The 1600s was a time for new foundation and exploration in the content of the Americas. In a search for truth, John Smith and William Bradford, along with many others, founded colonies in the new world. In the writings “A Description of New England” by John Smith and “Of Plymouth Plantation” by William Bradford, the tone of these two selections vary noticeably. Both authors use certain tones to attract and persuade certain audiences. John Smith often embellished himself through his own pen, while on the other hand Bradford wrote about the realities of the New World.
Captain John Smith and Governor William Bradford were two influential men that wrote of their experiences in America. They were both European and both desired to settle the land. However, the similarities end there. While Smith roamed Virginia as a scout and military man, Bradford planted his church community at Plymouth (modern day Massachusetts). Although Captain John Smith and William Bradford held and wrote about similar positions in similar situations, they handled these situations differently. Not only did they come to the New World for different reasons, they also had different focuses when they wrote the histories of their respective colonies. While Jamestown was established as a British response to Spain’s unfathomable economic success in South America, Plymouth was chosen by a group of religious refugees as the place in which their way of life and beliefs could thrive without outside interference.
Captain John Smith’s only apparent reason for coming over to the New World to settle was for the adventure that was sure to arise. In his early days, he did a lot of fighting, capturing, and being captured. When the opportunity arose to settle in the New World, it ...
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...th. Although in practice these beliefs were not fully realized or had different values attached to them, they nonetheless played an important role in shaping the outlooks of their inhabitants.
Works Cited
Baym, Nina, John Smith, and William Bradford. "John Smith and William Bradford." The Norton Anthology of American Literature: Shorter Eighth Edition Volume 1 Beginnings to 1865. 8th ed. New York, NY: W.W. Norton, 2013. 57-89. Print.
Bradford, William. "Bradford's "Of Plymouth Plantation: 1620-1647"." Historical Archaeology and Public Engagement. The Plymouth Colony Archive Project, n.d. Web. 3 Mar. 2014.
Smith, John. "Map of Virginia. With a Description of the Countrey, the Commodities, People, Government and Religion. , by John Smith 1580-1631." Home | Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities. Early Americas Digital Archive, n.d. Web. 3 Mar. 2014.
Cronon, William. Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England. New York: Hill and Wang, 1983. Print.
Smith, Carter. Daily Life, A Sourcebook on Colonial America: The Millbrook Press, Brookfield, Connecticut 1991
The New England and the Southern colonial settlements were united in several areas that created the opportunity for each group of colonies to grow. However, these groups of colonies took divergent paths when it came to the founders’ motives to settle the New World, the importance of religious and social orientation, economic approaches and political developments. These different approaches were ultimately successful beyond the early founders’ expectations.
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.
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.
Cronon, William. Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England. New York: Hill and Wang, 1983. Print.
Settlers in the Chesapeake region used force to take possession of Indian lands. The Chesapeake region of the colonies included Virginia, Maryland, the New Jerseys and Pennsylvania. In 1607, Jamestown (the first English colony in the New World) was founded by a group of settlers along the James River. And because the colony was near water, the Pilgrims had a great advantage. They created a society that was full of companies interested in profiting from the natural resources of the New World. They also turned to the local Powhatan Indians, who taught them the process of corn- and tobacco-growing. These staple-crops flourished throughout all five of these colonies. After the ship arrived, John Smith’s main concern was to “dig gold, refine gold, and load gold” but there was no g...
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 ...
Of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford, The General History of Virginia, New England, and the Summer Isles by John Smith, and The Tempest by William Shakespeare, seem to have one thing in common in that they all touch upon the aspect of life in the new world. While The Tempest alludes to the new world and focuses on an imaginary concept of a Utopian society, The General History of Virginia, New England, and the Summer Isles and Of Plymouth Plantation offer first hand accounts of life in the new world. John Smith tells us about life on the new land and his experiences with natives while William Bradford emphasizes the difficulties and hardships that the people had to endure in building a colony.
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.
Born in Austerfield England in 1590, William Bradford, orphaned at an early age, raised by several relatives, and with no formal education, became one of the most influential men of the original American Colonists, and is credited as the “Father of American history,” with his diaries of the Pilgrims’ journey and struggles to America. “Of Plymouth Plantation” the journals of William Bradford are still one of the major resources used for historians for this time in history. (Schoenberg, 2001)
Taylor, Alan American Colonies: The Settling of North America, New York, NY: Penguin Group, 2001. pg. 1685-1730
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...
2. Cook Don, The Long Fuse How England lost the American colonies 1760-1785, Atlantic Monthly Press, New York, 1995
Belasco, Susan, and Linck Johnson, eds. The Bedford Anthology of American Literature. Vol. 1, 2nd Ed., Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2014. 1190-1203. Print.