Of Plymouth Plantation

Topics: God, Freedom of religion, Faith Pages: 3 (907 words) Published: October 6, 2005
The strength of their faith was obvious from the very beginning. They wanted their religious freedom and that is why they left the only lives and familiar places they knew to seek that freedom they so strongly desired. Those in England who wanted to make that change and prove that their faith was the most important thing to them, did so and it proved to be a life altering experience for all who made the voyage. The conclusion was to live as a distinct body by themselves under the general Government of Virginia and by their friends to sue to His Majesty that he would be pleased to grant them freedom of religion. (Bradford pg 30.) Because of the restrictions and the lack of their religious liberty the Puritans felt that the only way they could worship God the way they wanted and felt was the right way to worship was to get away from the people stopping them. This strong belief in their religion was the true influence of what we know as the Plymouth Experiment.

The Puritans also had a unique relationship with God that was much stronger than the relationships they had even with their own families and friends. The Puritans that they were flawed and helpless and that they were very capable of being very sinful beings. There was also a belief in the covenant of works. This meant that if you followed all of Gods laws, and did good things that would make him happy, you would then go to heaven. They believed that they were knit together as a body in the most strict and sacred bond and covenant with the Lord. "We do hold ourselves straightly tied to all care of each others goods and of the whole, by everyone and so mutually.(Bradford,35). This also showed how cautious the Puritans were not do to anything that might offend The Lord, and not allow them to get into heaven.

The Puritans also relied on The Covenant of Grace which was a belief that God had already chosen a select few people that would be saved. This was to say that maybe even though you did not do all the...
Continue Reading

Please join StudyMode to read the full document

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Of Plymouth Plantation Essay

    ...Carpenter/Moll/Beard 4 Will Beard, Stephanie Carpenter, and Sydney Moll Ms. Henry American Literature I 26 October, 2014 "OF PLYMOUTH PLANTATION:" CHAPTERS 9 & 10 "Of Plymouth Plantation" is a manuscript of Bradford's history starting in 1620. The first book was copied into the church records and preserved, but unfortunately the second part was presumably lost. The manuscripts were found in the residence of the Bishop of London and were published together for the first time in 1856. There seems to be immeasurable history in these books. William Bradford, the author of "Of Plymouth Plantation" gives a narrative of the voyage to Cape Cod. In the beginning of chapter 9, Bradford starts with a story of a young sailor whom had cursed and slighted the pilgrims for their weakness and constant sickness. However, that same sailor died from an unstated disease, giving the pilgrims peace as they no longer had persecution from any sailor. Bradford also mentions that young John Howland had fallen into the sea. Howland was under the water for a long time and as he held on to a topsail halyard, a rope that hangs overboard, he was pulled down to a deep level while the ship moved at a steady pace. After he was rescued Howland was sick for a long time, but survived in spite of his experience. As the Pilgrims finally reach Cape Code, Bradford explains the problems of the voyage which were part of the...

    Read More
    923 Words 4 Pages
  • Essay on Plymouth Plantation

    ...passage, Of Plymouth Plantation, I've come to the understanding that it was written by the leader of Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts, William Bradford. Bradford slowly wrote the passage in question over a twenty-one year time span allowing him to tell vivid stories of the life of Puritans and their Mayflower voyage, making them highly favored [which critics supports by referring to them as, "Spiritual ancestors of all Americans" (Samuel Eliot Morison)]. The passage describes the story of the Puritans from when they settled in the Dutch Republic through the Mayflower voyage. Bradford ended his journal with a list, written in 1651, of Mayflower passengers and what later happened to them. I have also learned that Bradford's journal was not published in print until nearly two hundred years after his death. The text was read and quoted by several historians of colonial New England (such as his descending family and etc.), then disappeared during the Revolutionary War. The journal was recovered in the 1850's in a library located in London. It was later transcribed and published in print in 1856. Since 1865 the text has accumulated several titles. Of Plymouth Plantation was not originally published in the modern day spelling of Plymouth, therefor it read," Of Plimoth Plantation". Since then the passage has also carried the titles of History of Plymouth...

    Read More
    699 Words 3 Pages
  • La relacion and of plymouth plantation compare and contrast Essay

    ... 09/25/12 Compare/Contrast Essay La Relacion and Of Plymouth Plantation In the 1400's, 1500's, and 1600's explorers came from Europe to the New World. They came across some of the same challenges and accomplishments, but they also had different experiences as well. In the story La Relacion by Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca and Of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford, you can catch a glimpse of these similarities and differences. Although the Pilgrims and Spaniards had differences they were more alike. While La Relacion encounter a lot of sympothy from the Natives, Of Plymouth Plantation encounters a tradition we use now. Their arrival on the island they both landed during the winter, but had different journies. After four days at sea, Cabeza de Vaca's ship was caught by a storm. Many of his men died or were unconscious. They weren't equipped with good food or winter clothes, since they sailed during the cold winter season. Only a few men were left standing after their boat shattered, most of them regained consciousness when they came ashore. On the other hand, the Pilgrims landed safely, for that they thanked god. They too arrived during winter. Because of the weather, it took them a while to restore and remodel there boat. It was hard and almost impossible for them to explore the island by going up in the mountains so they had to do it by foot. They should have been been more wise...

