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Recommended: The puritan movement
When he was in college he studied law, so did much of the men in his class of society. Winthrop maintained the office in the government from 1627 to 1629. In the beginning he had no interests in overseas journeying and exploring the colonies. He lost the government job when his income on his land was reduced by Charles the first’s threatening anti-Puritan policy.
Hutchinson held meetings with women to discuss her own theological views, recent sermons, and question church policies. In the text of “The Massachusetts Bay Colony Case Against Anne Hutchinson (1637)”, the governor tells Mrs. Hutchinson, “Why for your doings, this you did harbor and countenance those that are parties in this faction that you have heard of”. The governor is accusing Anne of disrupting the laws of God and causing instability because when one person speaks out it creates a chain reaction. This includes more people questioning and even rebelling against their leaders and religion. In another incident in the writing of The Massachusetts Bay Colony Case Against Anne Hutchinson (1637)”, the governor ask Mrs. Hutchinson a question
About 124 years ago today, an important woman arrived at our colony, her name was Anne Hutchinson. She was one of our founders and a significant figure, not only known in this colony. Anne had a different interpretation of the Bible, this was against the Puritan rule in Massachusetts, and that’s why she was exiled to Rhode Island. While she lived in Massachusetts, Anne was recognized for holding church meetings in her own home. This was because of the way she interpreted the Bible.
Puritanism was a religious reform movement that wished to purify the Church of England of the remnants of the Roman Catholic faith. The Puritans were persecuted by many denominations across Europe and around 1620, King James I, a member of the Church of England, began oppressing the Puritan community as well. This led the Puritans to flee England and come to the New World where in the words of John Winthrop they were to build a “city upon a hill”. The Puritans settled in the Massachusetts Bay Colonies, more specifically just north of Boston. The most prominent members of this time were John Winthrop.
John Winthrop was born on January 22, 1588 himself and his immediate family belonged to a class of people in New England known as “The Gentry”. This was a class of people that typically dominated the society between 1540 through 1640. Therefore, John Winthrop being a part of this class, became accustomed already to a position of
John Winthrop was a Puritan who had every advantage in life. He was born into a wealthy family that was able to provide him with everything needed to succeed. His family was a part of the gentry class, which was the dominant force in English society during his time. He attended Trinity College at the age of 14 where he studied law. His faith was always apparent in his actions.
The change she was trying to represent was women becoming more powerful in the society. The Puritans were afraid of her. They didn’t want her to get any more powerful. Besides Anne’s meetings being seen as unorthodox by some of the colony's ministers, differing religious opinions within the colony eventually became public debates. The resulting religious tension erupted into what has traditionally been called the Antinomian Controversy, but has more recently been labelled the Free Grace Controversy.
Anne was charged with sedition after she confessed that God spoke directly to her. When asked how she knew it was God, she replied, “How did Abraham know that it was God that bid him offer his son, being a breach of the sixth commandment?” Her prosecutor then asks Anne to elaborate so she answers, “So to me by an immediate revelation.” She is later banished to Rhode Island where she plays a role in developing the first separation of church and state in the legislation of the new town of Portsmouth. Author Jon Butler writes about the result of Hutchinson’s banishment, “the affair cast a pall over Puritan New England.
(Q) How could the leaders of the Puritans look at this case and think that their religion or their lifestyle is healthy for the people? Winthrop 's ideology is basically telling the people that no matter what good deeds you do it 'll never be good enough for God. On the other hand this guilt is basically what built America. Why else would the Puritans be working so hard to make a functional city (besides the Queen 's authority and the promise of freedom of religion) they thought that they were the "chosen ones" by God and that the city upon a hill was the promise land.
Were the Puritans tolerant of others? When the Puritans arrived after the Pilgrims in the 1630s, they established Massachusetts Bay Colony, the New Haven Colony, the Connecticut Colony and Rhode Island. When they came over to the new world, they came with their strong religious beliefs that set the foundation of our country today. One of the key influencer of this Puritan movement was John Winthrop.
It was pertinent for these settlers to know that they were an example, and they should lead just because of this. John Winthrop used this metaphor to make Puritans feel like it was there responsibility to lead a revolution, just like Jesus feels his believers should be revolutionary in expanding the Kingdom. Puritans also knew that they should uphold their Christian ideals, and they should be in the world but not of the
Winthrop in particular had no patience for women who (as he wrote in his journal) “meddle in such things as are proper for men, whose minds are stronger” (Moore). John Winthrop was afraid of Hutchinson’s influence over the Puritan population. He was scared to have his title taken from him if Hutchinson grew more popular. More importantly, Anne Hutchinson set a pattern of separatists to come: “In daring to think differently from the colonial autocrats who would brook no disagreement, she took an early place of prominence in the development of
March 1638, a most grievous trial has ended. In the Bay Colony a woman of God, Mrs. Anne Hutchinson, has been banished from our commonwealth for her faith in the Lord our God. Mrs. Hutchinson has caused quite a stir since her arrival in Massachusetts. The controversy, centered around house meetings based on the teachings of John Cotton (WGBH Educational Foundation 2010) held by Mrs. Hutchinson, has landed her in this unusual predicament. Mrs. Hutchinson’s proclamation is that salvation comes through grace, not works (WGBH Educational Foundation 2010).
When I began researching Hutchinson and found out what she stood for, I questioned and couldn't quite understand why what she believed in was persecuted by the Puritans. The article called “Anne Hutchinson - significance, beliefs, banishment - history” stated, “Hutchinson, like Cotton, stressed salvation by God’s grace alone (the Covenant of Grace), and she disavowed the Puritan belief that good works were a sign of God’s grace,” (2009). This quote encapsulates what Hutchinson believed and I feel the same as her. I originally thought the Puritan Doctrine was just like a regular Christian religion, but a little more strict. I never knew that this doctrine didn’t agree with having a personal relationship with God on your own terms.
In the last couple of decades, women have been on the largely involved in different roles in society. The American woman have come a long way in terms of her position and role in society. For a very long time women were identified by their gender and the patriarchy system that was used by different cultures across the world. Patriarchal can be defined as the aspect in society that looks into male dominance and power over all matters of society and how these privileges are simply handed down to men. It also looks to define how women struggle to gain positions of power while men are simply grabbing these chances from them.