ENGLISH 2231: American Literature 1

Weekly Calendar: Week Three (Sept 11 - 15)

Anthology Readings

Web Resources

Activities

Roger Willliams
Roger Williams circa 1630

The English Colonies (cont'd.)

This week we read the words of three observers of the early life of the European colonists on American soil. They are not just observers; they are all well-educated leaders of the time, and all three were guided in their thinking by religious beliefs. However, these beliefs lead them to different conclusions about the primary issues of their day, such as religious freedom and the treatment of Native Americans.

Willilam Bradford

William Bradford was one of the leaders of the English "Pilgrims" who reached North America in 1620 and settled at what is now Plymouth, Massachusetts. The Pilgrims were "separatists," wanting to separate from the Church of England. Read more about Bradford in the biographical sketch (Baym et al.156-157) and read further into the Pilgrims' beliefs and adventures in the following excerpts:

Selections from "From Of Plymouth Plantation"

John Winthrop

Winthrop was the first governor and a leading citizen among the English Puritans who sailed for North America in 1630 (Baym et al. 205-206). Though, like the Pilgrims, the Puritans were unhappy with the state of Church of England, they did not want to separate from it. Like their name suggests, the Puritans wanted to "purify" the Church of England of the aspects that seemed too much like the Catholic Church. Thus, Winthrop and his group were reformers rather than separatists. They founded what became known as the Massachusetts Bay colony centered around the main city of Boston.

On the ship on the way to North America, Winthrop gave the sermon "A Model of Christian Charity" to remind and emphasize why the Puritans were embarking on this journey (read Winthrop 206-208, stop at ". . . miraculous or extraordinary means" and Winthrop 214-217, start at section II). Furthermore, Winthrop kept a diary and you can read his firsthand accounts of the Puritan settlement in "From The Journal of John Winthrop" (Winthrop 217-226).

is another page maintained by Prof. Donna Campbell at Washington State University. This one provides some basic background about the theology and culture of Puritans in early New England.

is maintained in conjunction with the PBS series The American Experience, and it gives a brief account of the experience of Anne Hutchinson who is discussed at length in Winthrop's journal.

Roger Williams

Roger Williams (Baym et. al 226-227) was a bit of a loose cannon in early New England. Though originally a minister in the Church of England and later a Puritan, he developed a number of unpopular ideas and even argued that people should not be punished for "cause of conscience," in other words for their religious beliefs or lack thereof. He explains different aspects of this idea in "From The Bloody Tenet of Persecution ..." (Williams 235-237) and "A Letter to the Town of Providence" (Williams 237). Williams also had a different attitude toward the Native Americans which you can read about in "From A Key into the Languages of America" (Williams 227-231; stop at " . . . Your unworthy countryman, Roger Williams").

Activities
(Due Dates/Times for all Activities are on the right side of the page)


Click on the "Discussion" link in the course's D2L navbar and answer the following question on the "Bradford, Williams, and Winthrop in the 21st Century" discussion board:

Many people find the writing of Winthrop, Bradford, and Williams less than exciting. The wording is often difficult to understand and the events were so long ago that they may seem unimportant to 21st century readers.  However, I would like you to look at these readings and try to find the connections to our lives now in the United States.
Choose one specific comment or event from one of these writers and explain its connection to our lives now.  Use quotes from our readings to help explain your answer. 
In addition to writing your response to this discussion topic, please read the postings of your peers and write a thoughtful comment about at least one of these other postings.  As you respond, please remember that it is fine to disagree with someone's ideas but you need to be polite and respectful when explaining disagreements in the Discussions.


Click on the "Discussion" link in the course's D2L navbar and answer the following question on the "Williams, Bradford, Winthrop" discussion board:

Thinking about Williams' ideas concerning religion and Native Americans as discussed in his writings here, how are his ideas similar and different from the ideas of Bradford and Winthrop? Explain at least one way in which his thinking is different and one way in which it is similar.  Quote from the writings of these authors to help explain  your response.  If someone else has already posted the ideas you had intended to list, please post something different. 

As you read the anthology and the web resources, please consider the following questions and ideas.

Click the "Chat" link in the D2L navbar and go to the "ENGL 2231" chat.

Please contact me if you have any questions about this week's readings, web resources, or activities.

Contact Gill