William Bradford And John Winthrop

During the 17th and early 18th centuries, many American colonists took it upon themselves to unify the English colonies. As Puritans and other settlers began to establish villages across the eastern coast of North America, they found that the only way for them to function properly was through peace and order. Unity was attained through agreements and constitutions laying down the first steps to self-government and democracy, and to a lesser extent a call to action between the colonists and the English crown.

In early American literature, religion is one of the more consistent as well as prevalent themes. This is primarily due to the fact that early settlers of the American colonies were seeking to escape religious persecution, as well as to find a place to freely develop and expand their religious convictions. Despite sharing common English heritage as well as branching from the Anglican and Catholic church, religious views on liturgy and deontological ethics differed greatly amongst the settlers. This can be seen in the works of John Winthrop and Roger Williams. While both men’s religious beliefs stemmed from the same roots, each held different opinions on how rigid religion and liturgy should be held throughout the community.

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.

Prior to the founding of the Massachusetts Bay colony in 1630 religion had not played a large part in the politics and development of the British North American colonies. The first settlers who established Jamestown in 1607 were looking for riches similar to those found by the Spanish in Central America. After finding no treasure and on the brink of collapse they developed a cash crop economy and by doing so created the first stable British colony. The success of Jamestown combined with religious tensions between Anglicans and Protestants in England, caused the Puritans to form the

During the 17th and 18th century, English residents felt that England was over-crowded and intolerable. They wanted to lessen these problems that rose up because of the large population increase and to establish more religious freedom (Horn). The English believed that the best way to go about this was to colonize the New World. Subsequently, many colonies began to develop, and of these colonies, Massachusetts Bay and Virginia were the most well-known. The early settlements of Massachusetts and Virginia were both established by similar groups of people at the same time; furthermore, their contrasting beginnings as a colony, views on religion, and method of economic stability all contributed to our American heritage today.

With religious reforms causing controversy in England came the Puritans, known for their simplicity in their way of life. They wore basic clothing and were against consumption of alcohol and sex (unless married). With the disagreements of the religious conflicts happening in England, the puritans “wanted to purify the Church of England from within.” The sole reason the idea sparked to settle a colony in America was in search of a Puritan lifestyle and the freedom to do so. On March 4, 1629 King Charles gave the Massachusetts Bay Company a charter while not knowing the true nature of what this colony was to become and for the reasons behind it. Still, the Puritans left for America in March 1630. In contrast to the type of people who immigrated to Virginia, the Massachusetts population was mostly nuclear families, meaning husband, wife, and kids. Also differing from the colonists in Virginia, the settlers in Massachusetts Bay worked together for the common good of the colony. Along with their lives and beliefs, their government and politics were religiously based as well and soon they decided upon a Congregationalism form of church government. Their churches were a matter of choice but in order to become a member they had a strict regulation “In order to join one (a church) a man or woman had to provide testimony–a confession of faith–before neighbors who already had been admitted as full members.” Because religion was the bases behind Massachusetts being colonization crimes and religious disagreements called for serious

Long before the Founding Fathers, European countries built settlements in the wilderness of the New World. During the 1600’s, English settlers founded Plymouth and Jamestown along the Eastern Coast of North America. Puritans established Plymouth to escape the Catholic Church of England. The Virginia Company established Jamestown in search of fortune. Both settlements managed unavoidable contact with the natives. Although both Plymouth and Jamestown’s interactions with Native Americans included early encounters, diplomatic intermediaries, and peace treaties, Jamestown’s approach differed from by displaying less aggression.

In the New World Bradford and Morton were both important men of our history. The stories of both great men give us an insight into the way religion and influence affected Puritan life.

