Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Motivations for english colonization of america
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Motivations for english colonization of america
The establishment of colonies in America took place within distinct circumstances. Some colonies were founded for the purpose of political and religious havens and pursuit of individual freedom and happiness. People came to the New World expecting a place where the rules in the Old World, such as hereditary aristocracies and dominance of church and state, would not apply. Other colonies such as the Carolinas, and Pennsylvania were established by either proprietors, or individuals who had an ideal for a place that could embrace everyone with his/her own will. With people who sought liberty in believes and equality in rights and founders of colonies who were not under direct rule or servitude to the Kings and Queens in Europe, the English colonies …show more content…
As people on the ship bore different ideals and purposes for their future settlements in America, survival was depending on the collaboration and coherence of these men and women. Nevertheless, the essence of this migration was to pay equal respect to each individual’s will, and thus the majority rule was the best choice to regulate the divergence of individuality and to form a sense of community. Although the final decision was determined by the majority of a group, everyone was given a chance to speak up their wish and it left space for people to define who the majority could consisted of. Therefore, the majority rule was a rudimentary form of democracy in which people were defining their own …show more content…
The founder and governor John Winthrop gave the famous sermon of “City on a Hill” and led the persecuted Puritans from England to this land and established the Massachusetts Bay. He hoped to build safe place as a Christina commonwealth as an example to show the world. He was a capable governor and a faithful follower of God. When Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson challenged his authority, they were both banished and went south to establish their own colonies. It might be that his exclusion of people with different believes made him a model of intolerant religious ruler, but at the same time his actions showed another form of democracy. He led the colonists who were Puritans and who shared the same belief of him onto a life of prosper and stability in their land, and he never prevented anyone who disagreed with him from leaving and establishing their ideal place somewhere else. However, living in Massachusetts meant that people should follow the local law. This shows another similarity in the situations today where people in a certain legal area could choose what they want separately from other parts of the country like only four states in te States now legalize marijuana for recreational use. In this way, John Winthrop made a colony bear a democratic spirit as opposed to people yelling for their individual
During Colonial America many things at the time were debated if they were democratic or undemocratic. Back then these features would be mostly undemocratic for others yet benefit others.There were also things that were a work in progress,Equality is a good example of this and was a work in progress.
The colonies weren’t close to accepting the attitude and policies that Great Britain was throwing at them. They felt that they too were Englishmen and should have all the rights any Englishman would have.
John Winthrop was a wealthy puritan governor and helped found the Massachusetts Bay colony. As an activist for moral liberty he addressed natural liberty very clearly. He made it evident that he is not a fan by stating that natural liberty is lawless and corrupt, and abides only to beasts. Winthrop compares a civil man with a simple man, and says the simple man has no direction or guidance and can do evil as he wishes. Winthrop’s address to moral liberty, or civil liberty is intended to help people live clean free lives and do what is good. State and religious regulations are needed to guide people to do morally right things and steer them away from corruption.
John Winthrop came to America to avoid the depression in England and escape oppression from Charles I, a king who was impatient with Puritan reformers. Though Winthrop wasn’t a separatist, he embraced Puritan ideas and “wished to reform the national church from within, purging it of everything that harked back to Rome, especially the hierarchy of the clergy and all the traditional Catholic rituals”. He left England for his own self-interests rather than embarking to create a colony independent of England; he was not in the presence of the other founding fathers when they signed the declaration, nor he did not fight in the revolution.
There were various reasons why the American Colonies were established. The three most important themes of English colonization of America were religion, economics, and government. The most important reasons for colonization were to seek refuge, religious freedom, and economic opportunity. To a lesser degree, the colonists sought to establish a stable and progressive government.
John Winthrop was a Puritan and one of the leading founders in the Massachusetts Bay Colony who gave the speech “Model of Christian Charity” in 1630 while aboard the Arbella on the way to Salem. In this speech, Winthrop mentions many values and morals he believes people need to follow in order to survive. One value he mentions is that people should “rejoice together, mourn together, labor and suffer together”. Winthrop is really explaining that he wants everyone to be one unit and believe the same things in terms of God. Anne Hutchinson, who was under the rule of Winthrop, held many meetings where she taught false information of the bible. Hutchinson gained a lead and eventually people who went to her meetings stopped attending church. This upset Winthrop because even though he strongly wanted people to follow the views of the Puritan beliefs, he moreso wanted people to view him as a leader. This is seen in the court trail between Anne Hutchinson and John Winthrop. Winthrop shows his need for being in charge when he says to Hutchinson “We see no rule of God for this. We see not that any should have authority to set up any other exercises besides what authority that hath already been set up…” From this quote, it is clear that even without Winthrop’s strong morals in play, his need for authority is evident by the way he addresses Hutchinson’s case. Because of the desire for
Alexis de Tocqueville discussed how he believed that majority rules in the United States. He writes about how the majority in America has control over the opinions of the masses and how people do not think for themselves. The latter part of that is true. The masses do not form many of their own opinions but these opinions are not given to them, like Tocqueville says, by the majority. These "ready made opinions" (Tocqueville 11) are given to American people by a powerful few. Tocquville's writing does not apply to the US today because several kinds of minorities wield inordinate amounts of power in modern American society.
