The Value Of Industry In William Bradford's Of Plymouth Plantation

The ideal that had the greatest impact on the survival and success of the earliest settlers was industry. This value was a requirement that the colonists needed to have in order to survive and succeed in a foreign land that presented many challenges. A failure to keep up with this demanding environment would have put an end to their newly settled community. One way we see this is in William Bradford’s text Of Plymouth Plantation: “After this they chose, or rather confirmed, Mr. John Carver (a man godly and well approved amongst them) their Governor for that year. And after they had provided a place for their goods, or common store (which were long in unlading for want of boats, foulness of the winter weather, and sickness of divers) and begun some small cottages for their habitation; as time would admit, they met and consulted of laws and orders, both for
By doing so, they established a stable ground work for their colony in order to ensure their survival when faced with hardships. Without the value of industry, they likely wouldn’t have survived because they didn’t work hard enough to overcome the challenges they faced. Evidence of industry can also be seen in A Model of Christian Charity by John Winthrop: “Now the only way to avoid this shipwreck, and to provide for our posterity, is to follow the counsel of Micah…For this end, we must be knit together in this work as one man. We must entertain each other in brotherly affection. We must be willing to abridge ourselves of our superfluities, for the supply of others' necessities...always having before our eyes our commission and community in the work, our community as members of the same body.” (Winthrop 13). In this example, Winthrop suggests that the settlers’ success lies in industry through cooperation, generosity, fairness, support, and unity within the