Bischler

Devin Bischler
Ms. Albrecht
Advanced Composition
10-2-14
The Stories of Early America
Life in early America has been portrayed in many different ways. On one hand their are the
people who have written about the hardships the first settlers went through, about their
dedication to their beliefs. They suffered through many tragedies, often turning to god for the
answers. William Bradford's Of Plymouth Plantation directly shows the struggles of the Puritans,
and their perseverance in the hardest times. On the contrary, there are others who are critical of
the Puritans' decisions. There are certain people who believe that many conflicts and deaths
could have been prevented if only there was any hint of hard work and problem solving. In The
History of the Dividing Line William Byrd observes that maybe these "Christians" weren't as
dedicated to the Puritan way of life as many had believed. In the long run, a firsthand account of
the early settlers is much more reliable than an account from a wealthy landowner who lived
nearly 100 years later.
William Bradford was in charge of the Plymouth colony for nearly 30 years. Bradford is
very objective in his writing when he tells of the hardships and all of the hard work that had to be
done in order to survive. He tells first hand of the challenges they faced: from fatal disease to a
brutally cold winter season. Hardworking, efficient, model Christians is how Bradford describes
the early Puritans. Despite these great qualities, he outlines the first tragic winter as a brutal

death trap. Nearly half of them died, and the morale of the people was very low. Bradford talks
of the impact of death's cold grip: "so as there died sometimes two or three in a day" (Bradford
124). Even with all of the adversity faced, the first settlers managed to be the best model
Christians. When there was only a handful of immigrants that were in a relatively healthy state,
they would burden themselves with the chores of the sick for the benefit of the whole. "With toil
and hazard to their own health, fetched them wood and made fires..." (Bradford 124). Bradford
describes how the sick were taken care of. They follow the golden rule and treat others how they
would want to be treated. On the other hand, William Byrd is very subjective when he describes
the first settlers. He doesnt really use facts like Bradford does, rather he uses the information he
has been told.
Byrd grew up nearly 100 years after the Plymouth Colony was established. He offers a
much less credible description of the colonists. He says that they were good for nothing, lazy
wretches who value their drinking over their religion like true Christians (Byrd 133). Byrd also
makes a point that much more effort was spent trying to find riches and gold than it wouldve
taken to actually do the work to make a valuable harvest. He didnt really put into mind that they
came in the middle of one of the most terrible winters in history, and nothing wouldve grown
anyways. The only credible argument that Byrd even makes is when he says they shouldve
married in with the nearby Native Americans to avoid future conflicts and unnecessary deaths.
This being his best argument and he wasnt even being serious. There are many times in the text
where Byrd uses this satirical tone, a tone that is much different from Bradfords serious, grim
tone.
Bradford wanted his writing to be for all people to read. The objective was to make a
simple list of events that happened through the first few years. He wanted to show the terrible,

grim hell that they had arrived in. He described the wilderness as a place full of wild beasts and
wild men (Bradford 123). If there were any details that were left out, there would be a lot more
unknown and therefore the story would be based off of opinions. This is much like the style that
Byrd uses.
William Byrd was a very educated man. Maybe that is why he thinks he can be
considered a credible source to write about the first colonies. But, one problem is that he lived
almost 100 years after the people he so elegantly describes. Also, just because he is educated
doesnt mean he has the authority and proper knowledge to write about this topic. He uses a very
satirical tone to pick apart the early colonists. If I was looking for a believable source I would
rather have a list of facts than a sarcastic explanation.
The biggest difference between the two Authors is how they put themselves into the
situation. Bradford actually doesnt even put himself into the story at all, even though he is a
firsthand account. He uses a very subjective style to take himself out of the story and remove any
potential biases that could have been created. When one became of sickness (Bradford 124).
Bradford is talking about himself in this situation. Byrd for some reason finds it okay to put
himself into the story even though he lived a century later. He isnt even a firsthand account!
The two writers have very different styles of writing. One uses a very serious, plain tone,
while the other uses a serious tone. Bradford is very objective while Byrd is subjective. Some
would argue that Byrd could be a better source since he is educated, but education does not really
make you a credible source if you are not educated on the right things. Both authors write about
the early adventures of the first colonists, but if one was to need information about early
American colonies, Bradford's text would be much more reliable.