“In Winthrop’s view, then, he had not in any way limited or reduced the authority of government by extending to church members a voice in the selection of the men who were to exercise the authority.”(Morgan,87) Winthrop’s government was simple, all laws were easy to understand and were able to interact with the people of the colony. What he originally aimed for is to make his colony a democracy, which it failed because the colony was still under control by the church not the people.
In this biography we follow the life of John Winthrop. John was raised in Groton Manor in Suffolk. He caught the fever of Puritanism at a young age and we see the internal struggle that followed. Winthrop dedicated his life to seeking God. Then it explains his education and the practices of law that he experienced. We then begin to see the Puritan view on the political situation. This was mainly because King Charles I married a Catholic woman, and this scared the Puritans. Of course they wanted someone of the same religion to lead their country. King Charles I caused a lot of problems because he kept dismissing the Parliament whenever they disagreed
.... He said the most important thing is that people read the bible, engage in their faith, act unified, work humbly, support each other, and refuse to work falsely with God. All of John Winthrop’s ideals, in his sermon, reflect a biblical and philosophical standpoint on a typical good human being. Regardless of how people feel about God, whether they believe in him/her, people should realize that the Puritans were very religious people, merely attempting to do God justice. They wanted to be left alone, free to live their lives vicariously through God. John Winthrop’s sermon indisputably became famous as a result of political and religious indifference. Many people didn’t believe in what the Puritans were all about, but regardless, John Winthrop sought to solidify Puritanical viewpoints and defend their main ideologues and ideals about God and his religious teachings.
Both the colony of Massachusetts and Virginia were founded by companies looking to make money off the New World, but the founding of Massachusetts was motivated more by religious goals and family dynamics. Erin Bonuso, author of “Colliding Cultures”,
Throughout the course of history, mankind has been recorded to corrupt itself. Men have grown tired of simply surviving; they have had to take and conquer others. Absolute monarchies control wealth, land, and even lives of men. The conditions of the people were solely dependent on the conditions of the one who was in power in that particular place and time. History has proven that most men rule unwisely in their kingdoms. To avoid tyrannical rule, some make an attempt to set up a government in which the people ruled themselves. This form of government is called a democracy, or “rule of the people.” History has also revealed through the Greeks and the French Revolution, that a democracy that gives complete power to the people, “absolute democracy”, is nothing more than a short prelude to tyranny.
During the late 16th century and into the 17th century, European nations rapidly colonized the newly discovered Americas. England in particular sent out numerous groups to the eastern coast of North America to two regions. These two regions were known as the Chesapeake and the New England areas. Later, in the late 1700's, these two areas would bond to become one nation. Yet from the very beginnings, both had very separate and unique identities. These differences, though very numerous, spurred from one major factor: the very reason the settlers came to the New World. This affected the colonies in literally every way, including economically, socially, and politically.
“Natural” liberty, according to Winthrop, makes man more evil. Hutchinson’s and Winthrop’s understanding of religious liberty were different. Hutchinson believed that many early Puritans were not experiencing religious freedom, but were constrained by their belief that salvation is through good works, rather than grace. John Winthrop, however, believed that Hutchinson was wrong. He believed that religious liberty was moral liberty that is based under Christ’s authority. Through the reading of the articles and textbook, I learned that many early Puritans sought for a land where their particular beliefs were dominant; they were not seeking for religious freedom.
Liberty of self-government was one of the biggest and most important liberties that the Puritans and colonist gained. Self-government allowed people to vote and elect their leaders and have a say on laws. The foundation of government authority based off the people’s free consent. The reason why self-government was a privilege was because the people could choose the leaders they felt were trustworthy. Colonial America really was a land of liberty, however, there was an extent to certain liberties, especially religious liberty. There was a separation between non-religious and religious people. Non-religious people were “ungodly citizens” who caused chaos and disorder. Thus, the Dorchester Bylaws were set to have more control and order in towns. As a consequence, non-religious people faced discrimination and accusations for anything bad that occurred. Overall liberty granted self-government to all the colonist, however not everyone received religious liberty unless they worshipped the same religion as the Puritans. In fact, for non-religious people, not having religious liberty was one of the many ordeals they faced, just like other colonist and Puritans faced their