    Read More
    543 Words 3 Pages
  • Essay on Comparing description of New England in John Smith's "A Description of New England" and William Bradford's "Of Plymouth Plantation"

    ...In the two literary works, "A Description of New England," by John Smith and "Of Plymouth Plantation," by William Bradford, the two authors represent New England differently. One way they represent New England differently is by the tone of how they tell their personal stories, varies noticeably. Both authors use certain tones to attract and persuade targeted audiences. John Smith wrote of what a wonderful place New England was, while on the other hand Bradford wrote about the difficulties and realities of New England. John Smith, a pilgrim who arrived in the Americas, writes a description of the new land. In "A Description of New England" he shows what a wonderful world of vast food and pleasure await. However, William Bradford, another pilgrim who arrived on the coast of Massachusetts, in Plymouth, gives his take on the early settling of the new land. In "Of Plymouth Plantation" he writes a description of how the pilgrims actually lived and what really happened in Plymouth. Both authors also contribute differently to a view of America's land and its people. I also know how the people back in England must have felt and what they thought about New England, the good and the bad, because there are people today that try to get other people to travel to their country or state or donate money to far away countries that are poverty stricken. In "A Description of New England," Smith starts by...

    Read More
    1137 Words 3 Pages
  • John Smith's Account of the Founding of Jamestown in 1607, John Winthrop's Vision for the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and the Portions of...

    ...The colony at Jamestown, the colonies at Plymouth, and the colony at Boston had different nature, goals, successes and failures. There was a cross of similarities and differences. One thing that remains obvious is each was looking for something that was lacking in their home land. There was a perception and a picture that each group had when they left their homelands. Arrival in the new would prove to be an alternate reality from that which was envisioned. The new reality still provided a challenge for each settlement. This was to be a new start. This was an opportunity to establish something new. That would be a chance to be a part of something great. The New World offered opportunities to have success on a different level. Jamestown was a joint venture. People joined their financed together to create a business organization called a stock company. Like any other business the ultimate goal was to produce a profit. The initial settlers basically worked for the benefit of the joint stock company. They would not be completely free to make their own rules and regulations. There were specific rules even on the voyage of the rationing of the food. The Settlement of Jamestown shows s the initial days of Jamestown from the point of view of Captain John Smith. The very first impression of the New World gave foreshadowing of some of the doom and gloom in store for the travelers. As soon as they arrived on the shore they were attacked by...

    Read More
    833 Words 4 Pages
  • Plymouth Plantation Essay

    ...crawled back into bed, the inhabitants of the first settlements of New England believed that the cause of every occurrence was the Christian God. Every action, and it's according reaction, was directly designed and destined to happen because God chose it to be so. William Bradford, one of these Puritans, was not only the first governor of the first Puritan settlement, Plymouth, but was also it's first historian. Our first accounts of the Plymouth inhabitants, in turn, come to us by way of Bradford's detailed accounts of what happened at Plymouth Plantation. However, one can argue that because of Bradford's Puritan beliefs, his account may be slightly biased, and not completely precise as to what truly happened at the Plymouth settlement. Or perhaps Bradford's account is completely accurate, and it is only a matter of the reader's perceptive of William Bradford's account. When taken into account, that the Puritans focused every cause of nature and chance, as God's will, then Bradford's account can almost certainly be discarded as a religiously biased novelty tale, slightly based on the truth about what happened at Plymouth, but if viewed at a more intellectual level, then the reader can grasp that although Bradford's account does reason most of it's events with Divine Providence, the physical occurrences of the events are completely truthful and factual. From the falling of the "very...

    Read More
    2964 Words 12 Pages
  • Examination of Puritan Philosophy in Bradford's "On Plymouth Plantatio Essay

    ...Examination of Puritan Philosophy in Bradford's "On Plymouth Plantation" The Puritan people first came to the New World to escape the religious persecution that hounded Non-Anglicans in England. They established the Plymouth Colony in 1620, in what is now Massachusetts. The colony was a reflection of the Puritans' beliefs. These beliefs, along with the experience of establishing a colony in "the middle of nowhere", affected the writings of all who were involved with the colony. In this writing, the Puritan philosophy behind William Bradford's "Of Plymouth Plantation" will be revealed. Some factors that will be considered include: how Puritan beliefs affect William Bradford's interpretation of events, the representation of Puritan theology in the above mentioned text, and how Puritanism forms the basis for Bradford's motivation in writing. In Bradford's text, there are numerous instances in which his beliefs affect his interpretation of what happens. In Chapter IX (nine) of "Of Plymouth Plantation", entitled "Of Their Voyage…" , he tells of a sailor "..of a lusty, able body.." who "would always be condemning the poor people in their sickness and cursing them daily….he didn't let to tell them that he hoped to help cast half of them overboard before they came to their journey's end". But, "it pleased God before they came half-seas over, to smite this young man with a...

    Read More
    1769 Words 8 Pages
  • Of Plymouth Plantation Essay

    ...Of Plymouth Plantation William Bradford The book that I chose to write about is Of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford. I chose to write about this book because I believe that what William Bradford did for the Pilgrims was very remarkable. Bradford was the governor of Plymouth for over thirty years after the previous governor, John Carver, had died. He was a very powerful leader in the Plymouth Plantation and all the Pilgrims looked at him not only as a leader, but also as a part of their family. Bradford was by the Pilgrims side in everything that they did and was always an influential, supportive leader. He treated the Pilgrims with reverence as if they were his children. This book is Bradford’s journal describing the Pilgrims voyages and their story since the year 1608. Bradford wrote this journal between the years of 1630, ten years after the Pilgrims arrival in 1620, continuing the writing of it from time to time up to the year 1650. I enjoyed this book because it educated me about the Pilgrims. I knew that they started Thanksgiving, but I never knew what they had to go through to make such an significant mark in history for our generation. Of Plymouth Plantation was a great read and I would suggest that anyone who wants to learn more about the story of the Pilgrims should read it. The book starts off with an introduction by Harold...

    Read More
    1714 Words 7 Pages

Popular Essays

Become a StudyMode Member

Sign Up - It's Free