Christian Charity Offers Tremendous Insight Term Paper

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Smith's passage details Virginia's geography, outlining the different small settlements and their leaders. The passage shows how the settlers addressed and dealt with the native peoples: words like "savages" and "barbarians" shows how the settlers envisioned themselves as rightful heirs to the New World and thus had few qualms about massacring the Indians. One of the most historically significant features of Smith's chapter is his detailing the encounter with Powhattan and Pocahontas, a story that has become shrouded in myth and made into one of the most legendary tales in American history books. At the same time Smith also documents the hardships the settlers encountered from harsh weather and environmental conditions and shows what kinds of equipment the settlers had to deal with their tasks. John Smith paints himself as a hero, naturally, which has colored the tone and character of almost all American history texts.

William Bradford's 1650 passage chronicling the passage of the Mayflower also illustrates one of the most romanticized events in early American history. Written also like a narrative, Bradford's story portrays the Puritans as underdogs. The Puritans are painted as humble Christians who followed God's will and their collective destiny to the New World. Along they way they encounter numerous hardships and overcome them via God's grace.

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Leaving home and countrymen in England, the Puritans crossed a vast sea and disembarked in foreign territory. The tone of the piece creates the American mythos: the notion that the settlers undertook and succeeded in their journey for some divine purpose. Like Winthrop, Bradford relies heavily on Christian ethos to support his argument. Bradford's essay also reads like an inspirational piece, almost like a myth used to placate the Pilgrims' descendants in times of low morale.

The narrative also shows how the Pilgrims devised and created their new society. For example, Bradford writes about the Mayflower Compact and early civil leaders. Bradford also mentions the Indians, their perception of their way of life, and portrays them through Pilgrims' eyes: as savages and obstacles to the Christian ideal. The Indians Bradford mentioned, like Samoset, would also play a major role in aiding the Pilgrims via the trade of goods and services. Indians would also help the Pilgrims navigate through the unfamiliar territories of the New World. Social interactions and culture clashes ensued, and Bradford's piece clarifies historical details including how the Pilgrims acquired their food sources, established communities, and devised political structures to manage their new societies in the midst….....

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"Christian Charity Offers Tremendous Insight" (2008, May 13) Retrieved May 19, 2024, from
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"Christian Charity Offers Tremendous Insight", 13 May 2008, Accessed.19 May. 2024,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/christian-charity-offers-tremendous-insight-29866