Entry A: William Bradford

1. THESIS:
In an excerpt from William Bradford's Of Plymouth Plantation, although the Puritans experience hardship in their voyage to America, in their initial arrival, and in their dealings with the Indians, they still maintain true to God and each other.


2. PASSAGE:
"Thus it pleased God to vanquish their enemies and give them deliverance; and by His special providence so to dispose that not any one of them were either hurt or hit, though their arrows came close by them and on every side [of] them; and sundry of their coats, which hung up in the barricade, were shot through and through. Afterwards they gave God solemn thanks and praise for their deliverance, and gathered up a bundle of their arrows and sent them into England afterward by the master of the ship, and called that place the First Encounter."


3. REFLECTION:
This passage struck me as a concise reflection of the faith the Puritans had in God because they credit him with their success and pray to Him during their failures. This shows the superiority the Puritans felt over the 'savages', as they were assured that God would protect them instead of those who they barely considered human. In addition to their faith in God, the Puritans also answer to a 'lower' power-- the Throne of England, which is where they sent the Indian's arrows the Puritans had collected, despite the fact they were religious dissenters.

4. DIARY ENTRY:
From the Diary of Johnathan Williams, November 15th, 1620

Today we spotted the first savages inland of Cape Cod! We, that is, sixteen settlers led by Captain Standish, follwed them in brave pursuit, hoping that they spoke English and trying to discover if there were more of them in ambush. Alas, but the Savages, with their knowledge of the woods, managed to elude us. Altough we tried to follow their tracks, we were soon lost and prayed to God to deliver us from the wild bushes that clawed at us, needlelike. At last God answered our prayers and guided us to a stream of water which tasted better than the finest spirits in England. Procedding onwards, we happened across an Indian burial ground and a cornfeild. After collecting some of the corn, we returned to the Maylfower where there was much thanks directed at the heavens for the source of food, and ultimately hope.


5. EXTENSION:




Parallels between the Indian and settlers conflict and the ongoing Immigrant Worker and US Citizen debate are clearly visible. In the cartoon, there is a boat full of settlers approaching shore, stating, "They say they are building a wall because too many of us enter illegally and won't learn their language or assimilate into their culture." This is illustrating how the settlers, just like the current illegal immigrants, encounter trouble with the local inhabitants of America. Also in the cartoon, the Indians are building a wall to stop the settlers from inhabiting America. This displays the hipocrisy in the current American population, because without the opportunity to enter the country hundreds of years ago the caucasian Americans would not be where they are today, and they are currently denying the Mexican immigrants the same opportunity they once had. The current conflict between the immigrants and US citizens can be compared to that of the settlers and Indians.