How Did John Winthrop Influence The Massachusetts Bay Colony

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In 1544 King Henry VIII broke away from the Roman Catholic Church and established the Church of England. This rapidly became known as the Protestant Reformation. Almost 5 decades after this occurrence John Winthrop was born (Morgan, 1). As he grew older Winthrop became interested in Puritanism and he joined the members of the Massachusetts Bay Company as a response to the deterioration of Puritan faith in England. This group of businessmen sought to establish a colony in New England and were granted a charter by King Charles I in 1629 (Morgan 83-87). Through this patent, Winthrop and the other associates of the Massachusetts Bay Company were given the right to employ unlimited powers of government. More than establishing a trading colony their main objective was to start a place where Puritans could live under God's principles. As governor of The Massachusetts Bay Colony John Winthrop's partially theocratic …show more content…

He didn’t have the smallest connection with the Church of England. Williams rejected its teachings entirely and demanded complete dissociation between the Church of England and anyone who claimed to be living under God’s command. Winthrop responded by claiming that the people of England were just misled Christians that needed to be guided back into morality and for this reason, there was no need to completely detach from them. Winthrop’s response showed that even when dealing with opposers he displayed the characteristics of a good leader (Morgan 110-114). Instead of immediately shutting down Williams or ignoring his beliefs, Winthrop exhorted to “meet them with arguments and not merely authority (Morgan 110). This method of dealing with an opposition demonstrated that Winthrop was impartial even with those who challenged him. It was only when an agreement proved impossible that Williams was eradicated from the