CDL - Arabella Sermon, John Winthrop

CDL #3 – Arabella Sermon – John Winthrop

1. What was John Winthrop’s intention in using the phrase “…we shall be as a city upon the hill.  The eyes of all people are upon us.”?

John Winthrop was speaking of the need for their people to be a good example to others.  John was stating that they were going to be looked on by those who may not know of God and had to live as an example of what their religious beliefs state.

2. What were some goals of John Winthrop and other Puritans in establishing the Massachusetts Bay Colony?

One of the goals that John Winthrop and other Puritans had was to avoid the corrupt England church.  The Puritans wanted to establish a self-governed community in which they could live by the ways of their religion without the influence of England.

3. The Puritans sought only to refresh and rebuild the church, not to create a new religious sect.   Were they successful in establishing Church of England doctrine in the new colonies?

The Puritans were able to establish a community that drew many thousands from England to what they called “a city upon the hill”.  This provided a place for those who did not want to follow the Catholic ways of England a place practice their religion without the influence of the King of England.  I do believe that this would be considered a religious sect.  since they took the same religion as was practiced in England and just followed it as they viewed the “correct” ways of living by the bible.

4. Compare and contrast the New England colonies with the Virginia colonies.  What was their motivation?  Who comprised their community?  How do you think they interacted with the Native Americans?

The New England colonies had many more women and children, there were ships that came over from England that had entire families, in Virginia it was mostly young single men.  In Virginia they had battles with the Native Indians over land and food, and in New England the colonies had more peaceful agreements with the Indians and tried to come to agreements.  The New England colonies comprised of tradesmen, families, working class citizens from England, Virginia on the other hand was mostly unskilled workers who had come to America for better opportunity or to make money.  The Native Americans in Virginia were not accepting of the pilgrims and there were many battles in the beginning, in New England the Indians were not such a huge issue because there were less of them due to disease.