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Why Is John Winthrop Called A City On A Hill

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he term "city on a hill" was initially invoked by English-born Puritan leader John Winthrop. The concept became central to the United States' conception of itself as an exceptional and exemplary nation. In 1630, aboard the Arbella before the ship's departure for the New World, Winthrop recited a sermon to his fellow travelers. Drawing upon Matthew 5:14–15, Winthrop articulated his vision of the prospective Puritan colony in New England as "a city upon a hill": an example to England and the world of a truly godly society. According to historian Perry Miller, Winthrop believed that this religious utopia would be acclaimed and imitated across the Old World, precipitating the Puritans' glorious return to England. This never happened; instead, as
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Throughout the seventeenth century, religious freedom was essentially a key to the new forming colonies. Many pursued the “New World” looking to gain individual rights for their own personal beliefs- which we understand today as religious freedom. The main group seeking this freedom was the Puritans who came to the New World from England. When the Puritans had reached the land where they wished to settle they called it the Massachusetts’s Bay Colony. The colony was said to be a place where one could express their beliefs freely.

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These ways reinforced the ministers’ power at the cost of the church members to create their “city upon a hill.” Regarding its church affiliation requirements, the New England Way differed from other Puritans; their saints were particularly different. Whereas English Puritan saints were those who piously devoted their lives to the Calvinist faith, New England Puritans saints were required to deliver an account of their conversion experience. New England Puritans also insisted on the importance of literacy and the understanding of Bible. Apart from the enforcement of public education, New England Puritans opposed state control of the church, and protested government by

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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.

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The New Englanders took religion seriously, making unitary laws according to Puritan standards. John Winthrop, later chosen as the first Massachusetts Bay Colony governor, was seeking religious freedom. Wishing to inspire the colonists to dwell in brotherly unity, he summoned them together to remind them “that if we [colonists] shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken, and so cause Him to withdraw His present help from us, we shall be made a story and a by-word through the world.” On the other hand, those in the Chesapeake region came for the wealth that America promised. They were there to become prosperous or die trying.

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The main focus of the people of New England whilst settling was to form a community and society that would prosper and last. In the 1630 document titled “A Model of Christian Charity”, John Winthrop wrote about the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and some of the rules and principles that the citizens there would abide by. For example, Winthrop stated, “…We must be knit together in this work as one man… We must consider that we shall be us a city upon a hill”. He is referring to how the people of Jamestown would work together as one and form a community of such prestige that other colonies will look up to it, as if it was placed on top of a hill for all of the world to shadow after.

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The values that early American writers considered most important were piety, courage, and industry. They were highly honored by the large Puritan population, and these values helped them survive the beginning of the colonies. Overtime, however, different values were stressed more than others. For example, in “Of Plymouth Plantation,” written around 1620, Bradford chooses to write about the piety, courage, and industry of all the settlers in his settlement. In 1630, Winthrop gave his sermon “A Model of Christian Charity,” and in it he motivates his audience using piety and industry as reasons to succeed.

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The Puritan’s goal of coming to the New World was not to create a new life, but to create the ideal model of living for the “corrupt” inhabitants of England. This was coined “The Errand”, the Puritans desire to establish a City Upon a Hill that others could look up to and imitate in order to receive God’s grace. The Puritans failed at building their City Upon a Hill (creating a perfect religious, economic, and political community), however the long-term effects of their efforts have influenced American moral politics throughout its history. The Puritans forever had the attitude of a community that had successfully established a City Upon a Hill. The Puritan lifestyle was heavily influenced not only by religion, but also inside of that, morality.

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“GOD ALMIGHTY in His most holy and wise providence, hath so disposed of the condition of mankind, as in all times some must be rich, some poor, some high and eminent in power and dignity; others mean and in submission.” was John Winthrop preamble to his sermon on the Arebella. Winthrop’s address to the Puritan who made up the Massachusetts Bay Colony for the purposes of pulling together individuals to worker together to form one community. Winthrop establishes a hierarchal economic and social class based on the providence of God in his preamble to A Model of Christian Charity. Furthermore, Winthrop gives three reasons for the social hierarchy.

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Puritan America during the seventeenth century was a theocracy. All moral and legal principles of Puritan America closely followed Protestant Christian beliefs. In Governor John Winthrop’s “A Modell of Christian Charity” Winthrop preaches, “We must love brotherly without dissimulation; we must love one another with a pure heart fervently.

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New England’s economy would also be influenced by the British tax later that would cause Americans to revolt many of which trusted in their faith to guide them The Puritans who settled in Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630 were also motivated by religious beliefs. They believed in the idea of a "city upon a hill," a vision of a holy community that would serve as an example to the rest of the world (American YAWP, 2.6). This belief led to a strict social order and a commitment to the moral and spiritual purity of the community. It also led to conflicts with other religious groups, such as the Quakers, who were seen as a threat to the Puritan social order.

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Chapter 3 Outline: • 3.1 The Protestant Reformation Produces Puritanism • 3.2 The Pilgrims End Their Pilgrimage at Plymouth • 3.3 The Bay Colony Bible Commonwealth • 3.4 Building the Bay Colony • 3.5 Trouble in the Bible Commonwealth • 3.6 The Rhode Island “Sewer” • 3.7 New England Spreads Out • 3.8 Puritans Versus Indians • 3.9 Seeds of Colonial Unity and Independence • 3.10 Andros Promotes the First American Revolution • 3.11 Old Netherlanders at New Netherlanders • 3.12 Friction with English and Swedish Neighbors • 3.13 Dutch Residues in New York • 3.14 Penn’s Holy Experiment in Pennsylvania • 3.15 Quaker Pennsylvania and Its Neighbors • 3.16 The Middle Way in the Middle Colonies   3.1 The Protestant Reformation Produces Puritanism

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Winthrop was a first-generation colonist and a Puritan. He’s surely reciting his sermon to surge the moral of the Puritans. He knows that the New World is full of trees, Native Americans, and other severe treats. Winthrop wants to avert the impending fears of the New World creating this sermon. This document was certainly published to represent depict the

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John Winthrop, a non-separating Puritan, was a leading figure in the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony that described the goal of this colony in his City Upon a Hill speech in which he says, “We must consider that we shall be as a city

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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.

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In the original sermon, Winthrop delivered this speech to the puritans aboard the Arbella, before they disembarked in Massachusetts.

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