Asher K. Sisneros
Dr. Gary North
American Literature
September 24, 2024
William Bradford’s Of Plymouth Plantation is one of the most culturally significant books on the English colonization of the New World. Plymouth was and has remained an irrelevant town, except for its historical significance. Yet even its historical significance—Squanto, The Mayflower Compact, communal property, and everything else associated with Plymouth—is largely (if not entirely) courtesy of Bradford’s work.
When reading literature, the natural question all readers must ask is: “Why did the author write this?” Like all authors, Bradford had many incentives to write the book. But one hypothesis is that he wrote it as a morality tale for future generations.
Legacy is one of the key components of a healthy civilization. People must know their history. They must know where they come from, and who they are. Knowledge of parents and grandparents—how they lived and the decisions they made—does marvelous wonders in giving individuals a sense of identity. Not everything they did is commendable and worthy to be emulated, but it is worth knowing.
When dissecting the pages of Plymouth Plantation, the book appears to be an apologetic defense for their actions and an explanation of the choices they made. The pilgrims traveled from England to the Netherlands, and then from the Netherlands to New England, not for the sake of exploration or attaining riches, but to escape from the world and establish a Christian community. As Separatists, they wanted to separate from the world around them. In their expedition to the Netherlands, they were separating from the Anglican monarchy; in traveling to the New World, they separated from both the Dutch Presbyterians and the pagans influencing their children. All of this separation was to appease God. In fact, all of their actions were guided by the sincere desire to honor the Lord.
Within a few years, the pilgrims became incredibly prosperous. In the beginning, they were near starvation, but soon, they were blessed with immense crops. Corn and wampum grew abundantly, with the latter making them and the Native Americans rich. Bradford credited their prosperity to the hand of God, thanking the Lord for delivering them and giving them prosperity out of His divine providence. Unfortunately, the prosperity caused degeneration among the children. As the colony became more prosperous, people turned their attention primarily towards agricultural productivity, rather than spiritual purity. But he feared this shift in priorities would warrant God’s wrath, and in the end, the colonists would be left with nothing: no prosperity or purity.
In this respect, the book seems to be a morality tale for posterity. The expedition to the New World was incredibly dangerous, but they did it for the preservation of their faith. In the book, Bradford seems to be reminding future generations of everything their parents sacrificed for spiritual purity. As a result of these honest intentions, they were blessed by God. But Bradford warns against overemphasizing the blessing and forgetting the Blesser.
Asher Sisneros 