Basic Passage: In class the other day we talked about the tragic life of Squanto, his important role with the pilgrims, and his ultimately foggy demise.
Correlation: Squanto was one of the Indians that we learned about in grade school that was a helper to the pilgrims because he had such an uncanny way of being so happy to help them at all costs. As we talked about in class he was in the subtribe of Wampanoag and was a part of the Patuxet Tribe. Squanto fell victim to one of the ruthless Pilgrims, Thomas Hunt, who captured him and intended to sell him along with other Indians. Yet he escaped only to be captured again and brought over to England, which had to be one hell of a ride for someone who nothing but animals and the forest. Through his cross world captivity returned to America in 1619, only to find that the whole Patuxet tribe was wiped out by diseases from the settlers. This is why I ask who was Squanto? He had no family and only knew the “Anglo” culture. Through these tough times Squanto ended up with the Pilgrims ultimately teaching them everything from how to make their own make shift homes, how to fertilize their crops of corn as well as the best places to fish. It seems throughout all of this that he has become “pilgrimized” in that his everyday life proved to help what we know today as our foundation as a country. With all of this being said Squanto did more for the settlers than they could have ever imagined, he probably saved many lives, thru shelter and food. Yet he died of “fever” the fact is the Indian race probably felt betrayed by Squanto giving away their tips and ways of life, and led to what is believed to have happened, Squanto being poisoned to pay for his disloyalty. Regardless,Squanto’s legacy has stayed strong for centuries.
Alicia Vance Squanto and His Influence on the Pilgrims
Basic Passage: “He directed them how to set their corn, where to take their fish, and to procure other commodities, and was also their pilot to bring them to unknown places for their profit, and never left them til he died.” (Of Plymoth Plantation, pg 143).
Correlation: Throughout the course we’ve read about the Pilgrims and their “strong” Christian ideals. They believed it was okay for them to claim land that wasn’t theirs because it was what God wanted them to do. On page 140, we read about a disagreement between two groups of people from the Mayflower. The group referred to as non-believers were called strangers. The strangers wanted to leave and settle somewhere else because there was no longer any government ruling over them and because it is illegal to steal someone else’s land. Even though the Pilgrims have Christian ideals they still steal land and food and lie. Could this be their natural instinct kicking in? Considering it was winter, they needed food to survive. Anyone can believe it’s wrong to steal, but sometimes people have to do things out of the norm in order to survive. Nobody is perfect, so it could be the Pilgrims were forced to steal food and land as a last resort. They could have looked for food first, but during winter nothing would be growing. Later the Pilgrims have encounters with Squanto, who teaches them how to grow food like corn and how to build shelter. On mayflowerhistory.com it states that Squanto also taught the Pilgrims how to catch eel from the river. Although they did steal before, once they knew how to grow their own food that’s what they did because they didn’t have to take the food from the Indians anymore. We can still examples of people doing what they have to in order to survive. Sometimes we have to do things we wouldn’t normally do until we find a better option.
Basic Passage: In class we discussed how Squanto aided the settlers in growing crops, building huts, and surviving harsh conditions. A peace treaty was even made establishing the boundary lines between the Indians and the settling English, including, “That neither he nor any of his, should injurie or doe hurte to any of their people.”
Correlate: The basic concept of this passage is the ancient, universal idea of, “Do unto others as you would have want done unto you.” The guidelines between the Indians and settlers followed these rules. They included punishing those who broke the rules, only starting war when it was declared upon them, never wronging one another, and even confronting each other without weapons. It was merely a matter of maintaining peace when sharing land. The Indians, however, took the peace treaty a step further, aiding the settlers in growing crops and helping them survive when most of the settlers died the first winter. How did the settlers repay them? By not only kidnapping Squanto for slavery, but they passed on many diseases not yet encountered by the Indians, causing them to die.
The concept I stated in my first sentence is one many people understand and agree with, but they do not always abide by it. Countries around the world take advantage of one another; family members often take advantage of each other; even best friends can turn around and stab each other in the back. Why? Selfishness, personal gain, and greed are the culprits. Like the settlers, they were only concerned about what they could gain from the situation. Learning all they could, the settlers just abandoned the Indians in their time of need for their own selfish reasons. They enslaved some and left the rest to die. Though they viewed themselves as Christian, – supposedly good, moral people – they did not always act like it. They viewed themselves as having a right to the land and the Indians were merely savages placed there by God to help them flourish. To them, Indians were not people at all, merely tools, aiding them in the development and growth of their colonies.
Basic Passage: In class we discussed how people of the Mayflower were all condemned to do certain things around the ship. Whether it be taking care of someone or just doing certain kinds of chores like cleaning and making sure everyone got something to eat. It just really must have felt like a really uncomfortable place to be at the time.
Correlation: The people on the Mayflower that travel that long distance across the Atlantic on it were truly all brave. Even though they had to leave many things behind they stilled sucked it up and made the trip. However, what happened on the ship was far more worse than the trip itself. Most of the people were sick and had to be cared for by other shipmates. Then if the person died of a natural disease the person that was caring for them would take their things as if it were theirs. Many people that were sick were always throwing up so the other shipmates had to clean up their disgusting vomit. Also, when it came to food they really did not have enough for everyone so many people may have died of starvation. Water was not even a factor on the ship all they had to drink was beer, which would have probably made the smell worse to since beer stinks and taste awful. I just really could not put myself in their situation because i have no clue what they went through. I bet it had to have been the most unsanitary place ever and the smell was probably the worst but they most likely got use to it after a while. I am just thankful i never had to experience anything like that in my life because their is no way i could have handled it.
Harrison Bullock A. Smart Indian or Dumb Indian? B. The other day we talked about Squanto and how he was captured more than once and mistreated by the Pilgrims/Europeans, but still continued to help them. C. Squanto was captured by the Pilgrims and sent back to Europe and made into a servant. While there, he learned English and later was sent back to America. The question that arises to me is, did he win in that ordeal? One positive of being captured is that he got the opportunity to learn English and see Europe. When he arrived back to his old village, he realized his entire village had been killed because of disease, which the pilgrims had brought over. Which at the time, he may have been ignorant of. After all of this, he was used again to translate between Indians and Pilgrims. Some people may say how could you have won in that deal? Despite having lost his tribe, he got to travel to a new land and learn a new language. Having gone through all of this, he showed the Pilgrims how to plant their corn, showed them where to fish, how to procure their commodities, and showed them other things they could profit from. By doing this, he helped the Pilgrims survive and made their pockets fat. In class we talked about how he may have used his native tongue and English knowledge to leverage the Pilgrims versus the Indians and vice versa. Can you blame him? He lost his family and was enslaved and helped the Pilgrims and despite all of his troubles, remained happy. So was Squanto an ignorant Indian who, through experience learned the white man ways? Or, had he made the best of his troubles and become friends with the Pilgrims?
