SOURCE: Moseley, James G. “The Perils of the Text.” In John Winthrop's World: History as a Story, the Story as History, pp. 121-29. Madison, Wis.: University of Wisconsin Press, 1992.

In the essay which follows, Moseley proposes that the textual history of Winthrop's Journal has contributed a misunderstanding of the text's meaning, maintaining that the text should be read in the historical context of the various editing processes.

John Winthrop learned to see and to write history as a story, but it is impossible for us simply to read his story straight. His actions as governor have so overshadowed his work as a historian, and his character and accomplishments have been so thoroughly incorporated into the pantheon of early New England, that we cannot find direct access to the history he made. Winthrop stood foremost among the first generation of American Puritans; hence whatever judgment one makes regarding the...