Reading #7 Questions

Document A:

1. Sourcing: Who was John Winthrop speaking to in this sermon? What do you
think is the purpose of this sermon?

2. Contextualization: Imagine what his audience might have been thinking and
feeling as they listened to him on the ship. Describe it.

3. Close reading: What is the main idea of this speech? What do you think
Winthrop means when he says, “We shall be as a City Upon a Hill?”


Document B:

1. Sourcing: Who was John Cotton speaking to in this sermon? Why is he
speaking about settling in a new land?

2. Contextualization: In this sermon, who are the ‘inhabitants’ in the new land?
Who are the ‘foreign people?’

3. Close reading: What does Cotton say that God will do for the foreign people
when they arrive in the new land?

Using evidence from Document A and Document B, answer the question below:

Were the Puritans selfish or selfless?