John Winthrop was a well-respected man of his time. He wrote one of his famous sermons “A Modell of Christian Charity” as him and other Puritans left England for America in 1630 and he also became the first governor of Massachusetts, but before that he was a different man. As an early child raised in England, John was usually exposed to religious conversations between his father and clergymen that resulted in John receiving information about religion. As he grew older he would also keep a journal to describe his religious understanding and feelings towards religion. By having these influences and by wanting to know more about religion, it helped shape what he wrote because if he was never exposed to the religious views and religion in general,
Summarize the reasoning given by John Winthrop for why humankind is separated into economic and political classes.
A Puritan lawyer, John Winthrop, immigrated to New England because his views on religion were different from those in England. Even though Puritans are Protestants, Puritans tried to purify the English Church. In 1630 on board of the Arabella on the Atlantic Ocean on way to Massachusetts, he wrote “A Model of Christian Charity” which gave his views on what a society should be. ‘…the condition of mankind, [that] in all times some must be rich, some poor, some high and eminent in power and dignity, other mean and in subjection….[Yet] we must knit together in this work as one man.’ (Doc. A). In this he is saying that men may be different but to make a new world work, they must work together. All through his speech he mentions God. For example, he opens his sermon with ‘God Almighty in his most holy and wise providence…’. This shows that in New England, the people were very religious.
The American political notions we practice today take root from early colonial times. Our political understanding had its genesis as early as the 17th century, which stemmed from the writings of intellectuals, such as John Winthrop and William Penn. Equipped with these convictions, both Winthrop and Penn brought about visions of how their respective colonies will be structured in the New World. John Winthrop wrote The Modell of Christian Charity as a platform to lead a group of Puritan refugees in the colony of Boston, Massachusetts. Also armed with his own political philosophies, William Penn’s Frame of Government of Pennsylvania constructed a settlement, which promoted religious liberty and individual conscience. Although the two founders wrote about varying principles, there were some parallels evident between their founding visions. Furthermore, by highlighting the outward distinctions and similarities of their visions, we can recognize the strengths and weaknesses of the two political structures. Ultimately, the explorations of these very elements aid in determining which community is more appealing to call home. In my case, the principle of individual
I find John Winthrop and Jonathan Edwards to be the most fascinating writers I have ever read. For one, they are the "apostles" of our time. Second, their comparisons to the apostles of Christ are too close to ignore.
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.
Religion is still important in many facets of society, but not in the same structure John Winthrop had hoped for. Overall, the “City on a Hill” was meant to serve as an example society for others to study and learn from, no matter if it succeeded or failed, which it ultimately accomplished. Although many Puritan beliefs have gone by the wayside, they were able to set a precedent for future generations.
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.
Mankind can be conceived in interesting ways by analyzing the writings of John Smith and John Winthrop. As I read through John Smith‘s “A Description of New England” and John Winthrop’s “A Model of Christian Charity,” it became evident to me that the two readings had similar and different viewpoints of the essential nature of man. Throughout my paper, I will compare their similar beliefs of community and diversity of people and completely contrast their ideas of emphasis on religion and relationships with enemies.
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:
Gaustad, Edwin S. The Religious History of America: The Heart of the American Story from Colonial Times to Today. N.p.: HarperOne, 2004. Print.
In 1630, the Massachusetts Bay Company set sail to the New World in hope of reforming the Church of England. While crossing the Atlantic, John Winthrop, the puritan leader of the great migration, delivered perhaps the most famous sermon aboard the Arbella, entitled “A Model of Christian Charity.” Winthrop’s sermon gave hope to puritan immigrants to reform the Church of England and set an example for future immigrants. The Puritan’s was a goal to get rid of the offensive features that Catholicism left behind when the Protestant Reformation took place. Under Puritanism, there was a constant strain to devote your life to God and your neighbors. Unlike the old England, they wanted to prove that New England was a community of love and individual worship to God. Therefore, they created a covenant with God and would live their lives according to the covenant. Because of the covenant, Puritans tried to abide by God’s law and got rid of anything that opposed their way of life. Between 1630 and the 18th century, the Puritans tried to create a new society in New England by creating a covenant with God and living your life according to God’s rule, but in the end failed to reform the Church of England. By the mid 1630’s, threats to the Puritans such as Roger Williams, Anne Hutchinson, and Thomas Hooker were being banned from the Puritan community for their divergent beliefs. 20 years later, another problem arose with the children of church members and if they were to be granted full membership to the church. Because of these children, a Halfway Covenant was developed to make them “halfway” church members. And even more of a threat to the Puritan society was their notion that they were failing God, because of the belief that witches existed in 1692.
The sources of Emerson’s writings were from the early colonists, and he acknowledged them in his writings (Bloom 34). His writings were secular, and the readers of the era were sometimes scared by the lack of religious references and biblical texts in his writings. His writings were considered daring for his time, but they were moral (Unger 2).
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.
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.