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William Bradford's Puritan Journey

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Puritans were a group of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th century who endorsed strict religious discipline and interpretation of the ceremonies and creeds of the Church of England. Puritans are often stereotyped as boring. This stereotype is very untrue. Puritans loved and embraced life. They were not forbidden to wear bright colored clothes. They could even participate in things like architectural and skillful arts and crafts on American soil. They despised drunken people, but they enjoyed small drink. They insisted on common schools, which led to them founding the first college (Harvard). The puritans were extremely faithful and religious. They believed the whole world was under God’s complete control. They also believed that …show more content…

Bradford’s journey was full of struggles and definitely was not easy to overcome by any means. This was a spiritual journey. Throughout all of the things Bradford came across he always relied on God and gave the glory to God. They carefully considered giving up on the journey but decided that there was no use to give up. “So they committed themselves to the will of God and resolved to proceed.” (Bradford 51) So they went about their journey, struggles and all. When they finally make it to land, they gave the glory all to God and thanked him for getting them there safely. “Being thus arrived in a good harbor, and brought safe to land, they fell upon their knees and blessed the God of Heaven who had brought them over the vast and furious ocean, and delivered them from all the perils and miseries thereof, again to set their feet on the firm and stable earth their proper element.” (Bradford 52) This journey brought Bradford closer to God because of all the faith he put in Him along the …show more content…

He wanted the nation to become perfect and become an example for the rest of the world. Winthrop said “For we must Consider that we shall be as a City upon a hill” (Winthrop, 80). In this quote, Winthrop is saying that they must remember to act as a city upon a hill by leading an example that everyone will see. Winthrop truly believed that with God’s help, they could be the greatest nation. “….and that the Lord our God may bless us in the land whither we go to possess it” (Winthrop 80) Here, Winthrop is saying that as long as they kept the commandments and walked in the Lord’s ways, he would bless them in their land wherever they went. Winthrop had so much faith in the Lord that he wanted the nation to be perfect so he could give the glory to God. However, this way of thinking led to Crevecoeur’s dream for the nation. Winthrop was striving to be a “city on a hill” and perfect nation. Crevecoeur, however, turned Winthrop’s “city on a hill” dream to a reality. Crevecoeur says “we are the most perfect society now existing in the world” (Crevecoeur 221). Here, Crevecoeur is stating that America is THE most perfect society in the whole world! That is a very confident statement. Crevecoeur basically formed the American dream, by creating such a snobby or confident outlook on the nation. However, Crevecoeur does give glory to God for this great nation. “If thou wilt carefully educate

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