Colonial Period Essay Example For Students

Colonial Period Essay The colonial period was A time of much change, as is themodern period. Many people viewed things differently in thecolonial period than they do today. The people of thecolonial period had much more traditional values than thepeople of today. The people of the colonial period thoughtof religion much more sternly than I do. John Winthropbelieved in a very stern God. John Winthrop writes, Now ifthe Lord shall please to hear us, and bring us in peace to theplace we desire, then hath he ratified this Covenant andsealed our Commission, and will expect a strictperformance of the Articles contained in it (43). He believesthat God acts completely as he wishes, without any thoughtfor man. Samuel Sewall used religion to help him when heneeded help. In his diary, Samuell Sewall writes, My Son,the minister, came to me p.m. by appointment and we prayone for another in the Old Chamber; more especiallyrespecting my Courtship(63). Sewall only acted religiouswhen it was convenient for him. I personall y believe in a Godmuch more caring than that Winthrop believed in. I alsobelieve that God is always around, not just when I need him. Different people have many different religious beliefs. Throughout history, views of love have changed. AnneBradstreet valued love as a strong romantic bond. InBradstreets poem, To My Dear and Loving Husband shewrites, I prize thy love more than whole mines of gold, Orall the ritches that Earth doth hold(51). In this excerpt,Bradstreet is speaking to her Husband. John Winthropviewed love as a religious bond between all men. He writes,Love is the bond of perfection (39). Winthrop gives fewreferences to romantic love. I personally think of love assomething that people feel for each other just because theyare both people. I believe there is an element of lovebetween all people. Love is viewed differently by differentpeople, but these beliefs have little to do with what timeperiod these people lived in. It appears that as time goes by,people view marriage more romantically, and lesseconomically. Samuell Sewell viewed marriage as a way toadvance monetarily. In his diary he writes, I said twouldcost L100. per annum: she said twould cost but L40 (63). This is just one example of him carefully calculating the costsof marriage. Anne Bradstreet viewed marriage more of away of expressing love. In her poem, To My Dear andLoving Husband Bradstreet writes, If ever man were lovedby wife, then thee; If ever wife was happy in a man,Compare with me ye women if you can(51). Bradstreetobviously married for romantic reasons. I believe marriage issomething that should be done for romantic reasons. This isa popular belief in modern America. Throughout time,marriage has changed greatly, and so have the reasonspeople marry. I personally saw myself relating to Bradstreetin many ways, but rarely agreeing with Winthrop or Sewell. In conclusion, overall, the people of the colonial period hadmore traditional values than people of today.