--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The most important reason I am…" description: "\"“The most important reason I am concentrating on Winthrop and his shipmates in the 1630s is that the country I live in is haunted by the Puritans’ visi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac9/sarah-vowell-2016_colony_the-most-important-reason-i-am-concentra_1237006.jpg" --- # The most important reason I am concentrating on Winthrop… ![“The most important reason I am concentrating on Winthrop and his shipmates in the 1630s is that the country I live in is haunted by the Puritans’ vision of themselves as God’s chosen people, as a beacon of righteousness that all others are to admire.” quote by Sarah Vowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac9/sarah-vowell-2016_colony_the-most-important-reason-i-am-concentra_1237006.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac9/sarah-vowell-2016_colony_the-most-important-reason-i-am-concentra_1237006.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac9/sarah-vowell-2016_colony_the-most-important-reason-i-am-concentra_1237006.jpg) > ““The most important reason I am concentrating on Winthrop and his shipmates in the 1630s is that the country I live in is haunted by the Puritans’ vision of themselves as God’s chosen people, as a beacon of righteousness that all others are to admire.”” [Sarah Vowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-vowell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. America’s self‑image as a chosen, righteous nation stems from Puritan ideals, shaping modern identity. **In simple terms:** Puritan myths shape national self‑view. Key Takeaway Question historic narratives shaping identity. Themes national identity history myths religion politics Mood critical analytical Type essay historical When to use this quote - political discourse - education - media representation Key Concepts cultural memory collective identity ideology Questions to Reflect On - What Puritan ideals persist today? - How do they influence policy? A Different Perspective Historical narratives can be contested and revised. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [1630S Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/1630s-country-3848125/) [Colony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/colony/) [Concentrating Winthrop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concentrating-winthrop-3848126/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Haunted Puritans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/haunted-puritans-3848124/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Puritans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/puritans/) [Puritans Vision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/puritans-vision-3848123/) ## Related quotes > [“The same wakefulness the individual Calvinist was to use to keep watch over his own sins Winthrop and Cotton called for also in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-vowell/the-same-wakefulness-the-individual-calvinist-was-to-use-to-keep/) [Sarah Vowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-vowell/) > [“The Puritans are conventionally considered more "moderate" than the Pilgrims. This is like calling al-Qaeda more moderate than ISIS. The Massachusetts Bay Colony Puritans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-andersen/the-puritans-are-conventionally-considered-more-moderate-than-the/) [Kurt Andersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-andersen/) > [My ancestors were Puritans from England. They arrived here in 1648 in the hope of finding greater restrictions than were permissible under English law…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/my-ancestors-were-puritans-from-england-they-arrived-here-in-1648-in/) [Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/) > [On many questions and specially in view of the marriage bed, the Puritans were the indulgent party, . . . they were much more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/on-many-questions-and-specially-in-view-of-the-marriage-bed-the/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [“But what would cause Yankeedom eventually to be so loathed by the other nations was its desire—indeed, its mission—to impose its ways on everyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-woodard/but-what-would-cause-yankeedom-eventually-to-be-so-loathed-by-the/) [Colin Woodard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-woodard/) > [“By contrast, the subsequent waves of Puritans in their search for profits quickly uprooted all natives and sold many of them into slavery without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-weatherford/by-contrast-the-subsequent-waves-of-puritans-in-their-search-for/) [Jack Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-weatherford/) > [You can't understand America without understanding the Puritans. 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Putting God first and valuing everything else in relation to God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leland-ryken/the-puritans-sense-of-priorities-in-life-was-one-of-their-greatest/) [Leland Ryken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leland-ryken/) > [“It was as Hester said, in regard to the unwanted jollity that brightened the faces of the people. Into this festal season of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/it-was-as-hester-said-in-regard-to-the-unwanted-jollity-that/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [We think the Puritans always dressed in black and white, which they didn't. They loved very bright colors. And there were other differences in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlisle-floyd/we-think-the-puritans-always-dressed-in-black-and-white-which-they/) [Carlisle Floyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlisle-floyd/) > [The Puritans came to America to worship in their way and to force everybody else to do the same thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-levenson/the-puritans-came-to-america-to-worship-in-their-way-and-to-force/) [Sam Levenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-levenson/) ## More by Sarah Vowell > [“She is either male property (Mrs.), wannabe male property (Miss), or man-hating harpy (Ms.).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-vowell/she-is-either-male-property-mrs-wannabe-male-property-miss-or-man/) [Sarah Vowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-vowell/) > [“We were breathing sooty air. The soot was composed of incinerated glass and steel but also, we knew, incinerated human flesh. 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No one ever asks that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-vowell/what-are-you-hiding-no-one-ever-asks-that/) [Sarah Vowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-vowell/) > [“I don't have a driver's license (phobia).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-vowell/i-don-t-have-a-driver-s-license-phobia/) [Sarah Vowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-vowell/) [Explore all 190 Sarah Vowell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-vowell/) ## More Colony quotes > [ That country \[Carthage\] was rapidly sinking into the state of barbarism from whence it had been raised by the Phoenician colonies and Roman laws;… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/that-country-carthage-was-rapidly-sinking-into-the-state-of-barbarism/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [Throughout our history, the words of the Declaration have inspired immigrants from around the world to set sail to our shores. 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