JEREMIADA rhetoric of indignation,

expressing deep dissatisfaction and urgently

challenging people to reform.

Context

Rooted in Jeremiah’s warnings to the Israelites, the Jeremiad maintains that Americans are a chosen people with a historic mission to save and remake the world.

Structure

Citing the promise

usually this is rooted in biblical allusion

Bradford called it “God’s Providence”

Criticism of the present declension or retrogression from the promise

This is where the dramatic threats come in—”hell, fire and brimstone”

Prophecy that society will complete its mission and redeem the promise.

Restatement of America’s unique mission: Winthrop’s “City on the Hill”

Conclusion

The Jeremiad’s consistent idea is that God will use the unhappy situation to spur people to reform and fulfill their divine destiny.