Often when looking at American history, people tend to lump all the characters and actors involved as similar. This is especially the case in regards to Early American Colonial history. Because the Puritan communities that grew rapidly after John Winthrop’s arrival in 1630 often overshadow the earlier colony at Plymouth, many are lead to assume that all settlers acted in similar ways with regard to land use, religion, and law. By analyzing the writings of William Bradford and John Winthrop, one begins to see differing pictures of colonization in New England.
William Bradford (1590-1657) was probably the most famous Pilgrim that journeyed to Plymouth. Aboard the Mayflower, his peers chose Bradford as the future governor of the English separatist
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congregation. He then served as governor of Plymouth Colony from 1620 until his death in 16571. As the principal magistrate of Plymouth, Bradford was responsible for putting in place laws that protected the colony and helped it to prosper. While governor, William Bradford wrote Of Plymouth Plantation in which he detailed the history of the Plymouth Colony and displayed his own reflections on the new world and has since served as the chief source for many studying the Pilgrims. John Winthrop (1588-1649) came to New England as a member of the Massachusetts Bay Company.
A religious man, he previously had traveled to England with a large contingent of puritans that wished to establish both a religious and economic colony in the New World. Right before the Massachusetts Bay Company departed in 1829, Winthrop became the governor. He landed in Salem in the year 1830 with over a thousand settlers. He then served as governor until his death. Like William Bradford, John Winthrop’s journal is a chief source for many studying the American Colonial period.
The more visible difference between the two colonies lies in their views of religion and their practices of Christianity. Pilgrims and Puritans were Protestants who differed in degree. While both followed the teaching of John Calvin, a cardinal difference distinguished one group from the other: Pilgrims were Puritans who had abandoned local parishes and formed small congregations of their own because the Church of England was not holy enough to meet their standards. They were labeled
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Separatists. An important distinction between the two colonies’ and their beliefs can be found in their governors’ views on divine providence. Throughout William Bradford’s narrative, one can find countless examples of God’s providence saving the pilgrim people. In one instance, the Pilgrims find themselves in the treacherous Hudson River. By some miracle, the mayflower is able to flee the treacherous waters and continue on. William Bradford details this providence writing, “[the pilgrims] thought themselves happy to get out of those dangers before night overtook them, as by God’s good providence they did.” Time and time again, the reader is able to visualize God’s providence breaking down every barrier that stands in the pilgrims’ journey to the New World. And, once they finally settle in Massachusetts, they realize that, barring some significant breakthrough in farming, it will be difficult for all to survive. Bradford then shows, yet again, God’s providence coming in and saving the pilgrims. “And here is to be noted a special providence of God”, writes Bradford, “and a great mercy to this poor people, that here they got enough seed to plant them corn the next year, or else they might have starved.” For Bradford and the pilgrims, divine providence was direct, and provided by a loving God. John Winthrop’s writings suggest a different version of divine providence. Winthrop’s journals focused less on examples that showcased a loving God’s divine providence and instead showcased a strict God whose divine providence brought forth punishment and justice. An excerpt reads, “Two men servants to one Moodye, of Roxbury, returning in a boat from the windmill, struck upon the oyster bank. They went out to gather oysters, and not making fast their boat, when the flood came, it floated away, and they were both drowned, although they might have waded out on either side; but it was an evident judgment of God upon them, for they were wicked persons.” To John Winthrop and the puritans with him, God’s providence was intended to bring about justice and relinquish and destroy all the evils in the world. This is especially noted during Winthrop’s retelling of an event that occurred between a snake and a mouse. “At Watertown there was (in the view of divers witnesses) a great combat between a mouse and a snake; and after a long fight, the mouse prevailed and killed the snake. The pastor of Boston, Mr. Wilson, a very sincere, holy man, hearing of it, gave this interpretation: That the snake was the devil; the mouse was a poor contemptible people, which God had brought hither, which should overcome Satan here, and dispossess him of his Kingdom.” Thus, the puritans of Winthrop’s colony saw God’s providence as the destruction of Satan’s presence in the world rather than the pilgrim’s view of a loving idea of divine providence. William Bradford and John Winthrop’s accounts of pilgrim and puritan show another important distinction, namely, differing views on property and land usage.
