Should Puritan Leaders Banish Anne Hutchinson?

Her beliefs contradicted what the government and other religious leaders of the Massachusetts Bay Colonies had already established. She believed that God had already decided on which souls would be saved and which souls would not be. Anne’s beliefs deeply divided the community because it was a new way of thinking for not only women but men as well. She was making people question their hierarchy and this was all new to the people of Massachusetts Bay.

Hutchinson held Bible study meetings for women that soon had great appeal to men as well. Eventually, she went beyond Bible study to proclaiming boldly facets of her own theological interpretations, some of which offended colony leadership. Great controversy ensued, and after an arduous trial before a jury of officials from both government and clergy, eventually she was banished from her colony.The assertive Anne was now becoming a religious leader to many, and this worried John Winthrop, a long time opponent of Anne's views, and the newly appointed Governor of the Massachusetts Bay colony. Winthrop recognized her as a threat to the authority of the men in power, and the thought of women expressing their views on Church and communal matters

Anne Hutchinson was a remarkable colonial woman who first came to Massachusetts in the fall of 1634. She is less remembered for her contributions in the new world as a wife, mother of fourteen, and midwife to many than for her eventual trial and banishment from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. I was interested in writing a paper on a colonial woman and chose Anne Hutchinson after a "Google" search turned up a very good review on a recent book about her life. I have been intrigued by the fact that the Puritans came to America to practice their religion freely, yet allowed no freedom to question their

David D. Hall looks at the Examination Of Mrs. Anne Hutchinson at the Court at Newton (1637). (Hall p 55) In his writing he talks about the Anne Hutchinson and her summons before A council of leading Ministers and magistrates of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, where Anne Hutchinson would defend her unorthodox and beliefs and teaching. Anne Hutchinson was a seventeenth century women who used her voice freely and forcefully, as a result political maneuvering by the council destroyed her. Which this would lead the Antinomian Controversy. This controversy made Hutchinson famous in the unfolding in the Massachusetts Bay Colony from 1636 to 1638, which the council was deeply satisfied with the teachings of several church leaders; begin to publicly express their discontent. “Hutchinson and others argued that preachers were promoting a covenant of works rather than a covenant of grace, wrongly communicating the idea that an indivual could be saved by obedience and duty rather than solely by redeeming grace of the holy sprit”. (Smith p 437) Hutchinson and followers wanted an endorsement that was clear of the

With the exception of a few Catholic migrants to early Maryland, all English settlers in America were Protestants. But the contrast between Southern and Northern religious practices was marked. Since transferring a vigorous Anglican parish structure to the seventeenth-century Chesapeake proved impossible, religion in Maryland and Virginia remained more a matter of personal piety than a constant institutional presence. In New England, however, Puritan church and state were closely entwined: each supported the other, and determining which was the superior authority (especially in the early years) was often difficult. Thus, New England women had to reckon with two strong institutions—the Puritan church and the stable patriarchal family—that Chesapeake women did not. The effects of these religious differences have not been explored as fully as those resulting from demography, but the case of Anne Hutchinson suggests that Puritanism in its formative stages offered women opportunities for religious leadership obviously denied Chesapeake residents with no comparable institutions. Although Puritan theology reinforced secular patriarchal tendencies, it also emphasized the spiritual equality of all souls before God and the ability of all believers (male or female) to interpret the scriptures. Hutchinson took advantage of the ambiguities in Puritan teachings and, for a time,

Anne Hutchinson: Puritan Prophet is a novel that tells the story of a puritan who fought for religion. She fought for the belief of predestination and of free grace. Hall uses her life to tell the story of religion and how her inspiration got religion to where it is in modern day. He shows us how Hutchinson’s courage to speak her thoughts helped make free religion which was a new concept for the world. Anne Hutchinson fought hard for what she believed in. She faced the humiliation of being banished just so the world can have free grace.

It is my understanding that Anne's type of mischief was not too uncommon for that time period in Massachusetts. Meetings were held all over between Puritans discussing religious topics such as Biblical translations and weekly sermons

Following a four-month detention, Hutchinson, weary and in poor health, was called to trial on Thursday, 15 March 1638. The trial took place at her home church in Boston, though many of her supporters were gone, her only family members present were her oldest son Edward and his wife, her daughter Faith and son-in-law Thomas Savage, and her sister Katharine with her husband Richard Scott. The ministers objective was to examine Anne's errors. Thomas Leverett, called Hutchinson up, and read the numerous errors with which she had been charged with. The ministers overwhelmingly concluded that Hutchinson's unsound beliefs outweighed all the good she had done, and that she endangered the spiritual welfare of the community. Her downfall came when she

Anne Hutchinson was tried and banished from the colony by the Massachusetts Bay General Court in November of 1637 (35). Hutchinson had arrived in Massachusetts Bay after her minister and mentor John Cotton had fled there to avoid the summons to London he had received from the Archbishop Laud to answer for his behavior in continuing as a Puritan minister despite the reforms King Charles had placed banishing such practices (36-37). The Hutchinson family arrived in Massachusetts Bay on September 18, 1634 not knowing the trials to come, literally and figuratively (37). Anne Hutchinson would, within the years leading up to her trial, conduct weekly meetings in her home that attracted many influential people in attendance (36-37). Among these people were Francis Vane, an Antinomian who would replace Winthrop as colonial governor temporarily; John Wheelwright, another Antinomian that would be banished from the colony for his radical sermons; and Roger Williams, a friend of John Winthrop that was banished for his extreme religious beliefs (37-54). John Winthrop and other political leaders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony became increasingly distressed with Hutchinson’s meetings because of some of these associations, along with the association her meetings had with the increased threat of Antinomian beliefs to John Winthrop’s view of Massachusetts Bay as a “city upon a hill” and how believers of Antinomianism threatened that ideal view of the colony (40). All these factors lead up to Anne Hutchinson’s trial and although most say that religious quarrels are the only reason for the Hutchinson trial, there is more to Anne’s trial than just how her religious views differed from the norm of Puritan society, because other factors should be taken into consideration when analyzing the Hutchinson trial.

