¶ … Puritan Dilemma A democracy is a system of government wherein the governed have a voice. In the simplest terms, it is a government by and for the people. In the present, the United States government is based upon the idea of representational democracy. Every citizen has a voice which is expressed through election of representatives who then vote on items and legislation. This is not how things have always been. In the time of the colonization of the New World, each colony would be responsible for creating their individual, workable governing systems. The Massachusetts Bay Colony was led by one John Winthrop, a Puritan lawyer. More than anyone at the time, John Winthrop set the tone for the style of government which would dominate the colony. Although some form of representation in legislation did exist in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Winthrop's community cannot be considered a true democracy. The man's authoritarian...

He uses the first chapters of the book to illustrate to the reader that Winthrop was a flesh and blood man, not an immaculate servant of God. Winthrop's judgment of other men and women then take on a level of hypocrisy. He had fallen prey to the temptations of sin as a younger man. Only after he turned his back on his youthful indiscretions did Winthrop take up the cause of Puritanism and then make the journey to the New World. The colonies were struggling to create sustainable shelter and stave starvation. This Winthrop was able to aid the people in. As governor of the Massachusetts Colony, Winthrop did much to better the lives of the people around him (Morgan 68).
In helping create the government for the…