Question

What did John Winthrop mean when he said he wanted Massachusetts Bay to be “a City upon a Hill”?

Answer 1

A city to look up to.

Step-by-step explanation:

The phrase "city upon a hill" is used most commonly to associate a city that people look up to. John Winthrop wanted the colony to be an example of a perfect colony/city.

Answer 2

Winthrop warned his fellow Puritans that their new community would be "as a city upon a hill, the eyes of all people are upon us", meaning, if the Puritans failed to uphold their covenant with God, then their sins and errors would be exposed for all the world to see: "So that if we shall deal falsely with our God in ...