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We shall build a city upon a hill

Page history last edited by Mr. Hengsterman 3 years, 6 months ago

Where and when does America begin?

In 1630, the Rev. John Winthrop, governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, proclaimed to fellow Puritan settlers that “we shall be as a city upon a hill.” In this video, Abram Van Engen of Washington University in St. Louis examines the surprising history of Winthrop's striking image and its subsequent adoption by presidents John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama.

THE QUOTE

"For we must consider that we shall be a city upon a hill, the eyes of all are upon us. So that if we shall deal falsely with our god in this work we shall have undertaken, and so cause Him to withdraw his present help from us, we shall be made a story and a by-word through the world."

THE SIGNIFICANCE

In the sermon, "A Model of Christian Charity," expresses Winthrop's belief that the Puritan colonists had a special pact with God to build a model Christian society.

Winthrop's sermon is often cited as the fist example of AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM, the belief that America has a mission to be a beacon of democratic reform.

President Reagan often used the image of a "shinning city" to express his ideal of an America "God-blessed and teeming with people of all kinds in harmony and peace"