Initially, William Bradford’s colonies were communalistic in nature. In order for the Pilgrims to get the financial support they needed to go to the New World, they joined with a group of “adventurers” who helped finance the voyage. The two groups made a pact to ensure the unity and success of the colony. Because of this pact, communalism was essential to the survival of the colony, and all had to act with the community in mind. There was no room for individual desires or wealth. According to the rules that were established, the colonial government assigned different people specific tasks to which they were best suited; some were fishermen, some farmers, others artisans, all focusing on making the community stronger and more successful. A license was required to fish, and the colony regulated virtually every element of food production and land use. Each person was obligated to donate some of his crop to the community, in order that no one would be rich, and no one would be poor. All profits made off one’s land would be property of the community and used to support the colonial government as well as provide supplies to new settlers who came without the necessary provisions for survival. Preservation of the environment was not the primary goal of these laws, but they did inadvertently put a check on how much land the
colony could use. And, while they later had to abandon the communalistic system because of inefficiency, the pilgrims still were conscious of utilizing all of God’s creation to the fullest.
Hmmm…this was a very interesting letter written by John Winthrop to Sir Nathaniel Rich and is definitely very different from Sebastian Brandt’s letter describing Jamestown. Winthrop is the first governor (and very proud!) of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and clearly wrote this letter with authority and confidence. As the governor, he also had the “burden” to prove to the audience, in this case, Sir Nathaniel Rich, a wealthy Puritan sympathizer in England, that the Colony was thriving and in good condition. In contrast, Winthrop’s 1631 letter to his wife had a much different tone. In it, he wrote that the Massachusetts colony was not faring well until a ship bearing supplies finally arrived. It is clear that Boston wasn’t faring as well as it
Have you ever wondered whose hands our country was in at the start of our time? Captain John Smith was one of the first American heroes. He was the first man to promote a permanent settlement of America. William Bradford was a Puritan who was courageous and determined to set up a colony where citizens could worship freely. Although both of these men were two of America’s heroes, they had more differences than known.
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In the early stages of North American colonization by the English, the colony of Jamestown, Virginia was founded in 1607 (Mailer Handout 1 (6)). Soon after the Massachusetts Bay Colony was founded in 1629 (Mailer Handout 2 (1)). These two colonies, although close in the time they were founded, have many differences in aspects of their lives and the way they were settled. The colonies have a different religious system, economic system, political system, and they have a different way of doing things; whether that be pertaining to making money, practicing religion, or electing governors. Along with the differences, there are also a sameness between these two colonies. Each colony has been derived from England and has been founded by companies
The Jamestown and Plymouth settlements were both settled in the early 1600's. Plymouth and Jamestown were located along the shoreline in Massachusetts and Virginia, respectively. Although both had different forms of government, they both had strong leadership. Jamestown was controlled by the London Company, who wanted to profit from the venture, while the Puritans who settled at Plymouth were self-governed with an early form of democracy and settled in the New World to gain religious freedom. John Smith took charge in efforts to organize Jamestown, and at Plymouth William Bradford helped things run smoothly.
There may not be two more contrasting characters of early America then Thomas Morton and John Winthrop. Morton was nicknamed, "Leader of Misrule" while Winthrop was seen as the "model of [a] perfect earthly ruler" (147). These two figures not only help settle a new land, they also had firsthand knowledge of each other. They are not two people that lived years apart from each other but rather they lived concurrently. With two such polarizing people living in a small new land, there was bound to be at least one disagreement. We are fortunate to have writings from each of these two fascinating men. One can't help but be thoroughly entertained when reading the words that each man left behind. Morton was the rebellious and raucous and Winthrop was the conservative preacher. Each had different ideas and ideals for what America was to become. Their two opinions could not differ much more from the other but they both weren't quite right. It seems that America has found a middle ground. Perhaps these two help set the path to where we stand now.
