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Essay / Analysis of the speech of John Winthrop, a model of Christian charity
In the early 17th century, unprecedented numbers of Puritan migrants began to settle in the colonial New England region because in England, the reigning King Charles imposed Anglican religious practices on the Puritans. This therefore causes them to experience intense religious persecution, which leads to these individuals' eventual desire to escape to the new world and start again. An important aspect of this new beginning with the intention of shaping Massachusetts Bay was John Winthrop's speech/sermon entitled "A Model of Christian Charity." John Winthrop wrote this speech with the intention of persuading those settling the new colonies to live a very strict Puritan lifestyle and, therefore, setting an example of what an ideally run colony should look like. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The author of this paper, John Winthrop was born in Groton, England, where he would soon raise his family and become a lawyer at the Court of Wards in London. Winthrop was educated primarily at Thetford Grammar School in Thetford, Norfolk, England. Winthrop, known as an active political philosopher and later political leader, was too early to become governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. As a very religious and strictly Puritan individual, Winthrop strongly believed in the idea that the Anglican Church and its Catholic beliefs were in strong opposition to God's wishes. He believed that because of this, God would soon punish members of the Anglican Church of England and that the English Puritans desperately needed escape during this time. This therefore led Winthrop, along with other English Puritans, true to this belief, to come together as a group and issue a charter for the New World. This led directly to the establishment of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, firmly built on the Puritan principles set forth in Winthrop's speech “A Model of Christian Charity” delivered to these New World settlers. This speech mainly serves as a reminder to those settling in this new colony. that it should be built primarily on Puritan beliefs and influences and that, if established in this way, the colony "will be a city on a hill." This document serves to show that to achieve a City that is a shining example to all others, people must not only be united politically, but also socially and religiously. In this famous sermon, Winthrop asserted that the people should "rejoice together, live together, work and suffer together, always keeping before our eyes our commission and our community in work." This shows that Winthrop believes in a strong, close-knit community and that this is the basis of a unified people in every other sense of a nation..