Order Description
For the first paper please read the following speech from 1645 by John Winthrop, governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
John Winthrop, “Speech to the Massachusetts General Court” (1645), in Foner, Voices of Freedom, 29-32.
John Winthrop was a Puritan governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, serving multiple terms from 1630 to 1649. In this 1645 speech to the Massachusetts Bay legislature, Winthrop explains his Puritanical conception of liberty. This semi-formal paper is comprised of your reflections, thoughts, or questions about Winthrop’s ideas of liberty.
Questions to help you think about Winthrop…
In this speech Winthrop discusses two different kinds of liberty: natural liberty and moral liberty. What does he mean by distinguishing these kinds of liberty? Why does he draw a distinction between them?
Winthrop draws an analogy between a citizen’s relation to the State and/or God, and the relation a wife has to her husband. From this analogy, what is the role of the citizen, according to Winthrop? What is the role of women in society, according to Winthrop?
The concept of religious toleration that we know today was foreign to early American Puritans. How does Winthrop’s understanding of Puritan liberty as “subjection to authority” compare with the role of individual religious liberty in American society in the twenty-first Century? Is Winthrop’s view compatible or incompatible with our sense of religious freedom? Why or why not?
The paper should include the following:
Since the paper is an informal reflection, it is not necessary to have a thesis statement nor to present evidence defending a thesis.
But, your discussion must focus on Winthrop’s text and ask questions about his motives, understanding, or his goals.
The paper must include citations and a work cited page or bibliography.
500-750-1250 words (roughly, 2-3 pages).
STAPLE all of your pages together.
It is absolutely imperative that your paper contains citations of the sources used and that the citations are correct. Any paper without citations will earn an automatic grade of ?F? for the assignment. You must cite your sources.
