The Body of Liberties of the Massachusetts collonie in New England (1641) stands as a clear example of this; “we hould it therefore our dutie and safetie whilst we are about the further establishing of this Government to collect and expresse all such freedomes as for present we foresee may concerne us, and our posteritie after us…no mans life shall be taken…
His realistic view is intended for generations to understand the true huddles their ancestors had to overcome and for generations to learn from the mistakes of the first colonists arriving on the new land. Bradford was not the only author which documented influences of Puritan beliefs when writing the experiences of life on the new land. John Winthrop documented his views of the new land and his influences of Puritan beliefs in his journal. Just like Bradford, Winthrop felt the persecution from the Church of England and took a voyage to the new land on a ship called Arbella. Even though Winthrop held strong Puritan beliefs just like Bradford, Winthrop believed once he arrived at the new land, he would be able to establish a new city built on Puritan examples.…
John Winthrop’s value of unity and Benjamin Franklin’s value of patience helped shape the American Dream, and made it evolve over time. Winthrop, advocate for the Puritans in the 1600s, was a strong promoter of the idea of teamwork and conformity. Moreover, he upheld the idea of unity among the Puritans. Winthrop preached the importance of unity among brother by declaring to “love brotherly without dissimulation... which includes sharing one another’s burdens” (Winthrop). This illustrates Winthrop’s value of unity because he is stressing that everyone should love each other as if they were brothers because in order for them to succeed in their new country, everyone has to work together to form a cohesive society.…
Puritan conceptions of God and human sin influenced the political ideals of the first settlers. The principles by which the Puritans guided every aspect of their lives were founded in scripture. Puritans, who fled religious persecution in England, hoped to establish a new Israel. Their hope in Christ and the salvation of their souls made them zealous about holiness. As bible literalist, Puritans sought to purge themselves from sin.…
To begin, individual rights was an important part of John Locke’s ideas on government. John Locke mentions, “a state of perfect freedom...within the bounds of the law of nature”(DocA).He also stated that, “when the government is dissolved, the people are at liberty to provide forthemselves, by erecting a new legislative...”(Doc A).…
From the colonial period through the early Republic, Americans shared a desire for liberty and equality, two dreams complexly linked together, requiring attentiveness from all citizens to maintain a balance, which proved to be a delicate task, regardless of the time-period. Colonial Period English colonization in the Americas during the colonial period, 1492-1750, made up of two distinct groups, those in search of religious freedom and persecution, and those interested in new land and fortunes. Liberty for early colonials meant freedom from their jobless and landless mother country of England. In fact, many viewed America in the early seventeenth century as a land of opportunity; so much in fact, Europeans were willing to risk the tumultuous…
That men should be able to live their lives under no rule. “The natural liberty of man is to be free from any superior power on earth, and not to be under the will or legislative authority of man, but only the law of nature for his rule.” (Samuel Adams, p. 2) When the colonists heard of these speeches they were even more towards the revolution against Britain. They believed that what was stated was true and they shouldn’t be so harshly treated by anyone other than God.…
In Douglas Husak’s “Why We Should Decriminalize Drug Use”, he states that all drugs should be decriminalized. The strongest argument that I believe Husak gives in this article is that there is not a better reason to criminalize any drug other than prediction and correlation, and we cannot restrict individual liberties because of a prediction or correlation to a social issue. I will show an objection to this using Mill’s Harm Principle, and further show my support that heroin and cocaine should be decriminalized and not be kept illegal. Laws regarding the use of heroin and cocaine are paternalistic and interfere with the liberty of mentally competent adults.…
With the conclusion of the French and Indian War, Great Britain now was the strongest and largest nation in the Western hemisphere with multiple colonies spread on the east coast of the Americas. Although they won the war, it did come with a cost; a price that Britain threw onto the American colonists. The ideas enticed by the Enlightenment period, the results of the French and Indian War, and the passage of acts because of the colonists rebellious actions all provoked the American Revolution. During the time of the Enlightenment, a handful of influential scholars and leaders released their views on the world.…
These ideas were formed on the premise that government’s duty is to safeguard people’s natural rights such as liberty, life, and property. Therefore, these rights could not be taken away as there were ‘unalienable’. However, when the government failed to perform its duties, Locke argued that they should set up a new one. These Enlightenment ideas about natural rights became the reason for the Declaration of Independence. Additionally, the idea of popular sovereignty (political power) was based on the disposition that government’s power comes from people.…
In the early seventeenth century, a group of English Protestants also known as the Puritans came to America to search for liberty. Puritans were trying to seek for the right to worship and govern themselves in the Christian manner. In 1645, Governor John Winthrop made a famous speech for the concept of freedom for the Puritans to the Massachusetts legislature. John Winthrop pointed out two different liberties, which were “natural liberty” and “moral liberty”. He had addressed that natural liberty is what man as he wants to, and moral liberty is what as a citizen we will do only what is good.…
In Thomas Jefferson’s “Declaration of Independence” he explains freedom by writing “and that as free and independent states, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce and to do all other acts and things which independent states may of right do” leading to the simple answer of; freedom is having the power to do as one pleases (344). In “Nature,” “Self-Reliance,” and “Walden,” Ralph Waldo Emerson and David Thoreau both utilize their writings to demonstrate similar themes about freedom that Jefferson explained. Emerson is an advocate for freedom for all people regardless of gender, age, social status, etc. Through “Nature” and “Self-Reliance” readers understand freedom can be reached through nature,…
John Winthrop and Jonathan Edward’s sermons both relate to the puritan ideas; both create a call to action telling the people exactly what they should do in order to be considered faithful puritans. They are trying to influence people to view their ideas and believe in them. Although there are major significant similarities there are also extreme differences in the sermons due to the huge time gap between when these sermons were expressed to the people. The enlightenment time period, and the aging and evolving of the colonies both had a magnificent contribution on the tone, and drive of each sermon. John Winthrop’s sermon “A Model of Christian Charity” conveyed in 1630 at the very beginning when colonies were just starting to form, the wide…
English philosopher, political economist, and liberal John Stuart Mill published one of his most famous works in 1859: On Liberty. Mill explores the innate and given liberties of people, analyzing what is the extent in which society or government has valid reasons to exercise power over its people. He argues that the individual should not be under the jurisdiction of society or government if their actions are not harming anyone but themselves. The only time society or government should involve themselves and exert power over citizens is if the actions of the individual are harming others within the society.…
In it men have perfect and complete liberty to conduct their life as they best determine, free from the interference of others. However, this doesn’t mean that men are free to do anything they please, or even anything they assume to be on their interest. Although there is no authority or government to punish individuals for disobedience, the State of nature is not a state without morality. Beings are presumed to be equal to one another, and therefore equally capable of discovering and bounding by the Law of Nature provided by God. In Locke’s view, these laws established the basis of all morality and commanded that we respect others especially in regards to their “life, health, liberty, or…