13. The Puritan founders in Massachusetts who described their colony as a "city upon a hill"…
As the regions began to expand and develop, their motivations for settlement helped to mold their societies. New England was a place where men sought refuge from religious persecution and was established as a haven for religious refugees. Despite this reason for settling, the New Englanders still attempted to spread their own beliefs of religion. As illustrated by John Winthrop in his Model of a Christian Charity, he preached to his fellow colonists that “we shall be a city upon a hill” (Doc A) exemplifying the Puritans’ aspirations of a Holy Utopia. He and countless other New Englanders practiced the belief that they must all work together. They were determined to “mourn together, labor and suffer together, always having before our eyes our commission and community in the work.” The Articles of Agreement plainly laid out the basis for the New England region. These articles made New England a cosmopolitan mix of rich and poor families, all being in possession of land and resolute in doing God’s work (Doc D). However, while the New Englanders settled to create a Holy Utopia, the people of the Chesapeake were concerned not only with their religious freedom, but also with something more materialistic. As demonstrated in Captain John Smith’s account of the History of Virginia, “[t]here was no talk…but dig gold, wash gold, refine gold, load gold…” (Doc F). Colonists came primarily to the Chesapeake…
New England, filled with primarily Puritans but also included separatists and congregationalists, centered their daily life around the Church. Their goal when coming to America was to create a model for what was, in their mind, an ideal community. Moreover, John Winthrop, the leader of the migrating Puritans, referred to the community as a “city upon a hill”. His belief was the families must come together to work as one in order to have success in religion and buisness. Even though religion was extremely important to the Puritans, commerce was also significant, making much of their profit off of their harvests. Soon, with the ability to support itself and grow, towns and cities formed in a concentrated area. On the contrary, The…
2. John Winthrop- Led puritans who were separatists out of England. This was to achieve a religious freedom they could not have anywhere else. This was their “city upon a hill” God wanted them to have…
Puritans developed early New England politics on religion-based beliefs. Puritans sharply leaned towards a more theocratic, repressive model that enforced a strict moral code. John Winthrop, an early Puritan leader, delivered his famous ‘City Upon a Hill’ speech on sight at the Puritan established, Massachusetts Bay Colony; as seen in document A. The speech was Winthrop’s outline for the colony that emphasized the colony would serve as an example of the model society the Puritans desired to create. In hopes to create this ideal society, New England fell under the Puritan law, which were sternly and primarily based on the teachings of the Catholic Bible. This law also delegated harsh punishments such as death or banishment for anyone who disobeyed their holy law. Theocracy was now the center of New England’s politics and moral principles overruled rationality. This morality the Puritans enforced with an iron fist, led to debates within the colony. These debates thus lead to banishments and the banishments even lead to new colonies, Rhode Island, started by Rodger Williams in 1636, is an example of a colony created from this. With new colonies and political views arising, Puritans felt they were loosing their grip on New England…
To what degree should people follow orders of superiors due to their authority? A Few Good Men is a movie where the moral difference between right and wrong is very unclear in the name of following authority. Professors of sociology, Kelman and Hamilton worked together on “The My Lai Massacre: A Military Crime of Obedience” where they tried to apply reason to the soldiers who committed a massacre of unarmed women and children during the Vietnam War. Theodore Dalrymple is a physician who wrote “Just Do What the Pilot Tells You” by analyzing Milgram’s electric shock torture experiment to shine light on when is right to obey to authority, while he emphasizes not to follow authority blindly. These pieces can be used to understand how Marines were able to kill a fellow Marine in Rob Reiner’s A Few Good Men.…
As a slave, one is not a person. Mark Twain, author of the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, questions the belief that slaves are not people. Throughout the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain satirizes the morality of the 1800s in regards to how slaves are treated and implies that his own ethics disagree with the generally accepted morals of the time.…
First governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony. Wanted them to be “a city on a hill”.…
Morality is the principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behaviour. Personal morality is a set of beliefs or code that an individual lives and abides by. To Kill a Mockingbird is an exploration of human morality, and presents a constant conversation concerning the goodness or evilness of people and moral education.…
What defines honesty and integrity? Is there a connection between these two words, and what does that imply? Stephen L. Carter, a law professor and writer, questions the common definitions of these words and the their moral interpretations in his essay, “The Insufficiency of Honesty”. In the essay, he makes several about the key differences between what “honesty” and “integrity” actually mean, and I agree with Carter that too often integrity is mistaken for honesty. He mentions that, “…acting in accordance with what you think is right and risking no loss in the process is a rather thin and unadmirable form of honesty”, and I concur that selfishness of that caliber lacks integrity by definition.…
Integrity, or the lack of such, is a huge component in the creation of personal beliefs of a person. Those with integrity show compassion and empathy with many of the decisions they make, and they usually have a strong set of morals; they stand up for what they believe in even in the face of adversity. Atticus Finch, from To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, is one such person. Harper Lee helps readers follow the journey of Atticus as he attempts to end the ignorance with which the citizens of Maycomb grew with. In this small town where nothing happens and everything stays the same, a single event causes the citizens to stir and, in a way, “wake up”. As citizens are exposed to these new situations, Atticus forces them to reconsider their personal morals and decide whether they are ethical or not. As they people reflect on themselves, they start to change their perception of what is and is not right. When people are pushed to reflect on the very fundamentals of their way of life, they sometimes find that what they originally thought was fair is actually not so. Lee showcases this by focusing on the changing beliefs of some secondary characters, as well as focusing on Atticus’ moral integrity and…
In life people are always going to judge you on physical appearance. No matter what you do and how you try it's always going to happen.This is why a great deal of people feels so self conscious. They think people talk about them and say bad stuff. In the Outsiders by S.E Hinton they focus on how people judge Greasers and Socs. You can by when Cherry saw Pony she didn’t think he was a Greaser. In this I’m going to be talking about Judging people.…
Duality exists in all aspects of the world- in the light of the stars against the dark of the night sky or the vibrant spring colors and the desolation come winter. The dual nature of this world has added deep lines between right and wrong, but of course both will present themselves and both will always, in some way, shape, or form, affect one another. In the Devil in the White City the author, Erik Larson, not only informs the audience about a colossal architectural turning point for our nation, but he entices the reader into a state of jittery tension that is enforced by continuous amounts of alarming duality.…
Many different themes are in “To Kill a Mockingbird.” The theme of this essay is “Don’t judge before learning.” In the play, two kids called Jem and Scout investigate the rumors of a neighborhood man called Boo Radley while their father, a lawyer named Atticus, prepares to defend an African American named Tom Robinson for a crime he did not commit. People judged Tom Robinson, Boo Radley, and Scout.…
The Puritans constant desire for the “ city on the hill” seemed to give a cookie cutter idea for imperfect people who were told to be perfect instead of allowing individuality. It is commonly thought that a utopian society is ideal. Little did the common man know that in a population ruled by theocracy it would have a massive effect on the culture of literature, cultural environments, and texts that would be produced from these events of what were thought to be sin.…