Anne Hutchinson held meetings at her house on Sundays to recall what had been said during the church sermon as well as to add her own ideas and thoughts on the topics that were being discussed. At first this seemed very normal but when her teachings began influencing people to pull away from the other Puritans, Winthrop recognized this as a problem. Anne Hutchinson taught others of her numerous propositions, which opposed the purpose of this excursion to New England. Morgan states that, Mrs. Hutchinson’s beliefs, “…threatened the fundamental conviction on which the Puritans built their state, their churches, and their daily lives, namely that God’s will could be discovered only through the bible” (Morgan). Anne Hutchinson was in fact an Antinomian, she opposed the fixed meaning of God’s moral law that Winthrop had worked so hard to teach these people. As a result, Mrs. Hutchinson was causing a huge threat to the settlers. She was trying to manipulate others to share her religious beliefs. Winthrop would not tolerate such behavior, as she was behaving sinfully, she must be punished accordingly or else as Winthrop believed, they would all suffer from God’s wrath. Winthrop took Mrs. Hutchinson to a court hearing and after a long, battle it was decided by the court that Mrs. Hutchinson was to be banished from Massachusetts. Mrs. Hutchinson was set as an example for the others who may

The book Anne Hutchinson: Puritan Prophet, by Timothy D. Hall, tells the story of a strong-willed woman whose faith and intellect brought her about to play a major role in early New England Puritan life. Hall tries to answer many questions surrounding Hutchinson throughout the book to try and bring clarity to a powerful historic event.

In the trial of Anne Hutchinson, we meet a well intentioned yet lost people described and labelled as the Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Company. These self governing Puritans, once a people who sought God to set them on their way, settled only to be found as a people who simply lost their way. This journey to lost began when first motivated by a desire for religious reform and separation from the liturgy, ceremonies and practices of the Church of England. Once they banned together, they set on their way and traveled in groups to the New World. With the Word of God as their ultimate authority and the desire for a personal relationship with God, these people landed in Boston in 1630 united to self govern the newly founded Massachussets Bay Colony. Unfortunatly, this self rule resulted in a government of intolerance, fear and a liturgy not much different from what was once found in the Church of England. A system designed to set apart outward morality, or sanctification, to strengthen the authority of the Church only worked to neglect the place of true piety purposed to strengthen the spiritual lives of the people it served.

Anne Hutchinson, a woman who lived in Puritanical New England not long before the Salem trials occurred, was a prime example of just how corrupt and hypocritical the courts of that time were. Salem, and New England in its entirety, were Puritanical theocracies—religion and government were inextricably linked. Anne was synonymous with the people of 1692 Salem in that her faith was her lifeline. Faith was such a prominent part of Anne’s life that she began to host religious meetings at her house where she could speak of and preach her religious beliefs freely, or so

One must remember, thought, that in Puritan Massachusetts, the Church and the State were one. This is precisely why Ann Hutchinson is being tried in a state court for crossing Puritan doctrine. Governor John Winthrop is saying that, according to Puritan doctrine, to become acquainted with someone of a religion other than Puritanism, it puts to shame the parents of this sinner and the dishonors the whole Puritan colony. This is quite indicative of exclusion because the Puritans stopped everyone of their faith from friendly interaction with someone of a different faith. The unjust and severe punishment was that they were to be banished from the colony, their family, their friends, and their church. This is what happened to Ann Hutchinson. She was excluded from her whole life all because she quietly questioned some of the Church's decisions and didn't take kindly the spoon-fed Puritan principles.

She was self taught and learned also by reading the books within her father’s library. Her family was middle class and members of the church. Her father was a reverend. She married William Hutchinson a magistrate in the colony. Hutchinson like many other women played a role in child bearing as a midwife. She held the same roles within the household as other women. It was her actions outside of the household that Hutchinson was held accountable for. Hutchinson began following the sermons of John Cotton, an outspoken advocate of self-determination of congregational government. Following this ideology Hutchinson started hosting meetings that presented theological interpretations of sermons and scriptures; ideas that contradicted with the Puritan religion. The church found her a threat to the commonwealth. The meetings were not only appealing to men but to women as well. Many listened to what she had to say and the church feared that people who begin to follow her as well. Hutchinson had stepped beyond a gender role that during the early 17th century was were considered inappropriate for women. As a woman she was allowed to express religious experiences but was not supposed to go around teaching their own interpretation of God’s word. When placed on trial Hutchinson spoke open mindedly, but within context of male hierarchy. She was challenging the ministers therefore, challenging government due to the large ties between the