“Life in America, Smith vs. the Puritans”

The first immigrants to America were the settlers of Jamestown– with Captain John Smith, in 1607– and the Puritans– first in 1620, with Bradford, then again in 1630, with Winthrop. Though they came to the New World with different aspirations and attitudes, they shared some common perspective in their experiences, as well.

Dismayed with the corruption of the Church of England and also with the politics of England, the Puritans came to America seeking religious freedom. They sought to set up a spiritually pure community, a “city upon a hill” (Winthrop 94). They wanted to be a model society. The Jamestown settlers had a very different objective. Primarily, they were in search of wealth, but like Smith, they also sought adventure and the opportunity for exploration. To both groups, America meant opportunity–the opportunity for religious freedom for the Puritans and social and economic freedom for the people of Jamestown.

Given the fact that the two groups aspirations for coming to the New World were different, obviously their approach to settlement was different, too. In “Model of Christian Charity,” Winthrop emphasizes the importance of unity and community. He knew the challenges they faced and that they would need to depend on each other in order to survive. He also refers to their covenant with God. It was a sermon but also a motivational speech to unify them and remind them of their noble purpose (93-94). Like Winthrop, Smith was a leader who did his best to hold the people together, but his approach was very different. He had spent 10 years in the military traveling all over the world and was more of a self-creator. He valued strong-willed individualism and hard work. In “A Description of New England,” he writes “…good ground be had and cost nothing but the labor, it seems strange to me any such should there grow poor” (63). One can see the start of the American dream ideal.

Both the Puritans and the Jamestown settlers came from England. They came from the same white, European culture; therefore, they shared some common perspective of the new land and its natives. First, they both felt justified in their assumption of land. The Indians had no concept of owning land and lived in tribes that were spread out, so the new settlers had no hesitation in making their claims. Second, both the Puritans and Smith described the natives as barbarians in their accounts. The Puritans saw them as heathens felt that it was their duty to convert them to Christianity. Smith, in “The Generall Historie of Virginia, New England, and the Summer Isles,” describes the natives as “devils” and “fiends” (59). These Indians were alien to him, but his description of them offers more entertainment value than anthropological value. The text is more of a tall tale, so he probably did this purposefully.

One perspective the Puritans and Smith did not have in common was that of the wilderness. While the Puritans saw a wretched wilderness, Smith saw a natural paradise. The Puritans were a community, of men women, and children, coming to make a permanent settlement. The wilderness and the natives were a challenge to everyday life. Smith and his people, on the other hand, were there only temporarily and were there for discovery. Smith writes he had “tasted of plenty and pleasure” in his “Description of New England” (61).

After looking at the Puritans, and Smith’s background, goals, and impressions of America, one can see some foreshadowing of events to come. Their literature certainly helped to mold the impressions and expectations of those that would follow in their footsteps.

Works Cited

Smith, John. “A Description of New England.” The Harper Single Volume American

Literature. (3rd ed.) Ed. al Donald McQuade. New York: Longman, 1999. 61-63.

---. “The Generall Historie of Virginia, New England, and the Summer Isles.” The

Harper Single Volume American Literature. (3rd ed.) Ed. al Donald McQuade. New York: Longman, 1999. 56-63

Winthrop, John. “A Model of Christian Charity.” The Harper Single Volume American

Literature. (3rd ed.) Ed. al Donald McQuade. New York: Longman, 1999. 93-94.