American Colonization and the Puritan Settlers
This assignment supports the following course outcomes:
Demonstrate familiarity with the diversity and backgrounds of American cultures.
Write critical papers that make arguments salient to the students' reading of the texts in question.
Demonstrate critical thinking and reading skills when reading and responding to texts.
Demonstrate understanding of how cultural and political movements have affected the literary arts.
Demonstrate a broad understanding of American and world history through consideration of the various cultural contexts of various texts.
Assignment Overview
This assignment requires the student to use critical thinking skills to interpret the reading
assignments from this week in terms of cultural context.
Step 1: Contrast the Puritan settlers as opposed to those who came to the colonies
for other reasons.
Contrast the Puritan settlers (Bradford, Bradstreet, Winthrop) as opposed to those (as exemplified by John Smith) who came to the colonies for other reasons.
Draw on the assigned readings from this week’s lesson to provide specific illustrations in order to better explain your comparison and make it concrete.
The Norton Anthology of American Literature, 9th Shorter Edition, Volume 1:
Introduction, 3-26;
John Smith, "General History of Virginia," 53-66;
Bradford, "Of Plymouth Plantation," 73-78;
Bradstreet, "The Prologue" 114; "Contemplations" 115; "To My Dear and Loving Husband" 124;
Franklin, The Autobiography of Ben Franklin, 220-245 (yes, it ends in the middle of the page).
I can send the readings
Course
Instructor
Date
Colonization
American colonization is a broad phenomenon. Puritanism migration into American is quite exceptional in history because it left an indelible footprint. American Puritanism is one of the most domineering themes in American life due to its enduring shaping influences in American thought and life. Puritanism gave Americans a sense of history due to religious infusion under the direction of God. As Max Weber argues, puritanism presented a contradictory approach where Christian’s ethics clashed with growing modernity. Puritanism comes with set ethics that somehow balanced charity and self-discipline. The pioneering Puritans called pilgrims to move across the Atlantic as they sought complete separation from the church of England. They had moved to the Dutch Republic due to the need for religious liberty, but the problem associated with loss of “Englishness” and the perceived impending attack by Spain against the Dutch Republic made them move to Plymouth Colony, which is present-day Massachusetts.
, William Bradford, as puritan settler governor of Plymouth, was a Separatist. He supported the complete separation from the English state church. The separatist posed a challenge to a unified English national church and empire. The conflict is vividly captured in Mayflower, which presented a religious rationale for the colonization of American rather than an economic reason. The contents as expressed in Mayflower was quite puzzling. They contrasted with other colonial movements, which were primarily driven by economic reasons. William Bradford ideas clash with John Winthrop anti-separatist ideologies regarding the church. As an early Puritan leader, John Winthrop aspired for a godly commonwealth based on established religion that remained in place in Massachusetts, but his vision was crushed by ideas of separation of church and state. This early trace of history illustrates how puritanism had a far-reaching influence in American history through religious conceptualization. As firsts settlers, puritans come to America for various reasons, but more importantly, to advocate for highly religious and moral principles. Their religious influence was packed as an American code of values and an app...