<P> "A City upon a Hill" is a phrase from the parable of Salt and Light in Jesus's Sermon on the Mount . In Matthew 5: 14, he tells his listeners, "You are the light of the world . A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden ." It has become popular with United States politicians . </P> <P> The phrase entered the American lexicon early in its colonial history through the 1630 sermon "A Model of Christian Charity" preached by Puritan John Winthrop while still aboard the ship Arbella . Winthrop admonished the future Massachusetts Bay colonists that their new community would be "as a city upon a hill", watched by the world--which became the ideal that the New England colonists placed upon their hilly capital city of Boston . The Puritans' community in New England would set an example of communal charity, affection, and unity to the world or, if the Puritans failed to uphold their covenant of God, "we shall be made a story and a by - word through the world" of God's judgment . Winthrop's sermon is often cited as an early example of American exceptionalism . </P> <P> In the twentieth century, the image was used a number of times in United States politics . On 9 January 1961, President - Elect John F. Kennedy returned the phrase to prominence during an address delivered to the General Court of Massachusetts: </P>

Who spoke about america being a city on a hill