dangers before night overtook them, as by God’s providence they did” (75). Bradford writes of God’s providence, or special care, meaning God took special care of those who believed in Him and follow the Covenant. In this passage, the colonists believed they were in grave danger, or death was near, but just as the colonists were starting to lose hope they saw the Cape. The Puritans believed God rewarded them for believing in Him. Throughout his writings, Bradford shows his belief that God is just but also of mercy, and is omnipresent. Betrayal to either God or the Covenant will receive just

John Smith and William Bradford use divine guidance as an explanation for the reasons of

William Bradford’s writing displays his Puritan faith by including many of their ideals throughout Of Plymouth Plantation. Bradford’s beliefs give his writing a simple and unembellished style, like that of Puritan dress. Furthermore, He demonstrates his faith by including the Puritan concept of election. Foremost, Bradford displays his faith by incorporating providence into his writing. For example, he infers that their trip across the Atlantic ended safely only through God’s intervention. Throughout Of Plymouth Plantation, William Bradford exhibits these aspects of his Puritan faith and lifestyle through his simplistic writing style.

Throughout William Bradford’s “Of Plymouth Plantation”, his attachment to his religion was very strong and very verbally shown throughout his work. Bradford was between the age of twelve and thirteen when he had first heard his first sermon by a minister named Richard Clyfton and he later joined with Clyfton in the year 1606. Bradford begins with “…some godly and zealous preachers, and God’s blessings on their labors…” God is already being praised in the first few sentences of this work to bless the labor of their works and throughout the land. The goal of this paper is to bring into light three different sections throughout the work, where Bradford uses his religion to prove a point and to show how his religious faith is freely expressed by leaving England.

Dependent upon the clemency of God, the Puritans use their faith to ensure success in a new, foreign land. Ultimately, Winthrop implies that if the colonists genuinely dedicate themselves to Christ, their lives will be improved, in that God will help them in their endeavors: "The end is to improve our lives to do more service to the Lord...that ourselves and posterity may be the better preserved from the common corruptions of this evil world, to serve the Lord and work out our salvation under the power and purity of His holy ordinances" (215). By using the phrase "corruption of this evil world," Winthrop suggests that the only way to attain a virtuous and upright character is through spirituality and trust in God, who can help His followers to lead moral, meaningful lives. Winthrop insinuates that the Puritans have an obligation to God; they must leave their native land and establish a community abroad where God's people can live freely, strengthening their spiritual lives. If this is accomplished, then God too will aid the Puritans and bring mercy upon them: "When God gives a special commission He looks to have it strictly observed in the every article. When he gave Saul a commission to destroy Amaleck, He indented with him upon certain articles, and because he failed in one of the least, and that upon a fair pretense, it lost him the kingdom which should have been his reward if he had observed his commission"