(11) Identify Roger Williams, the origins of Rhode Island and his essay: The Bloody Tenents of Persecution. Explain how he contributed to freedom of religion, thought, speech, and conscience.
Roger Williams was the founder of Rhode Island. Before that, he was a bright young man who had been attracted to the land of Plymouth. His religious views contradicted that of the Massachusetts Bay Colony leaders. After numerous disagreements, Williams was expelled and was threatened to be sent back to England. However, a few months later, he settled near Providence. He preached and lived with the Indians. He even argued for them later on that because the Christian doctrine preaches against stealing, the State of England should not seize their land. After having founded the First Baptist Church of America, Williams struggled to defend his personal beliefs. Then in 1644, Williams received a charter from the King of England to colonize there Indian lands. Later on, Rhode Island became a popular place for the Quakers and Jews who were fleeting from religious persecution.
Although his views of being a Baptist and a seeker contradicted that of the Puritans, Roger Williams preached throughout the Rhode Island colony of religious toleration. The people who followed his preaching valued respect toward religions other than their own. As a result, Roger Williams also encouraged religious freedom. Later on he also introduced the idea of the separation of the church and the state in a government in his book The Bloudy Tenet of Persecution. He specifically called for the toleration of all Christian denominations as well as Catholicism and Judaism. In addition, Williams points to the Through his interpretation of the Bible, Williams argued that C...
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...hat they form a social contract in which their rights are secured under this form of government. These ideas changed the way the American colonists viewed government. Their opinions were drifting towards independence from Britain. Furthermore, John Locke’s philosophies and the ideas of the Enlightenment influenced Thomas Jefferson to write the Declaration of Independence. The document uses the idea of the Natural Law and justifies the reasons for escaping Great Britain’s rule. His idea of representative government was also pivotal to the evolution of a democratic government in the colonies. The ideas of the social contract also explained why the colonies decided to break away from England. The use of many of these terms in the American Constitution as well as the later adaptation of the Bill of Rights was all examples of the influence of the occurrences in Europe.
Thomas Jefferson believed that a wall must be built separating church and state in hopes of protecting America’s religious liberty because of his views of human nature and good government, while President James Madison may have not supported how Jefferson went about it, he agreed with the notion that church and state should be separated. Taking a look into Jefferson’s past and how his views back then relate to his decisions, have made a difference. Between Jefferson and Madison, they grew more together than apart, but with different backgrounds in the same party, there were some disagreement. In his letter to the Danbury Baptists, Jefferson sends a request for the separation of church and state in hopes of rebuilding and making The United States
Religion was a key component to the construction of the early American colonial society. It shaped the beliefs and actions of the settlers within the society in many ways. Originally, the newcomers settling on North American land had main motives of owning their own land, increasing their country’s empire and gaining personal profit. Alongside those motives came the sheer desire to spread their religion with whom they encountered in the new land of opportunity. As stated, settlers set out to convert others towards Christianity because they believed freedom was found in worshiping God. Socially, if a person identified as a Christian they automatically were placed higher on the hierarchy. In the same respect, religion and politics at this time were delicately intertwined. Being Christian also meant the government heavily favored you and your peoples since you were to be considered influential in society. In the Maryland Act Concerning Religion (1644), John Winthrop’s Speech to the Massachusetts General Court (1645), the Trial of Anne Hutchinson (1637) and Roger Williams Letter to the Town of Providence (1655) one can notice the striking role religion plays both socially and
Winthrop’s Boston: A Portrait of a Puritan Town, 1630 - 1649 by Darret B. Rutman seemed to be a long and excruciating read. The book had a great deal of information that the reader could learn from it, but most was lost when trying to stay awake to read it. On the other hand, Rutman had the concept down. The importance should be put on the idea behind the book because if you are interested in the idea you will gain knowledge. Nonetheless this book shows you the circumstances that Winthrop faced, what the founder of Boston fought through to create “The City on the Water”.
By the early 1600s, the English were steadily making their way overseas to the New World in hopes of settling and prospering on foreign land. Among these were Puritans, or Protestants seeking exemption from the overbearing English Catholic Church. In his speech to the new colonists of the newly settled Massachusetts Bay Colony, John Winthrop, its Puritan governor, delivered a speech to encourage certain values and examples that new colonists should operate by in their daily lives on the settlement. He uses lines from the Bible itself to emphasize the ideal character of a colonist, constantly referring to the Lord and Christian doctrines. Winthrop’s intent to spiritually enlighten the new colonists of the Massachusetts Bay Colony is a lower
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
Jefferson’s language in the Declaration of Independence shows clear influence from Locke and his theory of Life, Liberty, and Property. Locke’s idea of government is one that sets out to protect these rights and once a government becomes more destructive than useful it is the right of the people to dissolve the government and start over from scratch. It can be seen that Jefferson’s view of government, through his criticisms toward the British Parliament, are in direct alignment with Locke’s.
