While still at sea, John Winthrop preached a famous sermon explaining the Puritan mission to America : "We must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill, the eyes of all people are upon us," 1 Winthrop proclaimed. Puritan New England was to be a model for the world to follow, a beacon of holiness in a dark and sinful world.

Winthrop went on to outline the Puritans' goals for their "city upon a hill." First, every citizen would put the good of the whole above his or her own desires. We "must bear one another's burdens," he preached, "always having before our eyes our... community in the work." Second, the "city" would be a God-fearing society. If the settlers obeyed God's laws, Winthrop declared, God will "bless us in the land whither we go." But if "we will not obey...