From Pilgrim's Migration To America

When a person thinks about America as a whole one of the things that comes to one’s mind is immigration. From the exploration of the Europeans to Ellis Island, a building many immigrants came through in their journey to America in the late 20th century, immigration has always been an essential part of America’s history. Many historical pieces of writing document the cause and effect of immigration on America. Of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford describes his and the Pilgrims voyage to the New World along with their interactions with the Indians. The Generall Historie of Virginia by John Smith describes one of the first English towns in America and its struggle to survive. Finally, ‘Blaxicans’ and Other Reinvented Americans an essay by …show more content…
It is a historical narrative about the Pilgrim’s migration to America to escape religious intolerance in Great Britain told in the eyes of William Bradford, the leader of the Pilgrims. Here is where the values and beliefs of the immigrants start to become engraved into America. Something that is apparent throughout the text is the idea of God and acting upon the will of God. “Thus his curses light on his own head, and it was an astonishment to all his fellows for they noted it to the just hand of God upon him” (Bradford 6). In this quote Bradford is describing a man who was cocky and rude to most of the people on board, who died of a disease that Bradford believed to be God’s work. The Pilgrims along with another group known as Puritans brought the beliefs and values of Christianity to America with them. Christianity and overall acting in a way that would please God is still a huge belief of many modern Americans as it was for early English colonists. Later on Bradford goes on to discuss one of the first self-governing documents in America, The Mayflower Compact. “I shall a little return back, and begin with a combination of made by them before they came ashore; being the first foundation of their government in this place” (Bradford 14). Before the Pilgrims migrated to America many …show more content…
However; the puritans were not seeking religious freedom but were instead seeking to reform the Church of England. They migrated to a different area of America that they named Virginia. In The Generall Historie of Virginia John Smith depicts the town of Virginia and the problems they faced during that time and how they were eventually solved. Just like the Pilgrims the Puritans also believed in the God and his importance to their lives. At the end of the story John Smith tells the readers that the famine that plagued Virginia has finally been solved. “Thus you may see what difficulties still crossed any good endeavor; and the good success of the business being thus oft brought to the very period of destruction; yet you see by what strange means God hath still delivered it.” (Smith 10). Here he tells us that this good fortune was something given to them by God. As mentioned in the previous paragraph; Christianity is considered to be one of main religions in America, making these Puritan values still relevant in modern America. Another idea that many Puritans valued was bravery and selflessness, which is how John Smith depicts himself in the story. During a voyage he encounters a burden during his passage . “The next voyage he proceeded so far that with much labor by cutting of trees asunder he made his passage; but when his barge could pass no farther, he left her in a broad bay out