John Winthrop was a pioneer for religious freedom in America. As one of the early settlers sailing west on the Arbella, he composed a sermon called A Model for Christian Charity. Winthrop’s sermon is the framework for creating the spiritual colony that he envisioned and a way to unite the people coming to a new land. The people traveling west were not from one group but rather came from many groups and backgrounds. Winthrop knew that in order to succeed in the wilderness these individuals would have to give up some of their individuality for the greater good of the colony. Winthrop felt that religion was the ultimate way to accomplish this and that Christ was the perfect model to follow. In one passage he says:
There are many different ways in which the Enlightenment affected the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. One way was the by the idea of a Social Contract; an agreement by which human beings are said to have abandoned the "state of nature" in order to form the society in which they now live. HOBBES, LOCKE, and J.J. ROUSSEAU each developed differing versions of the social contract, but all agreed that certain freedoms had been surrendered for society's protection and that the government has definite responsibilities to its citizens. Locke believed that governments were formed to protect the natural rights of men, and that overthrowing a government that did not protect these rights was not only a right, but also an obligation. His thoughts influenced many revolutionary pamphlets and documents, including the Virginia Constitution of 1776, and the Declaration of Independence.
During the 17th century, many Puritans set sail for New England in order to escape religious persecution and re-create an English society that was accepting of the Puritan faith. John Winthrop, an educated lawyer from England who later became governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, was one of the first in North America to advocate Puritan ideals and lifestyle. Winthrop delivered his sermon A Model of Christian Charity, in hopes of encouraging his shipmates to establish a truly spiritual community abroad. Almost fifty years later, a Puritan named Mary Rowlandson, daughter of a wealthy landowner and wife of a minister, wrote A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson, describing her 11-week captivity by native Indians after an attack on Lancaster. Rowlandson recounts her story with heroism and appreciation for God. Although John Winthrop and Mary Rowlandson were in entirely different situations when composing their literary works, both writings reflect many of the same ideals that characterize the Puritan mind, such as the belief in God's mercy, the acceptance of one's condition in life, and the importance of a strong community.
The American Revolution was not only a battle between the British and the colonists; it was a historical movement that brought about new ways of thinking. The ideas of liberty and equality began to be seen as essential to the growth of the new nation. The separation of the American colonies from the British Empire occurred for a number of reasons. These reasons are illustrated in the Declaration of Independence. Although Thomas Jefferson wrote the document, it expressed the desire of the heart of each colonist to be free of British rule. British rule over the colonies became unbearable in the early months of 1776, making it clear to the colonists that it was time to either give in to British power or declare their independence. This idea of independence divided the colonies, but it was not long before a revolutionary committee met in Philadelphia and drew up the document that would change American history.
John Winthrop founded the colony of Massachusetts Bay in 1630, where he was the first Governor of the colony, a position he held for twenty years. In April, 1630, aboard the ship Arbella, he led a large party from England for the new world to establish a pure Christian based colony. "They hoped to establish communities of pure Christians who collectively swore a covenant with God that would they work for his ends, knowing that in return, He would watch over them".
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
Roger Williams is a man who was very religiously tolerant. He and his followers were expelled from the commonwealth because of their progressive views, this lead to the founding of Rhode Island. “Rhode Island became a sanctuary for those who found the strictures of the Massachusetts Bay insufferable: Separatist, Baptists, Seekers, Antinomians, Jews, and Quakers all found a home there.” (Baym 102). Roger Williams wanted the settlers to treat the Natives with respect, he viewed the new world as their land. Williams had conversed with the natives and suggested several key points the settlers should do to befriend them. “First, by what names they are distinguished” (Williams 104). You had to know what the natives wanted to be called instead of
(1) Define Sir Walter Raleigh and the Lost Colony of Roanoke and the purpose of English colonization.
In his brief response, President Jefferson sympathized with the Baptists in their opposition to the state of Connecticut’s established religion. The question of this assignment is “What do you think the signers of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution thought about the separation of church and state or about the separation of God from government?” While devoutly committed to religious liberty He deeply opposed established churches as existed in Massachusetts and Connecticut, but recognized that, as President, he had to respect them. The letter contains the phrase "wall of separation between church and state," that expressed his reverence for the First Amendment’s “wall of separation between Church & State” at the federal level. This became the short-hand for the Establishment Clause that we use today: "Separation of church and state." President Jefferson put much thought and intense scrutiny into the letter, and consulted New England politicians to assure that his words would not offend while still conveying his message that it was not the place of the Congress or of the Executive to do anything that might be misconstrued an establishment of religion. The now well-known the phrase "wall of separation between church and state,” lay