As the regions began to expand and develop, their motivations for settlement helped to mold their societies. New England was a place where men sought refuge from religious persecution and was established as a haven for religious refugees. Despite this reason for settling, the New Englanders still attempted to spread their own beliefs of religion. As illustrated by John Winthrop in his Model of a Christian Charity, he preached to his fellow colonists that “we shall be a city upon a hill” (Doc A) exemplifying the Puritans’ aspirations of a Holy Utopia. He and countless other New Englanders practiced the belief that they must all work together. They were determined to “mourn together, labor and suffer together, always having before our eyes our commission and community in the work.” The Articles of Agreement plainly laid out the basis for the New England region. These articles made New England a cosmopolitan mix of rich and poor families, all being in possession of land and resolute in doing God’s work (Doc D). However, while the New Englanders settled to create a Holy Utopia, the people of the Chesapeake were concerned not only with their religious freedom, but also ...
The seventeenth century was marked with a wide revolution for exploration, to a new world filled with land and opportunity. In William Bradford’s Of Plymouth Plantation, we are given a window into the exclusive lives of the pilgrims and their experiences along their journey to and through Massachusetts. We are able to read the account that “epitomizes the spirit of determination and self-sacrifice that seems to us characteristic of our first ‘Pilgrims.’” Bradford’s narrative plainly, yet elegantly describes the success, failures, triumph and unity in the early beginnings of the new founded puritan community.
John Winthrop was given the role of Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, which was the first major settlement, and his original aim as governor of this land was to make the colony a democracy. The Massachusetts Bay Colony was a successful settlement thanks to the group of governors and leaders the colony had. Even though Winthrop did not succeed making the Massachusetts Bay Colony a democratic colony he was still a great leader because of his leadership skills, he was one of the most educated men in “the new world”, and his determination for success, which helped push the colony in a positive way.
His only concern was how he was going to look as a person, the work, and the money. Plymouth, on the other hand had very generous leaders. William Bradford, was a farmer in Yorkshire, England. He was elected governor, a position he held for more than 30 years, and his tolerance for diverse beliefs was in part responsible for the success of the Plymouth Colony. Their main concern was God.
Of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford and A Description of New England by John Smith are essentially irrelevant to one another in the way that each piece has a very different point of view. The author John Smith was a pilgrim who arrived in the Americas and wrote a description of the new land. William Bradford was also a pilgrim who arrived at Plymouth and wrote more about the realities of his personal journey. The purpose of this essay is to contrast the purposes of the writers, their intended audiences, and how each writer gives out a specific feeling.
John Winthrop and Jonathan Edwards were two different authors, writing in two different time periods, but had a common goal. They were working bring people both to Christ and back to Christ. Winthrop was preaching his sermon called, “A Model of Christian Charity” on the ship to the “New World.” Winthrop preached about men giving gifts to other men so that God could give people who have gifts the satisfaction of helping someone in need. On the other hand, Edwards was writing, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" in a time period called the Great Awakening, in an attempt to bring “corrupted people” back to the church with scare tactics. Winthrop and Edwards were both exceptional authors and preachers, but lived in different times with different
If one had the opportunity to enlighten others of their new land, what would they reveal? John Smith and William Bradford both were given this opportunity and wrote tales about their endeavors in New England; the two of them had very differing stories. The two men were both leaders who established colonies, and they attempted to attract readers with their writing. Both John Smith and William Bradford wrote stories about their colonies and experiences there, but each of them had contrasting views of what they chose to share.
William Bradford, the second governor of Plymouth colony elected, was accountable for the young colony’s success through great hardships. The Pilgrims were signified as complete abdicates from the Church of England. The success of the Plymouth was based on covenantalism - the belief that men could form compacts or covenants in the sight of God as a basis for government without the consent of a higher authority. According to Bradford’s exposé, the Pilgrims:
In “ A Description of New England ”, Smith starts by describing the pleasure and content that risking your life for getting your own piece of land brings to men. On the other hand, Bradford reminds us how harsh and difficult the trip to the New World was for the p...