Blackwell Reference Online

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In 1516 Thomas More, an English lawyer, statesman, and humanist scholar, published Utopia , a fantastic traveler's tale taking place in the “New World.” Inspired by the voyages of Amerigo Vespucci, More imagined an idyllic island nation governed by a communitarian and egalitarian ethos that sharply contrasted with the corruption and materialism of England. While More's book, part satire, part social critique, was never intended as blueprint for a society, the term “utopian” (which literally means “no place”) has since come to describe intentional attempts to create “perfect” societies, separated from the rest of the world. Although More's description of life in the New World was hardly accurate, his choice to place Utopia in the newly discovered lands across the Atlantic was prophetic. America has been the repository of the hopes and dreams of a multitude of reformers, radicals, and revolutionaries. In 1630 John Winthrop's “city on the hill” sermon argued that in the New World it would be possible to correct the evils of mankind. Many Puritans left behind the turmoil of revolutionary England to settle in the “wilderness” of Massachusetts Bay and carve out their utopia, an orderly Christian society that would stand as a model for all others. Although the Puritans never achieved their city on the hill, they contributed to the notion that America is, quoting James Madison, “useful ... log in or subscribe to read full text