“…Squanto contiued with them, and was their interpreter, and was a spetiall instrument send of God for their good beyond their expectation. He directed them how to set their corne, wher to take fish, and to procure other commodities, and was also their pilot to bring them to unknowne places for their profit, and never left them till he dyed.”
Correlation:
Okay, I just going to guess and say that this is a bunch of crap. I mean, it sounds all hunky-dory with the puritans getting alone with the Indians, but we all know that really didn’t happen. The Puritans and Indians fought, constantly I bet. Squanto, mentioned above, was taken away by a man named Hunt. Hunt them sold Squanto to monks who taught him Christianity and how to speak English. A few years later, they let him go and while he is on his way home he is yet again captured and taken all the way to England. And another few years later, back on his home land, he is not captured this time however, he discovered that his entire tribe was wiped out by unknown diseases. Squanto has some good luck huh? If you have seen the movie Taken with Liam Neeson, then maybe Squanto will remind you of it. In the movie Liam Neeson’s daughter travels across the seas to Europe with a friend and is kidnapped. Liam gets news that he has a certain amount of time until his daughter will be lost forever. In the end he finds her. So then you might be wondering what sparked my memory. It was just the general fact that Squanto was kidnapped, many times might I add. I sort of found that entertaining. I mean why not? When you think your finally going to make it home, all your hopes and dreams are crushed when you are taken and returning home to no home at all.
Correlation: Last Friday’s presentation of the Puritan’s G-spot was spectacular... I’m so sorry for not having your name to credit.
I am one to definitely take a scientific approach to explain anything, especially religion or religious reasoning. I wonder how a person would develop his/her religious beliefs if there were no bibles or churches to attend during early development, would they still have the need to believe in a higher power beyond comprehension? Additionally, what makes one person “more” religious than another, or the need for so many different religions? Since the God Spot presentation, I’ve looked at a few websites that discuss these questions and they seem to think its a matter of evolution. In the LA Times, 10/29/97, an article discusses that religion is a common trait found throughout societies and history. This may be a result of “Darwinian adaptation to encourage co-operation between individuals.” From a Darwin/evolution argument, if a society believes and worships together, they function more efficiently. There exists a selective pressure for those with the capacity to think this way to survive in society, find a mate and pass on those genes. If most functioning societies have some form of religion even if they evolved separately, such has Mayan Indians vs. Eastern Asians, yet in very different ways, there could be some plausible truths to the God Spot theory. Friday’s presentation was spot on!
Passage: In class we discussed how the pilgrims stole to survive and did bad things to the Indians. The idea of do unto others as you would have done unto you was called into question during this small debate.
Correlation: The pilgrims came to the new world with great hopes of wealth, power, and spreading the word of God. Upon their arrival however they encountered much larger hardships than they planned on. One major obstacle was the ability to feed themselves and not starve to death. In order to accomplish this they ended up stealing from the local native population so they would survive. This is where the whole golden rule comes into play. If we were living here and some new people came to our land and didn’t know how to survive would we take care of them? Would we rather them take from us or end up starving to death and dieing? The pilgrims possibly could have thought that if they were in the Indians position that they would not care if they took the food because they would return the favor if they were in their hard position. This also comes down to other things with contradicting morals. God says that it is wrong to steal, but most Christians also believe that you should do everything in your power to live (not killing but you know what I mean) because life is the ultimate gift given to us by God. With that idea in mind, stealing some food from a people that know how to survive and have a firm civilization established would not seem that morally wrong. I know that if I were in their position I would have done the same thing. Stealing in order to live is very different from stealing because you don’t want to pay or just simply are to lazy to get the item yourself.
Passage: "Every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home."-Matsuo Basho
Correlation: I don't know who Basho was talking about when he made this quote, but it easily describes the life that was the Plymouth colony. Their successful new life in America was one of the greatest achievements in history. They had extremely low resources, little currency, no knowledge of surroundings, little weapons, and a lot of spirit. I envy those men who walked through the untouched landscapes for the first time that would later be successful cities such as Boston, NYC, Baltimore, etc. They had no clue that they were shaping the most accomplished nation in history. Life in the colony involved labor such as farming, building, hunting, etc. Guidelines for their life and laws followed the Puritan religion. There were laws against simple things such as swearing, cursing, drinking, smoking, church absence, and labor on sundays. The five laws punishable by death were murder, adultery, rape, house or ship burning, and witchcraft. Luckily, the laws nowadays have evolved. The pilgrim's success was not won on their own however. Indians from the Wampanoag tribe befriended the pilgrim's and helped teach them the ways of the new land. Three of the most famous indians known for helping the pilgrims were Tisquantum (Squanto), Massasoit, and Hobbamock. These indians taught pilgrims hunting methods and farming methods that prevented the death of the last 50 pilgrims that survived after the first winter. It was a close call but the colony prevailed. Their Puritan beliefs were surprisingly modern and helped shape this country to what it is today. The existence of this great nation is owed to the pilgrims' success as a colony.
B. One of Last Friday’s presentation about witchcraft was very interesting. Even though we haven’t really talked about it in our text, it ties into the pilgrims and their religious battles.
C. In our current text we have really been covering the initial battles of the pilgrims in the new world. From their beginning conflict of interests with the Indians to their new strict god fearing ways. The transition from England to the new world opened the pilgrims eyes to foreign things and ideas. One of these ideas was witchcraft. Witchcraft has had a prevalent effect on all societies around the world. Some examples of witchcraft in different societies include Voodoo in Africa and the witches in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Witchcraft is defined by dictionary.com has the practice of sorcery and enchantment that has intercourse with evil spirits. I believe this was the underlying cause of the denouncing of this craft. The colonists believe that in doing magic or spells you were actually doing the devil’s work or you were giving your soul to the devil. This, of course, was in huge conflict with the teachings and beliefs bestowed in the community from the bible . Did people really believe that a person born into this world the same way they were some how could do magic? How did they know that witchcraft was brought to the world bu the devil? Where these things told to them by God? Another hypocritical point of the witchcraft issue is the fact that many of the so called witches were killed because it was thought that they were practicing this craft. Is that not looked down upon by the bible and God. I mean, it is after all one of the commandments.
Basis Passage: Women and men were not considered equal from either legal or social stand point.
