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Why did Winthrop think that the Puritans were a special people? And why did he believe they had to be especially careful in their new endeavor? Puritan wanted to reform their church and opposed to the corruption of the Church of England so they moved to the New World. John Winthrop wanted to show England that their way was wrong; therefore he wanted to prove it to them by presenting that the Puritans have a successful colony.
He didn’t have the smallest connection with the Church of England. Williams rejected its teachings entirely and demanded complete dissociation between the Church of England and anyone who claimed to be living under God’s command. Winthrop responded by claiming that the people of England were just misled Christians that needed to be guided back into morality and for this reason, there was no need to completely detach from them. Winthrop’s response showed that even when dealing with opposers he displayed the characteristics of a good leader (Morgan 110-114). Instead of immediately shutting down Williams or ignoring his beliefs, Winthrop exhorted to “meet them with arguments and not merely authority (Morgan 110).
In March of 1629, The Company of Massachusetts Bay Colony was granted a charter from King Charles I to emigrate to New England. At the beginning of their new journey, English Puritan, John Winthrop, preached his sermon of "A Model of Christian Charity", as the new found governor of the colony. Winthrop's specific teachings in this sermon were God's new expected life of the Puritans. The Puritans were expected to live in this way as an appreciation to their God, if he had brought them to New England safely. Luckily, the Puritans landed in New England after all the hardships and troubled waters they encountered on the high seas.
Winthrop believes that the church in England is corrupt and requires purification to become more pleasant to God. Winthrop finally moved to the US and settled in Massachusetts. Winthrop’s migration is helpful in the determination of his views on the relationship between the government and religion in an ideal society. He was involved in the formation of a
He believed that individuals were personally responsible for encountering the scripture, reading it correctly, and living by God’s word. Bradford was a strong believer that evil-doers suffered and were destroyed, while good people suffered as a trial for God. An example of this would be Bradford’s account of witnessing God’s true power over a young man onboard the Mayflower. According to
Many of the travelers to the New World had their goals in mind, some expecting to own a piece of land, while others seeking religious freedom. There were quite a number of ideas and goals proclaimed by John Winthrop in his sermon as he embarked with many others to the New World in hopes to create a society based around their religious beliefs. Some of those ideas were comparable to the laws of Pennsylvania where William Penn and the legislature wrote and put in place laws that gave religious freedom to all, but were with Christian ideals. The new Pennsylvanian laws and John Winthrop’s sermon had many things in common, one being the creation of a close knit colony or utopian society which would focus on puritan ideals.
John Calvin was a French Theologian who and was the leader of the Protestant Reformation (John Calvin, World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras). He first had studied to become a priest then became fascinated with theology and started to study it (John Calvin, World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras). The church taught that if you are not a part of God than you will not go into heaven. John Calvin believed that all people are flawed and corrupt so because of this they can not understand or take part in his salvation (John Calvin, World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras). John Calvin’s moral was everyone should live a moral life and hope that God will save them (John Calvin, World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras).
In John Winthrop’s sermon he states that, “For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us…” (188). To Winthrop this meant that they needed to prove that it is possible to live a true Christian life. To Thomas Jefferson the idea of the “city upon a hill” meant something different. Throughout his “Notes On the State of Virginia,” Jefferson emphasizes the importance of maintaining the new government.
The ideas constructed by the Puritans were not simply a principal starting point for American culture because they were the first in the country, but because they offered distinct ways of thinking that are still deep-seated in our culture today. Although many of the ideas of Puritans have evolved or vanished over time, it is important to give credit to the Puritan writers and thinkers such as John Winthrop and John Cotton who offered ideas that were new at the time and that stayed with the American consciousness—culturally, socially, and politically. “John Winthrop's legacy can be seen primarily in the fields of government, commerce, and religion. It was religion that would most impact John's life; his religion would ultimately impact the
John Calvin John Calvin was an important aspect in the reformation for multiple reasons one being that he was a leading figure by publishing the Institutes of the Christian Religion which he hoped to regulate Protestantism. He also became a valued spiritual and political leader in which he put together a religious government. Later given absolute supremacy as the leader in Geneva. He was a man who instituted numerous positive policies. He did a superb job of what he was trying to accomplish, he banned all art other than music which ended up creating Geneva the center of Protestantism, which is what he was shooting for initially.
John Calvin is considered one of the most important people in regards to the Protestant Reformation during the early-mid 1500’s. He was a pastor that took his job seriously and wanted to influence people to go beyond conformity and to try to grasp who God truly is, not just who others preached that He is. He encouraged thinking, not conformity. This new ideology, of course, brought about conflict between the widely prevalent Roman Catholicism of that day and Calvin’s personal conviction. The doctrinal differences mentioned in the prayers were part of that conflict.
John Locke was a philosopher and political scientist. He had many interests and produced a number of writings that influenced future leaders. One of these leaders was Thomas Jefferson, who was involved with the aid of America and the act gaining independence from Britain. The Declaration of Independence and Locke’s views on government contain many similar aspects. These ideas includes the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (natural rights); the protection that is provided by the government for these rights; and the altering or abolishment of government if it fails to provide and protect the rights of the people.
The arrival of the first Europeans in the Americas is dramatically captured through the many writers who attempted to communicate what they saw, experienced and felt. What is more, the very purposes of their treacherous travel and colonization are clearly seen in their writings; whether it is poetry, history or sermons. Of the many literary pieces available today, William Bradford and John Winthrop’s writings, even though vary because the first is a historical account and the second is a sermon, stand out as presenting a clear trust in God, the rules that would govern them and the reason they have arrived in the Americas. First of all, William Bradford provides an in-depth look into the first moment when the Puritans arrived in the Americas. In fact, he chronicles the hardships they face on their way to Plymouth, yet he includes God’s provision every step of the way.
In the New England region they wanted their freedom to practice their religion. In Chesapeake they wanted the most profit they could get from gold, which then resulted in growing tobacco. In New England they wanted to be free to choose their religion, because in England they were puritans (separatists)but, they were forced to be Anglican against their will. In a writing to John Winthrop he wrote, “So if we do not honor God… will cause Him to abandon us.” (A Model of Christian Charity)
There were many philosophers in the 17th and 18th century that influenced and inspired the founders of our country. For instance, John Locke believed that life, liberty, and property should be our natural rights as humans and if the government could not secure these rights then the people could get rid of them. That idea impacted Thomas Jefferson when he wrote the Declaration of Independence. This was the perfect time to develop different theories and contradictions because this was right around the time of the printing press and protestant reformation where people started to question the catholic church. Other philosophers like Thomas Hobbes, Voltaire, Montesquieu, and Rousseau impacted founders like George Washington and James Madison who have positively affected this country in many different ways.