They were not able to change the ways in Great Britain so the group decided to move to North America. Not on the bases of Jamestown to profit of new land but to be able to practice their beliefs freely. They wanted to be self-governed and to establish education and a new rules they felt fit for their people. In 1630 the Puritans sailed to America and established the town of Plymouth County. The settlers of Massachusetts suffered the same problems as Jamestown with lack of food, disease, and issues with Natives. Jamestown however, was believers of Anglican faith, which was the Church of England. While the Puritans where the first self-governed colony. and religiously free from the mother

Puritans Structure and new world have three significant events and one leading man. Puritans on the Mayflower traveling to the Massachusetts Bay colony were led by John Winthrop. In the spring of 1630, John Winthrop composed and delivered what is known to be one of the most famous speeches in American history, “A Model of Christian Charity” and had everyone sign an agreement. The agreement consisted of working together when they reached the new world. Finding success in good planning, substantial capital, and political influence back in England. Winthrop 's core goal, was simple; to create a society out of a tight knit community of towns that were to be economically, politically, and religiously prosperous. Thereby, being a model to the world by adopting the image to the colony was a “City upon a Hill” and where “the eyes of all people are upon us.” Then when the Mayflower arrived in Provincetown harbor, at the tip of Cape Cod, on November 11, 1620, and then moved on to Plymouth Bay colony in early December. The “A Model of Christian Charity” speech that was given on the mayflower was then printed as an essay and widely distributed; the essay then

Religion plays a major part in many societies, especially the first 13 colonies. Some colonies were even settled solely to have freedom of religion and escape from religious persecution. Massachusetts was one example, as the Puritans first went to Plymouth in 1620 seeking religious freedom. In terms of the New England colonies overall, they remained Puritan. The idea of religious toleration was restricted to only the Puritan religion. A goal of theirs was to establish a “city on a hill”, which they succeeded at by having an atmosphere of “watchfulness” and helping each other. John Winthrop, a Puritan, served as the first Massachusetts Bay Colony governor. Anyone who did not follow this religion were known as

America. In 1607, a group of merchants, known as the Virginia Company, settled at Jamestown, Virginia on the Chesapeake Bay (Divine, 72); while Puritan leader John Winthrop, stationed himself and his followers at Massachusetts Bay in 1630. (Divine, 90) Although both settlements started off relatively the same, the greater success of one over the other has caused continuous debates between many, including the descendants of these early Americans. Some might argue that the Virginia Colony was more successful than the Massachusetts Bay Colony because of the Virginia colonists’ motivation and interest in profit (Divine, 76). However, when efforts for income

Benjamin Franklin and John Winthrop, men with different ideals, present the same notion that America should be presented as a “city upon a hill.” Franklin believed that the American dream should be presented as an ideal where men and women are equal and can both move up in social class on their own, practicing any religion they desired. On the other hand, Winthrop believed that the new world was a religious safe haven only for the Puritans. American Exceptionalism was overall the main focus, guiding America to define itself as a special nation founded upon democratic values and liberty.

John Winthrop and John Adams and their respective works were heavily influenced by their times. Winthrop was a devout Puritan Christian that was escaping a persecuting king in the early to mid-seventeenth century. As a learned and religious man, he came to be the leader of this puritan sect that was to establish a society unlike any other, free from religious corruption that his fellow people saw in the Church of England, that would be a model community much like the “Citty upon a Hill” described in the bible. On the other hand, John Adams experienced the “tyranny” of the British monarchy in a contrasting way. This era was marked with worsened conditions for American colonists in terms of economic and social taxations. Their literary

The origins of American English date back to the beginnings of the seventeenth century and the first successful colonization of the New World. Although the first English explorers led by Walter Raleigh had landed on the coast some three decades before, the attempts to establish a settlement failed due to unexpected conflicts with Native Americans. Jamestown, the first English colony named after James I was established in 1607. It was but one of many settlements that promptly started to fill the coast and adjacent islands. In 1620, a ship called the Mayflower landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Its passengers were Puritans, also known as the ‘Pilgrim Fathers’, seeking to set up a colony purified (therefore Puritans) from the Church of England