The Concept of Freedom within Various Authors - Essay Example

History Essay Freedom I. Backgrounds of John Winthrop, Nathaniel Bacon and Anne Hutchinson John Winthrop and His speech to Massachusetts General Court Apart for being a core-founder of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, he was a prosperous lawyer; moreover, Winthrop brought migrants a few years after his settlement. Significantly, the factors that facilitated most of his achievements were the many times he functioned as a governor and his resourcefulness, with the wealth inherited from his father (McCarter, 4). John Winthrop did not portray his determination to fight for freedom through governing alone; remarkably, unlike Anne Hutchinson and Nathaniel Bacon, he also wrote many journals and other works as a way of expressing his vision for the governments and dissimilar religions. As a lawyer, John also had an impact in his hometown where he presided over the other lawyers as the Lord of Suffolk; however, it was not until 1629 when he decided to join the Massachusetts Bay Company after the king initiated the suppression of unconventional religion. Nonetheless, he figured out that the only way he could make an impact was if he was part of the government, leading to his election as the governor (Winthrop, 1). Appreciably, the dictatorial atmosphere in government and religion has a vast impact on the neighbors of Massachusetts; naturally, the formation of most of them resulted from the act of rebellion from the people against the ruling of the elders. A few years before his death, Winthrop gave a speech in one of the major courts challenging the government to fighting corruption and upholding justice as a foundation for the general welfare for all the people. After his death, Jon, Winthrop’s son, discovered a journal that he had been keeping for twenty years prior to his demise; nonetheless, this was among the many historical accounts that he put in writing and that have an impact on politicians in the modern world. Nathaniel Bacon and the Bacon’s Rebellion Nathaniel Bacon’s opposition of William Berkley’s way of ruling led to the historical Bacon’s Rebellion, which was among the few that had powerful armory; however, Bacon’s basis for the rebellion is understandable especially with the disorganization and multiple criticisms about the administrative procedures ((Kelly, 1). Moreover, Berkley enforced restrictions on trade warning people against selling their commodities to neighboring communities. These were core motivators, especially after people tried consulting him on the matter without him reacting or upholding their rights. Led by Nathaniel, the people of Virginia armed themselves set to attacking Berkley and his people that he supported so much. Anne Hutchinson and Her Trial Just like John Winthrop, Anne was also a puritan and a religious affiliate; considerably, she also stood still and upheld her moral principles despite the hard conditions, not letting her interests or those of others come in the way. The Hutchinson’s family was a supporter of John Cotton such that they even followed him when he was required to change location (Gomes, 1). Moreover, Ann played her role as a mid-wife unlike many, as she would offer support to everyone through the application of her religious compassions and interests; largely, she even hosted neighboring women in her house, where she would preach and offer religious guidance. Over time, Anne could hold meetings everywhere, even for the men, but the greatest of her works was the government leaders who would host her for sermons. Nonetheless, despite the wide connection and societal support, Anne was not pleased with the work of the ministers, simply because instead of preaching about grace, they focused on work, which led to accusations, making it known to almost everyone. Resultantly, the ministers put out complaints about the allegations by Anne and her followers, this caused a lot of Havoc and in the end, religious authorities banished Anne from the colony II. Comparison of Contributions and the Idea of Freedom Extended to Others John Winthrop and Anne Hutchinson are fundamental characters in the progress of freedom for different religions; moreover, Anne also contributes to the role of gender by forming the foundation for women with convictions about societal matters. Winthrop’s writing, A Modell of Christian Charity, created hope for the Puritans who strongly believed in their religion; moreover, his sermon on the same, acted as an encouragement for the people during the crossing to North America. Through offering theories and strategies on staying strong in faith and overcoming the barriers, John did not only help his people but also some of the religious people that faced the same and still do even today (Winthrop, 1). Fighting for one’s beliefs and principles is one of the hardest steps that most of the religious people, mostly the leaders, fear to take up; naturally, this happens because of the discernment and opposition that follows. Significantly, Anne faced a lot of opposition from the ministers and other authoritative figures; moreover, some of the people that supported her initially were against her, which is not surprising. Winthrop invigorated the colonists to stay strong in faith especially by supporting each other through hard times because he knew that most people fear standing up for what is right. When one associates the writings of John to what Anne was against, they are all fighting for religious freedom especially in staying strong in faith and fighting for religious liberties. For instance, John encouraged people to uphold strictness in their religious activities speaking out when need be, and surprisingly, Anne fought for this through correcting the ministers and she stood ground, even during the hard times. As a woman, Anne confronted the ministers questioning their religious authority and fighting for the degradation of women in the Puritan society; evidently, this was a very courageous way of advocating for domestic rights and the acceptance of religion. Most of the men were opposed to her tactics and defined her as disreputable and disrespectful to the male gender; however, this was the least of her worries especially with the support from her family and many followers (Gomes, 1). Comparatively, Nathaniel Bacon, a mere planter, had the courage of standing up to Berkeley because of the support from fellow Virginians; logically, unity