Correlation: In class we had a discussion about the equality between men and women during the 1600s. Well there wasn’t any. Men were seen as the head of the household. Women were to obey their husbands and so as they were told. Women had no say in what happened in their community nor did they have the right to voice their opinion. Men had been considered superior to women for many, many years. In 1919, women fought for their right to vote, starting the slow stepping stone for Woman’s success. Today, women are more independent then they have ever been before. They are as seen as equal to men as it can get. There will always be people who are prejudice but oh well. Research has shown that women are now attending college and graduate school in record numbers. There has been a 68% increase in the number of women entering graduate school, whereas there was only a 22% increase for men. Also, starting in the late 1950s and early 1960s, women branched out into the work force and have been pushing that idea ever since. Some women, today, have higher ranking jobs and higher pay then men in their same positions. Women have shown to be a valuable asset to the work force. Women have come a very long way from the way they were a long time ago. Women deserve to be treated equally in the work force, voting polls, in society, and everywhere.
Basic Passage: In class we talked about the pilgrims, and what if we put our self in their shoes.
Correlation: I am writing about the pilgrims, and how they do whatever to survive. If I put myself in their situation what would I do? I asked myself this question, and thought about this for a while. I gave my heart to the Jesus in 2002. I changed the way I was living, and changed my actions. I got complete peace and joy. It is hard for me to understand that the pilgrims went to this land, and took what was someone else's. So if the Lord called me to go to a strange place, and told me to take what I wanted, I would have to pray and make sure it was the Lord I heard, and not myself. I would make certain that the Lord called me to do this. If after I prayed, and still felt that the Lord was calling me to do this, I would pray every step of the way. When the pilgrims landed they were in a place far away from home. I know that most of them had to be scared. That is why some of them probably acted the way they did. They did what they could do to survive. When they stepped out of the boat, and saw these strange people not wearing much clothing, I could understand why they called them savages. Most of them had probably never seen people like this before. It was hard trying to put myself in their shoes, because I couldn't imagine myself doing those things. I guess it would be easier to put myself in their shoes if I would have been there.
Basic Passage: In class we talked about Squanto, and how important his role was with the pilgrims.
Correlation:Squanto a Native American of the Wampanoag tribe of what is now Massachusetts. Also known as Tisquantum, he proved an invaluable friend to white settlers in New England in the early 17th century. Early in his life he was captured and sold as a slave in Spain but eventually escaped and went to England. When he returned to New England in 1619 as pilot for an English sea captain, he escaped and discovered that his people had been destroyed by a plague. Two years later he helped the starving Pilgrims at Plymouth Colony to survive by teaching them both fishing and the planting of corn. He developed a friendship with the Massachusetts settlers and acted as interpreter at the Treaty of Plymouth, signed in 1621 between the Native American chief Massasoit and Governor William Bradford. While guiding a party under Bradford around Cape Cod the following year, he became ill and died.
Squanto was a prodigious human being. To have such a big heart, and show so much helpfulness towards these pilgrims, who for the most part were not nice at all toward Native Americans. Honestly if I were Squanto I would not give a shit about the pilgrims. After they took over his land, gave his people diseases that they were not immune to. I would not teach them how to do anything. Squanto obviously did not know the repercussions of teaching the new settlers the tools of the trade for survival. If he had known what would come to be with the Native Americans I seriously doubt he would have helped the pilgrims. Squanto was only doing what he had been taught to do, be helpful to one another whenever someone is in need regardless of race. If it weren’t for Squanto hundreds of pilgrims would not be able to survive, and the new colonies would be very different.
Stacy Moralis Title: Iconoclast VS. Polyanna Basic Passage: In class we talked about the differences in these two points of view. One view was negative and one view was positive. Correlation: In the iconoclastic view, the Democrats seem to point out all things that are wrong. However, in the polyanna view, the Republicans point out a more positive view on things. Reaganomics is defined as, “A popular term used to refer to the economic policies of Ronald Reagan, the 40th U.S. President (1981–1989), which called for widespread tax cuts, decreased social spending, increased military spending, and the deregulation of domestic markets. The term was used by supporters and detractors of Reagan's policies alike. Reaganomics was partially based on the principles of supply-side economics and the trickle-down theory. These theories hold the view that decreases in taxes, especially for corporations, is the best way to stimulate economic growth: the idea is that if the expenses of corporations are reduced, the savings will "trickle down" to the rest of the economy, spurring growth.” (answers.com). The Democrats called Reaganomics “Voodoo” Economics. The rich people provide the jobs for the society. If they do not have more money, they can’t hire more poor people to make them even richer. If the poor do not provide for the rich, the rich will have to start lying off their low end employees. The Democrats always try to point out things that are wrong with our country. In doing so, they never have a solution for any of it. No matter how hard things really are, we can still make it through it. We need people to believe in us and our actions in our everyday lives. We need to believe in our leaders. They are there for a reason. We need to be more positive and optimistic.
Basic Passage: Did the pilgrims actually have strong believes when they reached the Americas although they were very religious.
Correlation: The pilgrims lied, stole, and killed. When they first landed they landed in Massachusetts, which is not where they were supposed to be. When they talked to the king they lied and told him they were in Virginia. They acted like they were worshiping him. That’s not being a Christian if someone can bold face lie to someone. Stealing was a big problem, stealing from each other and from the Native Americans. If one of the pilgrims would die they would just take all of there things. Yes, the person died but people were wishing for other pilgrims to die by not taking care of them. Also they stole from the pilgrims, which was mostly food. You can argue that they were starving and it was winter, but they could have traded or even asked for help to grow it themselves. People wonder why the pilgrims and Indians fought. Look at it from an Indians view. Foreign people came to their land and stole their crops without even trying to communicate. Another thing they stole was the money that was given to them or the voyage that the Virginia Company gave to them. Yes, they might have paid them back some of it later but they didn’t use the money for what it was set up to be used for. They didn’t even land in the right place. When they would come in contact with pilgrims they fought and death was very prominent. They called the Native Americans savages and primitive but in the Bible it says all men are created equal. These actions are not showing strong beliefs in God. If they were such Godly believers some of these actions would not have been followed through with.
Basic Passage: In class we talked about the pilgrims coming to a new land with high hopes in mind for a great future. But when they arrived to this new land, they encountered a different breed of people whom they were unfamiliar with. The pilgrims didn’t treat the Indians very well and this is why they went through many hardships during the time they spent on this new land.
