City upon a Hill

City upon a hill (German literally means " city on a hill ") is a trope, which comes from John Winthrop's sermon A Model of Christian Charity in 1630. The statement refers to the metaphor of salt and light of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 's Gospel ( Mt 5,14 EU): "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill can not be hid " ( in the King James Bible: Ye are the light of the world A city did is set on hill can not be hid at. . )

Winthrop impressed upon the Puritan colonists of the Massachusetts Bay Colony that their new colony a "city on a hill " was that was being watched by the whole world:

"We have to assume that we should be like a city on a hill. The eyes of all people depend on us. "

For a long time it was assumed that the sermon was on board the Arbella just before the arrival, which brought the Puritans to America. Recent research revealed, however, that Winthrop made ​​this speech likely already before departure in England. Winthrop believed that all nations have a deal with God, and that the Puritans to leave England, as the country had broken his divine Agreement. He believed that the Puritans a new, special agreement with God had, similar to Israel between God and the people.

In American history, the term City upon a Hill has often been expressed of American exceptionalism. Many politicians relied on the notion that in order to show that the United States would be a particular model for the rest of the world. An example of this is the speech The City upon a Hill by John F. Kennedy from January 9, 1961 before the Massachusetts State Legislature a few days before he was sworn in as president.

Ronald Reagan has also frequently uses the term, but in the short version of " Shining City". He was referring, for example, in his Farewell Address explicitly to John Winthrop and the image of the " Shining City":