Prior to the founding of the Massachusetts Bay colony with John Winthrop, there was an official agreement signed in 1620, which was called the Mayflower Compact. This agreement was written and signed by traders, separatists, pilgrims, and Puritans wishing to settle in America. The agreement states that settlers could form a government, and the people would have to obey its laws. This document set the basis for John Winthrop’s rule of Massachusetts Bay. Around this time, there weren’t many documents enforcing strict rules in America, which made it easier for Winthrop to set these rules in place. John Winthrop was one of the first settlers in Massachusetts Bay. He helped found Massachusetts Bay back in 1628 while leading the first colony of English settlers. Considering the …show more content…
As previously mentioned, John Winthrop is a founder of the Massachusetts Bay colony, and this speech was given around the time the colony was founded, which allows us to believe that this speech was meant for the previous and new settlers of the Massachusetts Bay colony. Because most of the settlers were new and following John Winthrop, this does make the source unreliable because they clearly would like to follow John Winthrop and his word because again, he is their leader, and they believe that Winthrop’s beliefs are the correct path to follow. However, for the previous settlers of this colony they might not agree with Winthrop’s beliefs, considering they may already have their own, which again proves the unreliability of this source. John Winthrop’s main purpose is to secure Puritanism rule in the Massachusetts Bay