Correlation: As a kid growing up I can remember my parents teaching me to treat others kind and with fairness and they shall treat you the same way. I went through kindergarten and elementary school with my teachers teaching me the same exact thing, and it stuck with me. It is basically a known fact that if you treat others bad that bad things may happen to you, but why didn’t the pilgrims believe this? The pilgrims took food and whatever they could from the Indians to survive on the new land and didn’t think twice about doing so. People today do the same thing as the pilgrims did along time ago. Some people today think its ok to steal from someone. What ever happen to morals and values? Do people today have any? Stealing is already a bad thing to do, but when you think its ok to steal that means you don’t have any morals. I know a kid who use to steal food from the corner store all the time and he actually knew what he was doing was wrong. One day someone broke into him and his parent’s house and took everything they had in it. This whole situation I think stimulated from the kid stealing from the corner store, and what I believe what goes around comes around.
Correlation: The name Squanto has been taught to possibly every American school child that ever lived. His legend has lived on through stories and myths of teaching the settlers how to farm and survive. He taught them how to hunt, fish, farm and build shelter. All of these things were essential to the continuation of life and health in the "New World". The unprepared settlers did not seem to posses any knowlege of these things, which should have been at the top of their priorities. When people move, especially a drastic move such as the Pilgrim's, the logical thing is to make some preparations. The survival skills that the Pilgrims lacked could have jeopardized this country from ever have being formed in the first place. They moved to a desolate continent, filled with wild,indigenous people in the middle of winter. They were coming from Holland without the necessary skills to survive. This stupidity could have easily been the nail in coffin of all the settlers before the " New World" was even established. So in this case, Squanto can be looked upon as a not only a savior to the Pilgrims, but the America we know today. Word would have spread to Europe that the Pilgrims had all died due to the drastic weather and the trip and the horrific conditions and perhaps America’s land would not have been settled for hundreds of years to come. Or perhaps, an Asian country or a different European country could have eventually settled and this country would all be speaking French, Spanish, Italian and so forth. The fact of the matter is, although Squanto was a God-send for the Pilgrims, he overshadows the ignorance they portrayed by coming to this land unprepared and untrained.
Basic Passage: In class we talked about how the Pilgrims would often steal things from the Indians just to survive.
Correlation: We all know that stealing is bad because it’s a law and most importantly it’s one of the Ten Commandment. In certain circumstances can stealing from others be justified, for example, you where stealing food from others to help feed your starving. That’s what many pilgrims did to feed their family during the tough winter. It seems ok what they are doing, but it’s still wrong for them to take from others. The Pilgrims should’ve of communicated with the Indians to see if they could help them rather than just stealing. If all else fails they should’ve work together to trade or learned how to grow food. But this reminds me of something that happened not to long ago, hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. Then a lot of stealing was being justified if you were get things you need like food or personal hygiene products. Most of the stuff was damaged and couldn’t been resold anyways. Their were others that was taking advantage of the situation by selling electronic merchandise, furniture, and cars. The idea was to get what you need not what you want. What the Pilgrims did was human nature, to try to survive and do what they can, if would’ve been better if they talked are made agreement with them before just stealing.
Correlation: Perhaps, “shining city on a hill” was exactly what America needed to hear in order to wake up and dig itself out from under a debt it had never seen. We were strong enough then to overcome such a deficit on our own. Maybe that’s why McCain’s “I don’t see anything wrong” approach didn’t work this time. Maybe he saw what Reagan saw then in our recession now, a strong American public capable of rebounding, but things have changed. Steelworkers and port harbor labor doesn’t pay what it did and today’s struggles aren’t enough to produce a working class Cinderella-man like in the 30s. We were set in our ways before and remain in them now. Maybe “shining city on a hill” was the way Reagan sought to describe a city built on aspirations that would surely be met because there was no other alternative for the people but to. What shined was the happiness that came from meeting our needs one day at a time. It had nothing to do with living a lavish life or reaching religious supremacy, it meant that only through hard work and determination would we be able to sleep soundly in our beds at night, knowing we had made it another day. Yea, that’s it, he had the common man in mind.
Title: The Native American Squanto is not a person to be praised.
He was a traitor to his people and helped the Pilgrims take advantage of them. He could speak English and instead of using his skills to help his people he used it to gain very profitably for himself. He would go back to his people and con them into doing his bidding because he would tell the tribe that the pilgrims would curse them with the plague and other horrible things of that nature. He took advantage of his relationship with the English and was not to suffer the same fate as many of the other young Indians. When he was captured and sold as a slave because of his relations with the English he was able to escape slavery and return home much to his disappointment. His tribe had been wiped out and so he searched for another tribe. He became the man who was of great influence with the Native Americans for the English and it gave him a sense of importance so much so that he challenged the tribe for leadership effectively making him an outcast. He went to live with the pilgrims and assimilated within their culture very well by giving them the information they needed to befriend the Indians and take what they did not deserve. The only kind thing he did was help the pilgrims with finding food and helping them to have some peace with the Indians even if it was through selfish motivation and lead to unfortunate events for the Indian tribes. I think he was a sneaky and unscrupulous person and he does not deserve to be given the praise he has. He was a pivotal instrument in creating distrust of the English in the Indian tribes and was a catalyst for the events that followed his death even if he was not the direct reason for this. In the end of his life he lived in fear of the very people who were once his friends because of the behaviors he exhibited toward his tribe members. The English used this to attack the Indians and it was the beginning of genocide for these native people.
Basic Passage: When the pilgrims landed they were disheartened to find a wilderness without towns or friends.
Correlation: In his narrative Bradford compares the pilgrims' arrival wiht the biblical shipwreck. He writes that the natives were much more friendly in the Bible. the shipwreck had been an ordeal for the soldiers and prisoners on the ship. The prisoners were already being punished by the law, and the storm only left them more desolate. Similarly, the pilgrims had endured hardships at sea only to find a dangerous country far from civilization. During one of his last speeches while in office, President Bush said the economy was in a recession when he took office and that it was in another one when he was leaving. The pilgrim's attitude was to look to the LORD for strength. It seems Bradford would be just as likely to be nonchalant about a snake bite. The pilgrims stayed incredibly optomistic keeping an eternal perspective. As John Winthrop said, "If we shall... cause him [God] to withdraw his present help from us, we shall be made a story and a byword throuout the world" (bartleby.com). It was after streching themselves to the limit and being spent, then finding a new challenge ahead that let them see how powerless they were alone.
23 comments:
Brian Strong
Title: Who was Squanto?
Basic Passage: In class the other day we talked about the tragic life of Squanto, his important role with the pilgrims, and his ultimately foggy demise.
