John Winthrop
Download
Report
Transcript John Winthrop
John Winthrop
A Modell of Puritan Ideology
Facts
Born: January 12, 1587— Died: March 26, 1649
Occupation:
In England: Lawyer; Lord of the Manor
In Massachusetts Bay Colony: Governor
Background:
Born to wealthy family: father was a lawyer; mother from an
upper-class family.
Studied law; did not advance to the bar
Held a post for Court of Wards and Liveries
Twice widowed, and married at third time to Margaret Tyndall,
April 29, 1618.
Emigration and Colonization
1628:
Investors acquire a grant for land between the
Charles River and Merrimack Rivers (now
Boston); named New England Company
1629:
renamed Massachusetts Bay Company, with
royal charter to govern its territory
1630:
Winthrop arrives on the Arbella (without his wife)
1637:
elected as Governor for the first time
Autonomy and Government
Massachusetts Bay Company: a two-fold definition of “company”
an economic venture, establishing trade in the New World
a religious venture, allying Puritans who self-identified as
“persecuted” by the intolerance for their fundamentalist view in
England (a.k.a., radical rightwing conservatives)
a political venture, to obtain autonomy and self-governance for
Puritans.
A clause in the original charter did not state specifically where the
company were supposed to meet, in effect giving Winthrop the
power to create an autonomous government if he wished.
This loophole became the first challenge to England’s authority to
govern the colonies.
A Modell of Christian Charity
Written and orated either before the embarkation of the
Arbella, or during the 1630 Transatlantic crossing.
Spiritually didactic and practically etiological
Reinforced the tenets of Puritanism and encouraged selfreliance
Prepared colonists for the real-life rigors and dangers of
colonial settlement, and encouraged interdependence
Literary Technique
Literary authority of “Modell” lay in the literal authority of
scripture:
Self-authority eschewed
No original imagery or metaphor
No self-attribution
Self-authority eschewed
Scriptural Quotation and Paraphrase for support and
interpretation
Exegesis as a literary form
Sermon as an accepted form of Puritan literature
Themes That Seeded the
Concept of “American Identity”
Virtues
Self-reliance
Interdependence
Over-coming hardship and oppression
Charity and Outreach
Vices
Exclusionary practices (Octavio Paz, "Puritan society is
a culture based on the principle of exclusion.”)
Intolerance for religious difference
Presumption of superiority over indigenous populations
Territorial claim and exploitation of resources
Exercise
Gather into groups and examine “A Modell of Christian Charity.” All groups should examine how the literal
authority of scripture is used by Winthrop to create his own literary voice authority. Additionally, each group
should look for allusions or references to the following and discuss how each relates to the importance of
"Christian" charity as the model by which the success of the Company of Massachusetts Bay in New
England would be guaranteed spiritually, politically, and economically. Each group, however, should
concentrate on one of the following tenets or themes in the sermon (which will be assigned to your group):
Group 1:
original depravity
Group 2:
limited atonement
Group 3:
irresistible grace
Group 4:
predestination
Group 5:
Covenant Theology and the idea of a “City On a Hill”
Group 7:
The “body politic” (examine how Winthrop uses “the body” to explain the model of social order