America has been shaped tremendously through the experiences and writings of British settlers. Through their negligence and responsibility, these writers were able to portray the truth and allow history to be told without bias or judgement. Each writer had to overcome their own hardship, which they wanted to share in a way that would get the attention of the reader and make reading about history more exciting. John Smith, William Bradford, and Cotton Mather each sought to write history as the truth as they viewed it through the lens of their experiences. John Smith is an infamous writer who wrote mostly in third person perspective, which gives the reader the illusion that he had a better connection with the natives than other explorers. He …show more content…
He wrote in first person perspective, and deeply discussed his religious role in the building of America. He describes himself and a group of people who “sailed from Southampton, England, on the Mayflower and settled in Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1620” as “Pilgrims” (Bradford 72) The Pilgrims believed that the Church of England was corrupt, so they divided into a separate group. They renamed themselves the “Puritans.” As Puritans, they gave all their trust and appreciation to God for everything that happened. This was contributed to their beliefs. Bradford emphasizes the struggle and difficulty the Pilgrims endured, to show what they had to go through and experience to claim the land as their own. They each dealt with many hardships, but they did not let it affect the glory they give God. People began getting extremely “sick from the cold and the wet; after all, it was December. About half the people on Mayflower died that first winter from what they described as a ‘general sickness’ of colds, coughs, and fevers” (Plimoth.org). There was also a limited amount of food, so most people starved. Bradford’s wife, Dorothy, passed away while the Mayflower was at anchor; but Bradford did not write anything about it (mayflowerhistory.com). Through all their hardships, he credited God for every experience he had, good or