Examples Of Utopia In Colonial America
Utopia in Colonial America
In the seventeenth century, there were two different versions of utopia. When a person hears the word utopia, a different thought will come to each different person’s mind. A utopia can be anything, as long as it brings joy to the specific person. In Colonial America, all people went over to the new world with a fantasy of their perfect place. In fact, two very important historical figures had extreme views on North America. While John Smith viewed The New World as new land where he could make limitless money, John Winthrop viewed it as a City Upon a Hill in which he could bring glory to god. According to Creveour’s observations in 1769, Smith’s vision seemed to prevail.
Smith envisioned The New World as the perfect …show more content…
In 1769, while visiting the New York Colony, Creveoeur writes, “…no ecclesiastical dominion…” (Creveoeur). Creveoeur wrote that there was no dominant religious power. Winthrop believed that the New World needed to be grounded in Puritan beliefs, and strongly praise god. Creveoeur clearly does not see any secular religion in the colonies, so that is one indicator that Winthrop’s utopia did not remain. Creveoeur writes, “The rich and the poor are not so far removed from each other as they are in Europe” (Creveoeur). Smith had the idea that all men would become rich very easily in the New World. While it might not have been as easy as he thought, and people might not be quite as rich as would have liked, there was very little poverty and almost all people were relatively equal. Crevoeur seems to be describing a land that is similar to Smith’s utopia. Creveoeur writes, “…each person works for himself” (Creveoeur). In Smith’s Description of New England, he mentioned that a man would be able to work for himself and still be able to make a decent living. This seems to still be the case in 1769. All three of these quotes show that over 150 years later, Smith’s version of utopia still
In the seventeenth century, there were two different versions of utopia. When a person hears the word utopia, a different thought will come to each different person’s mind. A utopia can be anything, as long as it brings joy to the specific person. In Colonial America, all people went over to the new world with a fantasy of their perfect place. In fact, two very important historical figures had extreme views on North America. While John Smith viewed The New World as new land where he could make limitless money, John Winthrop viewed it as a City Upon a Hill in which he could bring glory to god. According to Creveour’s observations in 1769, Smith’s vision seemed to prevail.
Smith envisioned The New World as the perfect …show more content…
In 1769, while visiting the New York Colony, Creveoeur writes, “…no ecclesiastical dominion…” (Creveoeur). Creveoeur wrote that there was no dominant religious power. Winthrop believed that the New World needed to be grounded in Puritan beliefs, and strongly praise god. Creveoeur clearly does not see any secular religion in the colonies, so that is one indicator that Winthrop’s utopia did not remain. Creveoeur writes, “The rich and the poor are not so far removed from each other as they are in Europe” (Creveoeur). Smith had the idea that all men would become rich very easily in the New World. While it might not have been as easy as he thought, and people might not be quite as rich as would have liked, there was very little poverty and almost all people were relatively equal. Crevoeur seems to be describing a land that is similar to Smith’s utopia. Creveoeur writes, “…each person works for himself” (Creveoeur). In Smith’s Description of New England, he mentioned that a man would be able to work for himself and still be able to make a decent living. This seems to still be the case in 1769. All three of these quotes show that over 150 years later, Smith’s version of utopia still