JaLeah Dozier
Essay: The Colonial Period
ENGL 201: American Literature I
Professor Sarah Horne
March 6, 2023
During the period of America's discovery, early settlers in England experienced political
and religious hardship that led them to seek freedom in the new world. The first established
colony, Jamestown, provided a chance for a new beginning. By taking historians and literature
alongside them, it also helped develop literary innovations. Three historians and writers, John
Smith, William Bradford, and John Winthrop, contributed to the growth of American literature
by holding similar and different viewpoints.
Both the early history of America and the art of literature benefited much from John
Smith. When he landed in Virginia in 1607, he discovered Jamestown, the first founded colony.
Along with providing his contributions to the colony, he was a colonial governor, an adventurer,
and an author who wrote the first English book ever to be published in America, A True Relation
of Occurrences and Accidents in Virginia. He emphasized boldness and diligence, and his
straightforward writing style included topics like new places and people, the richness and joys of
the new world, and the benefits of colonization. Smith's story focused on both the exciting side
of life in the new world as well as the troubles and tragedies, specifically confrontation with the
Native Americans. “The story of Pocahontas, a Native American chief's daughter who
supposedly saved Smith's life”, is what has made the book most well-known in current history.
Smith's representation of Pocahontas is heroic, selfless, and hospitable to English colonization
had a significant impact on how “white writers would portray Native Americans” for generations
to come (Ruland & Bradbury 2021).
Furthermore, Massachusetts Bay Colony governor John Winthrop was a puritan lawyer
from England who placed a great importance on religion. His sermon, "A Model of Christian
Compassion," referred to the establishment of Christianity in Massachusetts. Winthrop seems
to have mainly used the image to urge the colonists to live ethically and religiously because the
rest of the world would be watching and would judge the Massachusetts experiment based on
how it proceeded (Vile 2010). His works on religion made an impression that endured and had
an influence on Puritan values.
Moreover, William Bradford, a puritan from England who served as the governor of
Plymouth Colony, came to North America on the Mayflower in 1620. “Ten years after the
Pilgrims first set foot in Massachusetts, in 1630, he started work on his book, Of Plymouth
Plantation” (Susan 2019). Though he wrote some chapters as late as 1650, he only completed
Chapter X that year and continued to write the remaining chapters in parts until 1647. His
handwritten notebook details the congregation's journey from England to Amsterdam and
Leyden, their departure to North America, the founding of Plymouth Colony, guided by a
detailed narrative history of the colony up to 1646. The manuscript provides interactions with
the early humans of Massachusetts, “a list of Mayflower passengers with their birth and death
dates, and both business and theological controversies within the colony”, Plymouth
Plantation (Johnson, 2019). With its depiction of a new nation's experiences, this literary
writing style stood out among other religious works as telling a much more whole story.
Both similarities and differences existed between these three historians. The more
secular and idyllic aspect of Smith's subject matter suited propagandist and supported the
ability for fast publication. In contrast, the theme of Winthrop and Bradford's writings
reflected Puritan views, however Winthrop and Bradford's works were meant to be published
after their deaths. The concept of a new world stood as the central motivation of similarity
among all writing style and theme. All writers and historians viewed the new world as a place
of
opportunity for both financial and religious escape. They all immigrated to the new world with
the hope of finding greater potential. As a result, they were against of a life filled marked by
leisure, pleasure, and inactivity. Each historian wrote from a different perspective; however,
Smith's writing was clearly different than Winthrop and Bradford's and Bradford's had a secular
instead of a religious perspective. In contrast to Winthrop and Bradford, who thought of the
New World as a land of economic stability and religious freedom, Smith described it to his
readers as a utopia and a place of spiritual struggle. Ultimately, Winthrop and Bradford were
motivated by faith, but Smith's foundation was solely due to financial considerations.
John Smith, William Bradford, and John Winthrop, three English historians and authors,
had a strong influence in America. Their courage in seeking religious freedom and
independence from England served as a drive for literary progress throughout the Colonial Era.
Although each literary work created individually provided a different perspective on the
experiences that each man underwent, they all clearly illustrated what the new world had to
provide, and this is what the Colonial Period offered.
REFERENCES
Susan, B. (2019). The Bedford Anthology American Literature, Volume 1, Second Edition,
Liberty University (2nd ed.). Macmillan Higher Education.
https://libertyonline.vitalsource.com/books/9781319324414
Ruland, R., & Bradbury’s, M. (2021). Colonial beginnings. Eastern Connecticut State University.
Retrieved February 28, 2023, from https://www.easternct.edu/speichera/understanding-
literary-history-all/colonial-beginnings.html
Johnson, E. (2019). William Bradford’s of Plimoth Plantation - archives.lib.state.ma.us. William
Bradford’s of Plimoth Plantation. Retrieved February 28, 2023, from
https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/bitstream/handle/2452/807691/on1122617252.pdf?
sequence=1
Vile, J. R. (2010). John Winthrop. Retrieved February 28, 2023, from
https://www.mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/1232/john-winthrop
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