Characteristics Of The Pilgrims

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What beliefs and character traits that characterized the Pilgrims enabled them to survive in the hostile environment that greeted them in the New World? Did some of the same traits that helped them survive limit them in other ways? How so? The pilgrims survived the hostile environment because of their common purpose. They, unlike many other settlements, we're not searching for profit. The pilgrims did not wish to be glorified. In fact, they solely and ardently wished only to glorify their God in their way. This proved to be a significant advantage as they- who had been castaways from England- experienced together hardships that most men had not encountered. In the Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War it is quoted from the pilgrims, "'It is not with us as with other men,' they confidently insisted, 'whom small things can discourage, or small discontentments cause to wish themselves home again'" …show more content…

In Of Plymouth Plantation, a work quoted in Mayflower, William Bradford attributes the death of a “proud and very profane” sailor aboard the Mayflower to “the just hand of God” (pp. 30–31). What does this almost jubilant response to another person’s suffering suggest about the nature of Bradford’s religious beliefs? How did this attitude continue to reveal itself in the other experiences of the Pilgrims and the Puritans? The Pilgrims believed that God judged those who did not pay Him tribute. The Plymouth residents believed this sailor, who- by Bradford's judgments- was very secular and worldly, deserved to die. This because he did not follow God's commandments. As a result, Bradford and many others may have felt a joy at this "sign" that God opposes the proud and will punish them swiftly. This belief consistently revealed itself even in chapter twelve when, "[A]s Governor Bradford had complained, the spiritual life of Plymouth, along with all the other colonies of New England, had declined to the point where one day God must show his displeasure" (p.

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