Compare And Contrast William Bradford And John Smith

Possible presidential candidate Ben Carson can be quoted as saying, “Through hard work, perseverance, and faith in God, you can live your dreams.” Growing up Mr. Carson faced many different adversities such as poverty, persecution, and overwhelming odds against him. However, with hard work he achieved dreams and continues to achieve new dreams. (Meet Ben) Similarly, William Bradford and John Smith faced many obstacles in their journeys to America. While they both write their views about the new world they send very different messages. John Smith is very liberal in speaking of the ease of pleasure, profit, and contentment, while William Bradford conveys a more realistic view of pioneering America including the pilgrims struggles.
In John Smith’s A Description of New England he speaks of working only three days out of the week, having more than one can spend, and spending an abundance of time enjoying in nature. He states, “Wherein the most curious may find pleasure, profit, and content.” (Baym, 95) Smith seems to imply that a newcomer to Virginia can do less work than if they were in England with much more reward. He calls to people that they should, “embrace employment,” (94) working hard to create something for themselves in Virginia. Overall, Smith’s

He states that one could sell fish at the market to merchants, do carpentry work, and/or many other skilled trades. (94) However, Smith neglects to go into detail about the economic set up of early colonies. In the beginning, the pilgrims took a communist approach were everyone stock piled what they had and everyone shared (150). Bradford realizing that some worked more than others redirected the pilgrims toward a free market, thus combating greed and negligence. Eventually, the pilgrims did finally have enough to sustain themselves along with excess, but only after lots of hard work and merciful training from the Indians.