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city upon a hill essay Apush
What did John Winthrop mean when he spoke of his “city upon a hill”? To what extent were the Puritans successful at building this city?

During a time period of religious intolerance in England many people sought acceptance of their beliefs. In the early 1600’s a group of English emigrants, led by John Winthrop set to further purify the Christian faith. These colonists came to be known as the Puritans and settled the Massachusetts Bay Colony, with the help of Winthrop as a leader. Winthrop acted as an astounding governor for these settlers during the early years. He also had a unique view on how a nation should be organized. All of Winthrop’s principles were based on his writings in, “A Model of Christian Charity”. The overriding concept of his was that Puritans should act as if they were a “city upon a hill”. Because of the Puritans’ advancements in education and other things, they were able to set a good example and successfully create John Winthrop's ideal of a "city upon a hill" that has carried a lasting impression into the modern world.
This idea of a “city upon a hill” was the founding ideal that the Massachusetts Bay Colony was based on. The main meaning behind this concept was that the colonists should act as if the eyes of the entire world were on them. Winthrop believed that his “people” should put their own interests to a lower purpose than that of God. In this process they would effectively make a “harmonious, godly community”. Of many beliefs in his “Model of Christian Faith“ one example of the points was related to the structure of his colony. He pointed out that there would always be rich, there would always be poor and it was God’s hand so the wealthy should be merciful to the poor and the peasants should accept their role in society as it was God’s will. He believed that this would help set base for a strong community that the entire world would be inspired by. That is in short what was meant by John Winthrop when he talked

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