Essay on A City Upon a Hill by John Winthrop

Introduction. The new boundaries and opportunities in the seventeenth century grew and challenged an idea of religious liberty. The lifestyle of the first colonists in the New England was heavily influenced by religion and church. Settlers considered that success of social life depends on the obedience to God’s will. The governor John Winthrop maintained and developed this idea. With a help of his Speech to the Massachusetts General Court in 1645, he summed up and explained an important idea of liberty. Winthrop did not only define a blessed way for a better life of the community but also clarified the role of citizens through the analogy of women’s position in the society. His concept of natural and moral liberty turned up to be suitable and clear for the settlers. With a help of well-built speech, Winthrop emphasized and explained correlation among society, authority, and God in the New World.

Separatists founded Plymouth and broke from the Anglican Church. John Winthrop vocalized within Document A that “we shall be as a city upon a hill”. By saying this I believe that Winthrop suggested that the Puritans' community in New England promised to be a model of communal charity,

The New England colonies were founded by English Puritans, and a small group of Puritans, called Separatist, sailed to Plymouth on the May Flower in 1620. Next, John Winthrop founded the Massachusetts Bay in 1630. Nonetheless, all of this didn’t come easy to them. In the winter of 1620 – 1621, only forty – four Plymouth pilgrims survived out of 102. The Massachusetts Bay was not a democracy because Winthrop believed common people couldn’t rule. Also, people who challenged the church

England’s desire for economic gain and religious freedom sparked the beginning of their interest in colonialism in America (Gouch, LeGuin, & Walton, 1998). While some settlers came to America in search of gold or other riches, the Puritans that settled the Massachusetts Bay Colony came to escape religious persecution and have freedom to worship as they desired. In 1630, over a thousand Puritans arrived, being led by a lawyer named John Winthrop. All English settlers were required to set up charter system governments. This system allowed the settlers to organize

Within the colony of Massachusetts, religion played an important role in shaping the community’s people and interests. The reason for the Puritans move to North America was to escape the convictions the Christians of England were placing on them (Divine, 89). Winthrop and his followers believed that in this new land they must create a place where they could come together as a people and build the perfect religious society (Divine, 90). In a speech about his vision for the land, John Winthrop said, “We must delight in each

In Edmund S. Morgan’s, The Puritan Dilemma, it was evident that John Winthrop focused his entire life around glorifying God, in turn creating a government that did the same. This ideology translated into the way he shaped and structured Puritan society. Winthrop first focused on the formation of a community of unity and harmony, then built a government that fostered it. All of the governmental structures in place were supporting one main focus of the Puritan society being “a city on a hill.” Citation Further, Puritan society was to act as an example for the surrounding colonies of godly living. Harmony was backed by their ideals of

Winthrop’s political theory developed from an early age. As a religious man, one would expect him to be a preacher, but he found his calling through law and leadership. Because he was such a devout Puritan, he was chosen to spearhead the project of establishing the Massachusetts Bay Colony, which was originally purposed for economic uses. This changed when the group elected him as governor, which altered the purpose of the colony to be more religious in nature. As a result, this group of Christians made an “exodus” from the old world with the mindset of establishing a “true Christian society”, much like the Jews fleeing from Egypt, as described in the first testament, book of Exodus in the Bible. They felt it was not only a privilege but a duty of God, and as the metaphorical and literal hands of God, to uphold the values of a true Puritan society. This cemented in him a purpose to erect a community that would be that “Citty on a Hill” that is so famously quoted.

“A Model of Christian Charity” is a sermon that was delivered by John Winthrop in 1630 while he was on board of the ship Arbella which was sailing to the Massachusetts Bay Colony. This sermon is best known for its application of the phrase "City upon a Hill" regarding the founding of the United States, and later used in the description of American exceptionalism (Morgan 112). “A city set on a hill” stated they intended to live the way God wanted them to live as well as

John Winthrop's dream was for the Massachusetts colony to be respected by the world for how its people give to others in need and for the relationships people in the community had with each other. The Pilgrims and Puritans came to america to practice their own religion. When the Pilgrims arrived in America; they were supposed to be in Virginia. A storm set them off course and they ended up in Cape Cod. The Pilgrims decided to call the area Plymouth, and because there was no government there; they created a new government known as the Mayflower Compact. When the Puritans came 10 years later with John Winthrop. He wanted to make a government that was based around God and one that would be a good example for other colonies to follow in the future.