Correlation: Squanto was one of the Indians that we learned about in grade school that was a helper to the pilgrims because he had such an uncanny way of being so happy to help them at all costs. As we talked about in class he was in the subtribe of Wampanoag and was a part of the Patuxet Tribe. Squanto fell victim to one of the ruthless Pilgrims, Thomas Hunt, who captured him and intended to sell him along with other Indians. Yet he escaped only to be captured again and brought over to England, which had to be one hell of a ride for someone who nothing but animals and the forest. Through his cross world captivity returned to America in 1619, only to find that the whole Patuxet tribe was wiped out by diseases from the settlers. This is why I ask who was Squanto? He had no family and only knew the “Anglo” culture. Through these tough times Squanto ended up with the Pilgrims ultimately teaching them everything from how to make their own make shift homes, how to fertilize their crops of corn as well as the best places to fish. It seems throughout all of this that he has become “pilgrimized” in that his everyday life proved to help what we know today as our foundation as a country. With all of this being said Squanto did more for the settlers than they could have ever imagined, he probably saved many lives, thru shelter and food. Yet he died of “fever” the fact is the Indian race probably felt betrayed by Squanto giving away their tips and ways of life, and led to what is believed to have happened, Squanto being poisoned to pay for his disloyalty. Regardless,Squanto’s legacy has stayed strong for centuries.
Alicia Vance
Squanto and His Influence on the Pilgrims
Basic Passage: “He directed them how to set their corn, where to take their fish, and to procure other commodities, and was also their pilot to bring them to unknown places for their profit, and never left them til he died.” (Of Plymoth Plantation, pg 143).
Correlation: Throughout the course we’ve read about the Pilgrims and their “strong” Christian ideals. They believed it was okay for them to claim land that wasn’t theirs because it was what God wanted them to do. On page 140, we read about a disagreement between two groups of people from the Mayflower. The group referred to as non-believers were called strangers. The strangers wanted to leave and settle somewhere else because there was no longer any government ruling over them and because it is illegal to steal someone else’s land. Even though the Pilgrims have Christian ideals they still steal land and food and lie. Could this be their natural instinct kicking in? Considering it was winter, they needed food to survive. Anyone can believe it’s wrong to steal, but sometimes people have to do things out of the norm in order to survive. Nobody is perfect, so it could be the Pilgrims were forced to steal food and land as a last resort. They could have looked for food first, but during winter nothing would be growing. Later the Pilgrims have encounters with Squanto, who teaches them how to grow food like corn and how to build shelter. On mayflowerhistory.com it states that Squanto also taught the Pilgrims how to catch eel from the river. Although they did steal before, once they knew how to grow their own food that’s what they did because they didn’t have to take the food from the Indians anymore. We can still examples of people doing what they have to in order to survive. Sometimes we have to do things we wouldn’t normally do until we find a better option.
Christina McCarty
March 4, 2009
"Do Unto Others"
Basic Passage: In class we discussed how Squanto aided the settlers in growing crops, building huts, and surviving harsh conditions. A peace treaty was even made establishing the boundary lines between the Indians and the settling English, including, “That neither he nor any of his, should injurie or doe hurte to any of their people.”
Correlate: The basic concept of this passage is the ancient, universal idea of, “Do unto others as you would have want done unto you.” The guidelines between the Indians and settlers followed these rules. They included punishing those who broke the rules, only starting war when it was declared upon them, never wronging one another, and even confronting each other without weapons. It was merely a matter of maintaining peace when sharing land. The Indians, however, took the peace treaty a step further, aiding the settlers in growing crops and helping them survive when most of the settlers died the first winter. How did the settlers repay them? By not only kidnapping Squanto for slavery, but they passed on many diseases not yet encountered by the Indians, causing them to die.
The concept I stated in my first sentence is one many people understand and agree with, but they do not always abide by it. Countries around the world take advantage of one another; family members often take advantage of each other; even best friends can turn around and stab each other in the back. Why? Selfishness, personal gain, and greed are the culprits. Like the settlers, they were only concerned about what they could gain from the situation. Learning all they could, the settlers just abandoned the Indians in their time of need for their own selfish reasons. They enslaved some and left the rest to die. Though they viewed themselves as Christian, – supposedly good, moral people – they did not always act like it. They viewed themselves as having a right to the land and the Indians were merely savages placed there by God to help them flourish. To them, Indians were not people at all, merely tools, aiding them in the development and growth of their colonies.
Orin Eleuterius
Title: How Hard it was
Basic Passage: In class we discussed how people of the Mayflower were all condemned to do certain things around the ship. Whether it be taking care of someone or just doing certain kinds of chores like cleaning and making sure everyone got something to eat. It just really must have felt like a really uncomfortable place to be at the time.
Correlation: The people on the Mayflower that travel that long distance across the Atlantic on it were truly all brave. Even though they had to leave many things behind they stilled sucked it up and made the trip. However, what happened on the ship was far more worse than the trip itself. Most of the people were sick and had to be cared for by other shipmates. Then if the person died of a natural disease the person that was caring for them would take their things as if it were theirs. Many people that were sick were always throwing up so the other shipmates had to clean up their disgusting vomit. Also, when it came to food they really did not have enough for everyone so many people may have died of starvation. Water was not even a factor on the ship all they had to drink was beer, which would have probably made the smell worse to since beer stinks and taste awful. I just really could not put myself in their situation because i have no clue what they went through. I bet it had to have been the most unsanitary place ever and the smell was probably the worst but they most likely got use to it after a while. I am just thankful i never had to experience anything like that in my life because their is no way i could have handled it.
Harrison Bullock
A. Smart Indian or Dumb Indian?
B. The other day we talked about Squanto and how he was captured more than once and mistreated by the Pilgrims/Europeans, but still continued to help them.
C. Squanto was captured by the Pilgrims and sent back to Europe and made into a servant. While there, he learned English and later was sent back to America. The question that arises to me is, did he win in that ordeal? One positive of being captured is that he got the opportunity to learn English and see Europe. When he arrived back to his old village, he realized his entire village had been killed because of disease, which the pilgrims had brought over. Which at the time, he may have been ignorant of. After all of this, he was used again to translate between Indians and Pilgrims. Some people may say how could you have won in that deal? Despite having lost his tribe, he got to travel to a new land and learn a new language. Having gone through all of this, he showed the Pilgrims how to plant their corn, showed them where to fish, how to procure their commodities, and showed them other things they could profit from. By doing this, he helped the Pilgrims survive and made their pockets fat. In class we talked about how he may have used his native tongue and English knowledge to leverage the Pilgrims versus the Indians and vice versa. Can you blame him? He lost his family and was enslaved and helped the Pilgrims and despite all of his troubles, remained happy. So was Squanto an ignorant Indian who, through experience learned the white man ways? Or, had he made the best of his troubles and become friends with the Pilgrims?
