Author:

The Author is John Winthrop for “City on a Hill” and There are many noticeable authors for the
Mayflower compact, such as William Bradford, Edward Fuller, and John Carver. These names
are very familiar, as we see their points of view as people who want to establish settlements and
colonies. Winthrop’s point of view is more of a religious person who wants the settlement to be
established in the name of God, while the Mayflower Compact was less theocratic.
Place and Time:
The Mayflower compact was written during the colonial era, as well as “City on a Hill”. This
affects the meaning of the source because it is a better representation of the thought processes,
structures, word form and meanings that were prevalent to the era at the time it was written. It
gives us as readers a better idea of how things were and the thought processes of the authors.
Prior Knowledge:
In the case of “City on a Hill” the intentions were made to create a theocratic society which
blended the views of the Puritan religion with the government as we know from Prior
Knowledge. I also know that the Mayflower Compact was made to have an agreement on the
government that would control the colony’s government, and the compact was the first written
agreement of the new world.
Audience:
In “City on a Hill” the audience is directed to the people of the colony, their intentions, and their
goals as the chosen people of God. The Mayflower agreement is more formal and less biased
as it is directed to a different audience; one of government officials. They are semi-similar in a
few ways, but the difference being the 3 G focus; City’s on God, and Mayflower’s on glory.
Reason:
The Mayflower compact was essentially to agree on government control. “City on a Hill” was
trying to convey the point of the importance of the colony. They see themselves as
representatives of the purest, highest forms of divine right, and they believe they serve as a
model example of how people should be in the eyes of God.
The Main Idea:
Like said above in Reason, the mayflower’s main idea was on who controlled what, and City
was meant to give thanks to God and prayer for a successful settlement.
Significance:
These sources are important because it gives us a better idea of historical ideas and key
concepts when it is presented to us visually. So what? It provides us with a better understanding
of these author’s ideas and thoughts, and how these different goals ended up affecting the
colonies, their governments, their religious practices, and even the similarities they have. It
allows us to create a better relationship between two different topics.