ENGL201
Anita Reed
May 30, 2022
Liberty University
Compare and contrast John Smith, William Bradford, and John Winthrop as historians and as
literary writers.
Both John Smith and William Bradford were Englishmen who came to America and
helped to establish the first colonies in New England. They arrived at different times and for
different reasons. Both men record experiences from these excursions in their written
reports, but their accounts suggest that the two men and their goals were very different.
Captain John Smith landed in the United States in 1607, and is widely considered as
the first American writer. He had various adventures and thought highly of himself prior to
his travel to New England, as demonstrated by his writings. Smith wrote in the third person
for the majority of his story. "Smith, unexpectedly returning, had the plot discovered to him,
much trouble he had to prevent it, till with store of saker and musket shot he forced them to
stay or sink in the river: which action cost the life of Captain Kendall," he wrote about many
sailors who planned to return to England and desert their mission. Smith tells his story in the
form of a narrative, as if it were a novel in which he is the main character.
America seemed to many Europeans in the 17th century to be a land of exploration
and adventure. For example, among the few historians who immigrated from Europe to
America in pursuit of new opportunities and a better grasp of the new world were William
Bradford, John Smith, and John Winthrop. The three historians were all concerned about
getting to America and determining which areas to conquer. Since they had battled issues
together before going on their voyage from England, they employed a variety of methods to
develop America. They were distinct not simply as people, but also in the way they wrote.
John Smith was a famous English explorer who founded Jamestown, Virginia's first
successful British colony. John Smith kept a diary throughout his time as governor of this
British colony, describing the colony's founding and some of the issues it faced from Native
Americans. He idealized the creation of the Jamestown colony by mentioning some of the
problems they faced, such as Native Americans' bad reputation, as evidenced by his words
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in which he refers to them as barbarians and savages to represent how unwelcoming and
violent they are to newcomers. Finally, Smith was too arrogant to admit that his initial views
of Native Americans were inaccurate due to his haste. “The historical writings of Captain
John Smith were conceived in an expansive spirit, for the purpose of presenting a board view
of British achievements in the Western hemisphere” (Morse).
Initially, William Bradford's colonies were communalist in nature. The Pilgrims linked
up with a group of "adventurers" who helped fund the trip in order to get the money they
needed to travel to the New World. The two sides agreed to protect the colony's unity and
success by signing a covenant. Because of this compact, communalism was essential to the
colony's survival, and everyone had to act in the best interests of the community. Money or
personal aspirations have no place on this planet. The colonial administration assigned
different persons specific professions to which they were most suited, according to the rules
that were enacted; some were fisherman, farmers, and artisans, all focusing on making the
society stronger and more successful. Fishing required a license, and the colony had
complete control over food production and land use. No one was allowed to be affluent or
impoverished since everyone was compelled to pay a percentage of their produce to the
community. The community would own all of one's land's earnings. They would be used to
pay the colonial administration and supply supplies to newly arrived settlers who had no
money. These rules were not meant to safeguard the environment, but they did limit the
amount of land that the Geological Survey could acquire.
The second historian and literary writer was William Bradford. He is the colony's first
leader elected by the people. He was well-liked by the residents of his area. Bradford forged
strong bonds with everyone in his colony, even the natives. He, like Smith, kept a log of his
successes in his dominion while landing in North America and establishing his area. Smith's
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The writing styles of John Smith, William Bradford, and John Winthrop, as well as
their influence on their colonies and people, are strikingly distinct. They had dramatically
different opinions on issues and events. To some extent, their writing styles are comparable.
They do, however, have some characteristics, such as similar writing styles. Despite their
initial impressions of Native Americans as rude, unwelcoming, and cruel people, they
eventually changed their thoughts after learning that they were not as bad as they had
thought. Despite the fact that these three historians have diverse points of view in their
publications, they share several characteristics, as shown in the essay.
account of events is as thorough as Bradford's, including exact dates for what happened in
his colony.
The third historian and literary writer was John Winthrop. John Winthrop landed in
New England as part of the Massachusetts Bay Company. He was a member of the Puritan
faith. Winthrop arrived in England with a large Puritan contingent in order to establish a holy
community and a prosperous economy in the New World. He believed that being together as
a group had advantages over going it alone. John Winthrop was the commander of a larger
colony who had the good fortun
e of settling the Pilgrims' quarrels. “A landed Puritan
gentleman who had been trained as a lawyer, Winthrop had considerable business and
administrative experience when he was chosen first governor of the Massachusetts Bay colony,
while still in England” (Massachusetts Historical Society).
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References
Brooks, R. B. (2019). The Lost History of William Bradford's Journal, Of Plymouth Plantation.
Historical Journal of Massachusetts, 47(2), 2+.
https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A616318177/AONE?u=anon~a3f8088a&sid
=googleScholar&xid=e66fadd6
Morse, J. M. (1935). John Smith and His Critics: A Chapter In Colonial Historiography. The
Journal of Southern History, 1(2), 123–137. https://doi.org/10.2307/2191722
Massachusetts Historical Society. founded 1791. MHS Collections Online: John Winthrop
journal,
History of New England (manuscript), volume 1, page 1. (n.d.). Retrieved May 27, 2022
From https://www.masshist.org/database/viewer.php?item_id=2311&pid=15
Susan, B. (2019). The Bedford Anthology American Literature, Volume 1, Second Edition,
Liberty University (2nd Edition). Macmillan Higher Education.
https://libertyonline.vitalsource.com/books/9781319324414
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