Penelope Humenansky
Taken
Basic Passage:
“…Squanto contiued with them, and was their interpreter, and was a spetiall instrument send of God for their good beyond their expectation. He directed them how to set their corne, wher to take fish, and to procure other commodities, and was also their pilot to bring them to unknowne places for their profit, and never left them till he dyed.”
Correlation:
Okay, I just going to guess and say that this is a bunch of crap. I mean, it sounds all hunky-dory with the puritans getting alone with the Indians, but we all know that really didn’t happen. The Puritans and Indians fought, constantly I bet. Squanto, mentioned above, was taken away by a man named Hunt. Hunt them sold Squanto to monks who taught him Christianity and how to speak English. A few years later, they let him go and while he is on his way home he is yet again captured and taken all the way to England. And another few years later, back on his home land, he is not captured this time however, he discovered that his entire tribe was wiped out by unknown diseases. Squanto has some good luck huh? If you have seen the movie Taken with Liam Neeson, then maybe Squanto will remind you of it. In the movie Liam Neeson’s daughter travels across the seas to Europe with a friend and is kidnapped. Liam gets news that he has a certain amount of time until his daughter will be lost forever. In the end he finds her. So then you might be wondering what sparked my memory. It was just the general fact that Squanto was kidnapped, many times might I add. I sort of found that entertaining. I mean why not? When you think your finally going to make it home, all your hopes and dreams are crushed when you are taken and returning home to no home at all.
Title: Thinkin about God
Passage: The God Spot presentation
Correlation:
Last Friday’s presentation of the Puritan’s G-spot was spectacular... I’m so sorry for not having your name to credit.
I am one to definitely take a scientific approach to explain anything, especially religion or religious reasoning. I wonder how a person would develop his/her religious beliefs if there were no bibles or churches to attend during early development, would they still have the need to believe in a higher power beyond comprehension? Additionally, what makes one person “more” religious than another, or the need for so many different religions? Since the God Spot presentation, I’ve looked at a few websites that discuss these questions and they seem to think its a matter of evolution. In the LA Times, 10/29/97, an article discusses that religion is a common trait found throughout societies and history. This may be a result of “Darwinian adaptation to encourage co-operation between individuals.” From a Darwin/evolution argument, if a society believes and worships together, they function more efficiently. There exists a selective pressure for those with the capacity to think this way to survive in society, find a mate and pass on those genes. If most functioning societies have some form of religion even if they evolved separately, such has Mayan Indians vs. Eastern Asians, yet in very different ways, there could be some plausible truths to the God Spot theory. Friday’s presentation was spot on!
A.J. Paschall
Title: Golden Rule
Passage: In class we discussed how the pilgrims stole to survive and did bad things to the Indians. The idea of do unto others as you would have done unto you was called into question during this small debate.
Correlation: The pilgrims came to the new world with great hopes of wealth, power, and spreading the word of God. Upon their arrival however they encountered much larger hardships than they planned on. One major obstacle was the ability to feed themselves and not starve to death. In order to accomplish this they ended up stealing from the local native population so they would survive. This is where the whole golden rule comes into play. If we were living here and some new people came to our land and didn’t know how to survive would we take care of them? Would we rather them take from us or end up starving to death and dieing? The pilgrims possibly could have thought that if they were in the Indians position that they would not care if they took the food because they would return the favor if they were in their hard position. This also comes down to other things with contradicting morals. God says that it is wrong to steal, but most Christians also believe that you should do everything in your power to live (not killing but you know what I mean) because life is the ultimate gift given to us by God. With that idea in mind, stealing some food from a people that know how to survive and have a firm civilization established would not seem that morally wrong. I know that if I were in their position I would have done the same thing. Stealing in order to live is very different from stealing because you don’t want to pay or just simply are to lazy to get the item yourself.
Eric Dobbs
Title: Pilgrim Life
Passage: "Every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home."-Matsuo Basho
Correlation: I don't know who Basho was talking about when he made this quote, but it easily describes the life that was the Plymouth colony. Their successful new life in America was one of the greatest achievements in history. They had extremely low resources, little currency, no knowledge of surroundings, little weapons, and a lot of spirit. I envy those men who walked through the untouched landscapes for the first time that would later be successful cities such as Boston, NYC, Baltimore, etc. They had no clue that they were shaping the most accomplished nation in history. Life in the colony involved labor such as farming, building, hunting, etc. Guidelines for their life and laws followed the Puritan religion. There were laws against simple things such as swearing, cursing, drinking, smoking, church absence, and labor on sundays. The five laws punishable by death were murder, adultery, rape, house or ship burning, and witchcraft. Luckily, the laws nowadays have evolved. The pilgrim's success was not won on their own however. Indians from the Wampanoag tribe befriended the pilgrim's and helped teach them the ways of the new land. Three of the most famous indians known for helping the pilgrims were Tisquantum (Squanto), Massasoit, and Hobbamock. These indians taught pilgrims hunting methods and farming methods that prevented the death of the last 50 pilgrims that survived after the first winter. It was a close call but the colony prevailed. Their Puritan beliefs were surprisingly modern and helped shape this country to what it is today. The existence of this great nation is owed to the pilgrims' success as a colony.
A. Witchcraft in the early ages
Eric Richardson
B. One of Last Friday’s presentation about witchcraft was very interesting. Even though we haven’t really talked about it in our text, it ties into the pilgrims and their religious battles.
C. In our current text we have really been covering the initial battles of the pilgrims in the new world. From their beginning conflict of interests with the Indians to their new strict god fearing ways. The transition from England to the new world opened the pilgrims eyes to foreign things and ideas. One of these ideas was witchcraft. Witchcraft has had a prevalent effect on all societies around the world. Some examples of witchcraft in different societies include Voodoo in Africa and the witches in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Witchcraft is defined by dictionary.com has the
practice of sorcery and enchantment that has intercourse with evil spirits. I believe this was the underlying cause of the denouncing of this craft. The colonists believe that in doing magic or spells you were actually doing the devil’s work or you were giving your soul to the devil. This, of course, was in huge conflict with the teachings and beliefs bestowed in the community from the bible .
Did people really believe that a person born into this world the same way they were some how could do magic? How did they know that witchcraft was brought to the world bu the devil? Where these things told to them by God? Another hypocritical point of the witchcraft issue is the fact that many of the so called witches were killed because it was thought that they were practicing this craft. Is that not looked down upon by the bible and God. I mean, it is after all one of the commandments.
Courtney Wesolowski
“Equality”
Basis Passage: Women and men were not considered equal from either legal or social stand point.