In 1630, John Winthrop gave his sermon, “A Model of Christian Charity,” while traveling to New England. Winthrop was the new governor of a colony called “The Company of Massachusetts Bay in New England” (“John Winthrop” 177). He gave his sermon in order to lay down the laws of the new land for the people of Massachusetts Bay. Winthrop’s sermon is directed towards the settlers of Massachusetts Bay. His role as governor allowed him to set rules for his people and encourage the settlers of the colony to support one another as they built their lives in New England. Winthrop’s sermon is strongly supported by his Puritan beliefs, as he makes references to many different books form the Bible. He is straight forward with his expectations as the new governor of Massachusetts Bay and clearly states his expectations in his sermon.

During the time of English colonization and settlement, John Winthrop wrote many pieces related to the importance of religion in society. These writings include A Model of Christian Charity which focused mainly on Puritan ideas on how to treat one another in order for the colony to survive.Winthrop, a very influential Puritan founder, proposed a society in the new colony of Massachusetts centered around religion and the idea that Puritan beliefs were the only sure way to ensure God’s blessings. Winthrop discusses that it is a civil duty amongst colonists to involve the Puritan religion in everyday life in order to preserve the colony as well as Puritan values. In the piece Winthrop writes that if the colony “ ...shall neglect the observation of these

The theme of the text City Upon a Hill by John Winthrop is that good people have the role of being leaders, who make people strive to be better. John Winthrop was a preacher upon the Arabella which was a ship carrying hundreds of Puritans to Massachusetts from England to escape the religious persecution they were facing.This shows us that he was a brave soul who wanted to help others to get their religious freedoms. Throughout the story he states that he wanted to create a model society, he says that “for we must consider that wee shall be as a citty upon a hill”. It also stated that,”I shall shutt upp this discourse with the exhortation of Moses, the faithful servant of the lord, in his last farewell to Israel”. He quotes Moses speaking

The Massachusetts colony, otherwise known as the ‘Massachusetts Bay colony’ was originally settled by Puritans in 1630. They were plagued by the religious persecutions of King Charles I and the Church of England. Weary from this dogged torment, they left England under the leadership of John Winthrop. These original colonists quickly established many small towns in the name of high religious ideals and strict societal rules. They also planted churches, spread Puritanism and religiously educated the masses, as these were some of their goals. A utopian society that other colonies looked upon with high regards was the ultimate goal.

The influence that Winthrop’s speech had could easily be seen throughout the northern colonies. Because many of the northern colonies were founded for religious reasons, religion played a large role in everyday life during these times. If you were found to violate your contract with god you were kicked out of the colony, forced to live in the woods with the Indians where, more often the not, they would kill you. Roger Williams was an example of this. He criticized many of Winthrop's views on the Puritan society such as the right of the Puritans to seize Native American land (Henretta, 47). Williams and his followers were exiled from the colony, and ended up starting their own colony, named Rhode Island, where inhabitants would have the freedom to practice whatever religion they wanted too. This is yet another example of a colony founded purely for religious purposes. Other colonies were also founded for the same reasons as Rhode Island. Thomas Hooker, for example, founded Connecticut, for almost the exact same reasons Rhode Island

The "A Model of Christian Charity" sermon is based on Matthew 5:14 "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden" , in which John Winthrop warned the puritan colonists that their new community in New England would be a "city upon a hill", watched by the world. Winthrop stated "For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us". This entire sermon is a clear statement of the special purpose, instilled by Winthrop, which helped motivate the colonists in route to the new world, establishing a covenant with God, with strict adherence to Puritan religious beliefs.