¶ … Puritan Dilemma A democracy is a system of government wherein the governed have a voice. In the simplest terms, it is a government by and for the people. In the present, the United States government is based upon the idea of representational democracy. Every citizen has a voice which is expressed through election of representatives who then vote on items and legislation. This is not how things have always been. In the time of the colonization of the New World, each colony would be responsible for creating their individual, workable governing systems. The Massachusetts Bay Colony was led by one John Winthrop, a Puritan lawyer. More than anyone at the time, John Winthrop set the tone for the style of government which would dominate the colony. Although some form of representation in legislation did exist in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Winthrop's community cannot be considered a true democracy. The man's authoritarian...
He uses the first chapters of the book to illustrate to the reader that Winthrop was a flesh and blood man, not an immaculate servant of God. Winthrop's judgment of other men and women then take on a level of hypocrisy. He had fallen prey to the temptations of sin as a younger man. Only after he turned his back on his youthful indiscretions did Winthrop take up the cause of Puritanism and then make the journey to the New World. The colonies were struggling to create sustainable shelter and stave starvation. This Winthrop was able to aid the people in. As governor of the Massachusetts Colony, Winthrop did much to better the lives of the people around him (Morgan 68).
Puritan Dilemma Morgan, Edmund S. The Puritan Dilemma: The Story of John Winthrop. USA: Pearson Education, 1999. H]e which would have suer peace and joye in Christianitye, must not ayme at a condition retyred from the world and free from temptations, but to knowe that the life which is most exercised with tryalls and temptations is the sweetest, and will prove the safeste. For such tryalls as fall within compasse of our callinges,
Another manifestation of the paradox is the confrontation with Anne Hutchinson. She promoted the ideals of Arminianism and Antinomianism. Arminianism was the specific paradigm that Winthrop was to deal with in this reagard. Arminianism entailed the belief that God could be influenced in order to secure salvation by preparing oneself for its receipt. Antinomianism is nearly the opposite of the above, entailing the belief that God's predetermined salvation grants permission
The actual sins are thus not Hester's adultery, but the minister's cowardice and her former husband's plans of revenge. Society as a whole could not help, but act according to the laws one thought fit to protect it from destruction. The community was blind, but not nearly as guilty of sin as the two men in Hester's life. The narrator reminds the reader of the two most important things a
These conditions were evident in a letter to his wife, where Winthrop described wintertime as "weather being cold and the waters perilous," and the difficulty of finding logs to burn for warmth. The Puritan colonies survived, due in large part to Winthrop's efforts at both instilling this culture of discipline, and in addressing any growing factionalism within the ranks. Such actions have indeed been a double-edged sword, for they planted
Salem and the surrounding Essex County (the witch hunt itself went beyond merely Salem) (Norton; Linder) viewed the results of the First, and now the Second Indian War, and their own loss of material prosperity from these wars, as God's punishment for their sins (Norton). It was at about this time that several of Salem's teenage girls began having fits on which they (and their parents and others) blamed the
Many peoples' lives, destinies, and hopes for the future, and not only American ones, depend and will depend in the future on this taking place sooner rather than later, and now more than ever before in America's history. Works Cited Illegal Immigration." Wikipedia. 4 May 2007. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illegal_immigration.html>. Espenshade, Thomas J. "Unauthorized Immigration to the United States" Annual Review of Sociology. 21 (1995). 195-200. Flores, William V. "New Citizens, New Rights: Undocumented Immigrants and Latino
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now