Correlation: In class we had a discussion about the equality between men and women during the 1600s. Well there wasn’t any. Men were seen as the head of the household. Women were to obey their husbands and so as they were told. Women had no say in what happened in their community nor did they have the right to voice their opinion. Men had been considered superior to women for many, many years. In 1919, women fought for their right to vote, starting the slow stepping stone for Woman’s success. Today, women are more independent then they have ever been before. They are as seen as equal to men as it can get. There will always be people who are prejudice but oh well. Research has shown that women are now attending college and graduate school in record numbers. There has been a 68% increase in the number of women entering graduate school, whereas there was only a 22% increase for men. Also, starting in the late 1950s and early 1960s, women branched out into the work force and have been pushing that idea ever since. Some women, today, have higher ranking jobs and higher pay then men in their same positions. Women have shown to be a valuable asset to the work force. Women have come a very long way from the way they were a long time ago. Women deserve to be treated equally in the work force, voting polls, in society, and everywhere.
Title: Putting myself in their shoes.
Basic Passage: In class we talked about the pilgrims, and what if we put our self in their shoes.
Correlation: I am writing about the pilgrims, and how they do whatever to survive. If I put myself in their situation what would I do? I asked myself this question, and thought about this for a while. I gave my heart to the Jesus in 2002. I changed the way I was living, and changed my actions. I got complete peace and joy. It is hard for me to understand that the pilgrims went to this land, and took what was someone else's. So if the Lord called me to go to a strange place, and told me to take what I wanted, I would have to pray and make sure it was the Lord I heard, and not myself.
I would make certain that the Lord called me to do this. If after I prayed, and still felt that the Lord was calling me to do this, I would pray every step of the way.
When the pilgrims landed they were in a place far away from home. I know that most of them had to be scared. That is why some of them probably acted the way they did. They did what they could do to survive. When they stepped out of the boat, and saw these strange people not wearing much clothing, I could understand why they called them savages. Most of them had probably never seen people like this before.
It was hard trying to put myself in their shoes, because I couldn't imagine myself doing those things. I guess it would be easier to put myself in their shoes if I would have been there.
Devin Lochridge
Title: Deeds of Squanto
Basic Passage: In class we talked about Squanto, and how important his role was with the pilgrims.
Correlation:Squanto a Native American of the Wampanoag tribe of what is now Massachusetts. Also known as Tisquantum, he proved an invaluable friend to white settlers in New England in the early 17th century. Early in his life he was captured and sold as a slave in Spain but eventually escaped and went to England. When he returned to New England in 1619 as pilot for an English sea captain, he escaped and discovered that his people had been destroyed by a plague. Two years later he helped the starving Pilgrims at Plymouth Colony to survive by teaching them both fishing and the planting of corn. He developed a friendship with the Massachusetts settlers and acted as interpreter at the Treaty of Plymouth, signed in 1621 between the Native American chief Massasoit and Governor William Bradford. While guiding a party under Bradford around Cape Cod the following year, he became ill and died.
Squanto was a prodigious human being. To have such a big heart, and show so much helpfulness towards these pilgrims, who for the most part were not nice at all toward Native Americans. Honestly if I were Squanto I would not give a shit about the pilgrims. After they took over his land, gave his people diseases that they were not immune to. I would not teach them how to do anything. Squanto obviously did not know the repercussions of teaching the new settlers the tools of the trade for survival. If he had known what would come to be with the Native Americans I seriously doubt he would have helped the pilgrims. Squanto was only doing what he had been taught to do, be helpful to one another whenever someone is in need regardless of race. If it weren’t for Squanto hundreds of pilgrims would not be able to survive, and the new colonies would be very different.
Stacy Moralis
Title: Iconoclast VS. Polyanna
Basic Passage: In class we talked about the differences in these two points of view. One view was negative and one view was positive.
Correlation: In the iconoclastic view, the Democrats seem to point out all things that are wrong. However, in the polyanna view, the Republicans point out a more positive view on things. Reaganomics is defined as, “A popular term used to refer to the economic policies of Ronald Reagan, the 40th U.S. President (1981–1989), which called for widespread tax cuts, decreased social spending, increased military spending, and the deregulation of domestic markets. The term was used by supporters and detractors of Reagan's policies alike. Reaganomics was partially based on the principles of supply-side economics and the trickle-down theory. These theories hold the view that decreases in taxes, especially for corporations, is the best way to stimulate economic growth: the idea is that if the expenses of corporations are reduced, the savings will "trickle down" to the rest of the economy, spurring growth.” (answers.com). The Democrats called Reaganomics “Voodoo” Economics. The rich people provide the jobs for the society. If they do not have more money, they can’t hire more poor people to make them even richer. If the poor do not provide for the rich, the rich will have to start lying off their low end employees. The Democrats always try to point out things that are wrong with our country. In doing so, they never have a solution for any of it.
No matter how hard things really are, we can still make it through it. We need people to believe in us and our actions in our everyday lives. We need to believe in our leaders. They are there for a reason. We need to be more positive and optimistic.
Title: The Pilgrims and Their Strong Believes
Basic Passage: Did the pilgrims actually have strong believes when they reached the Americas although they were very religious.
Correlation: The pilgrims lied, stole, and killed. When they first landed they landed in Massachusetts, which is not where they were supposed to be. When they talked to the king they lied and told him they were in Virginia. They acted like they were worshiping him. That’s not being a Christian if someone can bold face lie to someone. Stealing was a big problem, stealing from each other and from the Native Americans. If one of the pilgrims would die they would just take all of there things. Yes, the person died but people were wishing for other pilgrims to die by not taking care of them. Also they stole from the pilgrims, which was mostly food. You can argue that they were starving and it was winter, but they could have traded or even asked for help to grow it themselves. People wonder why the pilgrims and Indians fought. Look at it from an Indians view. Foreign people came to their land and stole their crops without even trying to communicate. Another thing they stole was the money that was given to them or the voyage that the Virginia Company gave to them. Yes, they might have paid them back some of it later but they didn’t use the money for what it was set up to be used for. They didn’t even land in the right place. When they would come in contact with pilgrims they fought and death was very prominent. They called the Native Americans savages and primitive but in the Bible it says all men are created equal. These actions are not showing strong beliefs in God. If they were such Godly believers some of these actions would not have been followed through with.
Shaun Kyles
Title: What Goes Around Comes Around
Basic Passage: In class we talked about the pilgrims coming to a new land with high hopes in mind for a great future. But when they arrived to this new land, they encountered a different breed of people whom they were unfamiliar with. The pilgrims didn’t treat the Indians very well and this is why they went through many hardships during the time they spent on this new land.