and leadership were the basis of the motivation for most people to fight for their freedom and rights (McCauley, 1). In support of this, after Bacon died, the rebellion came to a halt and after the excommunication of Anne; some of the government leaders were on a mission to terminate the Puritan religion completely. Despite her strong religious convictions, Anne’s effort and courage was not fairly recognized and taken with the right solemnity; naturally, she became an outcast and most people did not take time to understand the basis of her argument (McCauley, 1). However, today most of the religions and leaders, including men, appreciate her efforts and use her as an example of a religious victor. Surprisingly, the same happened to John Winthrop, as during his speech nobody gave it copious devotion like it has today; however, this is because he did not introduce any new theories or apply unfamiliar perceptions, he used the Puritan religion’s principles as a basis for his speech and writings (Winthrop, 1). Regardless of the multiple writings and Winthrop’s journal, the first publication of his efforts took place around to centuries ago. Significantly, among the major historical struggles for American freedom, Bacon’s Rebellion is more perplexing than it is enthralling; however, a critical analysis of history shows that it was the groundbreaker for American upheaval. However, Bacon and Winthrop had similar traits as leaders who inspired people to fight for their freedom; rationally, they were both tenacious in their journeys to success. Winthrop was very authoritative and only thought of his people refusing his practices to apply in other areas; on the other hand, Nathaniel Bacon was Berkley’s cousin and according to his reputation, he was a scallywag, which leads to the questioning of his core aim as the leader of the rebellion. Furthermore, the reason behind Bacon going to Virginia was his father’s wrath and disappointment for the multiple problems that he brought upon his family; additionally, upon moving there, Berkley was successful and respected but Bacon was very envious which is probably why he was swift to initiate the rebellion. III. Challenges Faced During the Contributions During, his multiple terms as governor, John Winthrop spent most of his time and resources campaigning for the freedom of people and their religious prospects. This led to conflicts with other great people that were also in power during his reign i.e. Henry Vane, Thomas Dudley and Roger Williams (McCarter, 6). Additionally, some people disagreed with his tactics of leadership as he practiced his authority excessively, wanting to control everything and everyone under him. For instance, some of the incentives that he had for the non-conformist religion, but refused to implement them in other areas; largely, widening of voting and civic privileges would have had an impact beyond a religion basis but Winthrop opposed. Furthermore, John Winthrop received condemnation for arguing against democracy as a form of governance just because he had a negative perception of it; typically, to him, implementing democracy was a misuse of power to practice cruelty. Berkley, followed by the Native Americans, fled the capital, which prompted Nathaniel Bacon to follow them and as a result, ships from London came to the rescue of Berkley. However, like Winthrop, Bacon was still determined, forcing the government of England to intervene where they took control of the whole region. Interestingly, England government forces did not side with any of the two creating a sense of balance, making the rebellions and Berkley’s people to comply; obviously, this was a problem for Bacon. Generally, economical and societal influence was intense as Berkley left the people of Virginia with no independence through the multiple restrictions that he initiated; however, Bacon decided the only way to get back their freedom was through attacking the Indians (Native Americans). This was the only way that Berkley would consider listening to their problems; however, Bacon eventually died of dysentery and governance from England the slaughtering would not have ended until the restoration of justice (Kelly, 1). Unlike John Winthrop and Nathaniel Bacon, Anne Hutchinson was a victim of bigger problems, a few months after her protest, her church anathematized her, forcing her to migrate and settle elsewhere (Gomes, 1). Moreover, finding a stable place to settle was also an issue as throughout her journey and process of relocating, the Hutchinson’s family and the followers went through numerous struggles from eviction to death threats. Unfortunately, after some time, Anne, her family and friends died in a raid leaving only the youngest descendant who the marauders took captive. As a woman, Ann has the most challenges since very few leaders took her remonstrations seriously; however, John and Nathaniel were also able to overcome the multiple challenges, with everyone doing everything possible to succeed. Decisively, John, Anne and Nathaniel were proprietors of the most infrequent and significance episodes in the history of America; evidently, there were ways to prevent the different encounters but the antagonists are to be blamed, and appreciate the great works of these protagonists. The plentiful glitches that were there before John’s speech, Bacon’s rebellion and Anne’s trial gave rise to the every one of these characters; however, due to the nature of the events, most people appreciate their significance narrowly yet they lay a platform for the quest of freedom for the Americans. Works Cited Gomes, P. Anne Hutchinson: Harvard Magazine, 2014, Web, November 5, 2014 < http://harvardmagazine.com/2002/11/anne-hutchinson.html> Kelly, Martin. Bacon’s Rebellion: Nathaniel Bacon and Bacon’s Rebellion, about Education, 2014, Web, November 5, 2014 < http://americanhistory.about.com/od/colonialamerica/a/Bacons-Rebellion.htm> McCarter, Parnell. John Winthrop- First Governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony: The Puritan’s Home School Curriculum, 2001, Web, November 5, 2014 < http://www.puritans.net/curriculum/John%20Winthrop.pdf> McCauley, Susan. Bacon’s Rebellion: Historic Jamestown, National Park Service, 1987, Web, November 5, 2014 < http://www.nps.gov/jame/historyculture/bacons-rebellion.htm> Winthrop, J. On Liberty: Constitution Society, 1997, Web. November 5, 2014, < http://www.constitution.org/bcp/winthlib.htm> Read More