In 1630 on board a ship of Puritans seeking to spread the reformed message of the Church of England, John Winthrop delivered a speech to the passengers that would become one of the most famous passages in American history: The Arbella Sermon. Winthrop spoke of the mission once they would arrive in the New World, specifying the actions and behavior of the colonists. He stressed the importance of a close community, one that suffers, serves, and thrives together. Winthrop also discussed the need for their actions to be an example to those who are not familiar with their beliefs, as they were to be as a "city upon a hill." Winthrop wanted all eyes to be on them, and this was made clear to his fellow Puritans by modeling his speech after a passage of scripture in the Bible, the Sermon on the Mount. Unlike immigrants who came before the Puritans, the goal was not to ravage land, slaughter nonbelievers, and get rich, it was to set up a new life in the church in a place free from religious persecution and be an example to all.
1. Why did John Winthrop press the issue of a close knit community and family in the New World?
2. How would the development of the Massachusetts Bay differ if the Puritan's primary goal was wealth and land?
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