Correlation: As a kid growing up I can remember my parents teaching me to treat others kind and with fairness and they shall treat you the same way. I went through kindergarten and elementary school with my teachers teaching me the same exact thing, and it stuck with me. It is basically a known fact that if you treat others bad that bad things may happen to you, but why didn’t the pilgrims believe this? The pilgrims took food and whatever they could from the Indians to survive on the new land and didn’t think twice about doing so. People today do the same thing as the pilgrims did along time ago. Some people today think its ok to steal from someone. What ever happen to morals and values? Do people today have any? Stealing is already a bad thing to do, but when you think its ok to steal that means you don’t have any morals. I know a kid who use to steal food from the corner store all the time and he actually knew what he was doing was wrong. One day someone broke into him and his parent’s house and took everything they had in it. This whole situation I think stimulated from the kid stealing from the corner store, and what I believe what goes around comes around.
Stuart Lang
Title: Naive Settlers
Correlation: The name Squanto has been taught to possibly every American school child that ever lived. His legend has lived on through stories and myths of teaching the settlers how to farm and survive. He taught them how to hunt, fish, farm and build shelter. All of these things were essential to the continuation of life and health in the "New World". The unprepared settlers did not seem to posses any knowlege of these things, which should have been at the top of their priorities. When people move, especially a drastic move such as the Pilgrim's, the logical thing is to make some preparations. The survival skills that the Pilgrims lacked could have jeopardized this country from ever have being formed in the first place. They moved to a desolate continent, filled with wild,indigenous people in the middle of winter. They were coming from Holland without the necessary skills to survive. This stupidity could have easily been the nail in coffin of all the settlers before the " New World" was even established.
So in this case, Squanto can be looked upon as a not only a savior to the Pilgrims, but the America we know today. Word would have spread to Europe that the Pilgrims had all died due to the drastic weather and the trip and the horrific conditions and perhaps America’s land would not have been settled for hundreds of years to come. Or perhaps, an Asian country or a different European country could have eventually settled and this country would all be speaking French, Spanish, Italian and so forth. The fact of the matter is, although Squanto was a God-send for the Pilgrims, he overshadows the ignorance they portrayed by coming to this land unprepared and untrained.
David Broadnax
Title: Sinning to Survive
Basic Passage: In class we talked about how the Pilgrims would often steal things from the Indians just to survive.
Correlation: We all know that stealing is bad because it’s a law and most importantly it’s one of the Ten Commandment. In certain circumstances can stealing from others be justified, for example, you where stealing food from others to help feed your starving. That’s what many pilgrims did to feed their family during the tough winter. It seems ok what they are doing, but it’s still wrong for them to take from others. The Pilgrims should’ve of communicated with the Indians to see if they could help them rather than just stealing. If all else fails they should’ve work together to trade or learned how to grow food. But this reminds me of something that happened not to long ago, hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. Then a lot of stealing was being justified if you were get things you need like food or personal hygiene products. Most of the stuff was damaged and couldn’t been resold anyways. Their were others that was taking advantage of the situation by selling electronic merchandise, furniture, and cars. The idea was to get what you need not what you want. What the Pilgrims did was human nature, to try to survive and do what they can, if would’ve been better if they talked are made agreement with them before just stealing.
Brett Williams
Title: A nights rest....
Basic Passage: "We are a Shining city on a Hill"
Correlation: Perhaps, “shining city on a hill” was exactly what America needed to hear in order to wake up and dig itself out from under a debt it had never seen. We were strong enough then to overcome such a deficit on our own. Maybe that’s why McCain’s “I don’t see anything wrong” approach didn’t work this time. Maybe he saw what Reagan saw then in our recession now, a strong American public capable of rebounding, but things have changed. Steelworkers and port harbor labor doesn’t pay what it did and today’s struggles aren’t enough to produce a working class Cinderella-man like in the 30s. We were set in our ways before and remain in them now.
Maybe “shining city on a hill” was the way Reagan sought to describe a city built on aspirations that would surely be met because there was no other alternative for the people but to. What shined was the happiness that came from meeting our needs one day at a time. It had nothing to do with living a lavish life or reaching religious supremacy, it meant that only through hard work and determination would we be able to sleep soundly in our beds at night, knowing we had made it another day. Yea, that’s it, he had the common man in mind.
Laura Piper
Title: The Native American Squanto is not a person to be praised.
He was a traitor to his people and helped the Pilgrims take advantage of them. He could speak English and instead of using his skills to help his people he used it to gain very profitably for himself. He would go back to his people and con them into doing his bidding because he would tell the tribe that the pilgrims would curse them with the plague and other horrible things of that nature. He took advantage of his relationship with the English and was not to suffer the same fate as many of the other young Indians.
When he was captured and sold as a slave because of his relations with the English he was able to escape slavery and return home much to his disappointment. His tribe had been wiped out and so he searched for another tribe. He became the man who was of great influence with the Native Americans for the English and it gave him a sense of importance so much so that he challenged the tribe for leadership effectively making him an outcast. He went to live with the pilgrims and assimilated within their culture very well by giving them the information they needed to befriend the Indians and take what they did not deserve. The only kind thing he did was help the pilgrims with finding food and helping them to have some peace with the Indians even if it was through selfish motivation and lead to unfortunate events for the Indian tribes.
I think he was a sneaky and unscrupulous person and he does not deserve to be given the praise he has. He was a pivotal instrument in creating distrust of the English in the Indian tribes and was a catalyst for the events that followed his death even if he was not the direct reason for this. In the end of his life he lived in fear of the very people who were once his friends because of the behaviors he exhibited toward his tribe members. The English used this to attack the Indians and it was the beginning of genocide for these native people.
Brett Allen
Land Ho...
Basic Passage: When the pilgrims landed they were disheartened to find a wilderness without towns or friends.
Correlation: In his narrative Bradford compares the pilgrims' arrival wiht the biblical shipwreck. He writes that the natives were much more friendly in the Bible. the shipwreck had been an ordeal for the soldiers and prisoners on the ship. The prisoners were already being punished by the law, and the storm only left them more desolate. Similarly, the pilgrims had endured hardships at sea only to find a dangerous country far from civilization. During one of his last speeches while in office, President Bush said the economy was in a recession when he took office and that it was in another one when he was leaving. The pilgrim's attitude was to look to the LORD for strength. It seems Bradford would be just as likely to be nonchalant about a snake bite. The pilgrims stayed incredibly optomistic keeping an eternal perspective. As John Winthrop said, "If we shall... cause him [God] to withdraw his present help from us, we shall be made a story and a byword throuout the world" (bartleby.com). It was after streching themselves to the limit and being spent, then finding a new challenge ahead that let them see how powerless they were alone.
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