Anne Hutchinson And The Puritan Society In The 17th Century

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

In the trial of 1637, Anne was accused of posing a threat to the commonwealth. In this time in early American history being or doing anything different against the churches was not promoted especially if you were a woman Anne is a great example of the. During Anne's trial she was considered troublesome and outspoken, like it says in the document "if in be the mind of the court that Mrs. Hutchinson for those things that appear before us is the unfit for the society, and if it be the mind of the court Mrs. Hutchinson is unfit for our society. She shall be banished out of our liberties and imprisoned till she be sent away, let them hold up their hands [all but three did so]" Anne was banished from Massachusetts for practicing religion in a new way. The people saw Anne as trouble for doing something different and stepping outside the bounds of what was the norm and considered the acceptable behavior as a woman and as a believer. Religion back in early North America, was only to be practiced in the church through the ministers. It was much stricter than it is today, you were told what to believe and how to do it, with no exceptions. Fortunately, we have come a long way since the time of 1637. People have the freedom to practice religion where and how they want. As you can see from the document " the examination of Anne Hutchinson at the Court of Newton, and in the

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

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

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

In detail, Anne Hutchinson was first born as Anne Marbury, and she was a daughter of an Anglican clergyman and an herbalist. In 1591, Anne Marbury was born in a town named Alford in Lincolnshire, England. However, according to Biography.com, her birth date was not exact, and the only evidence of her birth was her a record of her baptism on July 20, 1591. Anne Marbury grew up in an usual environment for a little girl. “Her father instilled her

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.

Their government was to allow no religious freedom, much like that of England. Though the Puritan colonists had left England to flee religious persecution, they continued with the persecution of other religions in their own colony. Nathaniel Ward states, “He that is willing to tolerate any religion, or discrepant way of religion, besides his own, unless it be in matters merely indifferent, either doubts of his own or is not sincere in it…” (Doc F). His words, and the beliefs of the colonists, show that only the Puritan religion was socially acceptable. This resulted in a split between many of the Puritan colonists. When Roger Williams, a prominent Puritan preacher spoke out about religious freedom, he was exiled from the colony. Anne Hutchinson, whose strong religious convictions were also at odds with Puritan theology, was banished from the colony, along with her family and group of followers, and excommunicated from the church. Hutchinson’s treatment was even harsher than Williams’s, however, because she was a woman, and the Puritan’s religious beliefs also governed the treatment of women in the colony. John Cotton, who wrote on the subject of God’s power denoting the civil law, said, “it is good for the wife to acknowledge all power and authority to the husband…” (Doc G). Married women were allowed very few rights in

From a young age, Anne was educated by her father. He insisted that all his children be well educated which lead to her having a higher education than most girls did at the time. His knowledge was not the only thing he passed on to Ann however. As cleric who often battled with those in higher ranking positions and spent two years in jail because of it, he was extremely bold. It is this same boldness that lead Anne into many difficult situations throughout her lifetime.("Anne Hutchinson - Wikipedia")

Anne Hutchinson, on trial for apparently nothing more than leading religious discussions at her house, is subjected to belittlement and unclear, if not unfounded, accusations in “The Examination of Mrs. Anne Hutchinson at the Court at Newton.” The trial, which took place in 1637, set a standard for the future treatment of women, and subsequently their speech and writing. Because of the way the prosecution pigeonholes Hutchinson into admitting her guilt, the reverends (and thus men) gain (or keep) power over women—the power to control their women and to interpret contrived meanings from their words.

In 1637, there was a religious dissenter who had led the way for religious independence in Puritan New England named Anne Hutchinson. Anne, was the fluent, strong-willed, quick-witted of a prominent merchant who had thirteen children, served as a healer, and midwife. On the other hand, Anne was deported from Boston in 1637 for her religious and women’s rights and escaped to Rhode Island. She had meetings at home about the sermons and the meetings turned into a famously forums for Hutchinson’s own narration on the religious matters. She also said to have some kind of experience with Holy Spirit that stated that Puritan ministers like two or three had preached the right “covenant of grace”. Not to mention she did disobey many laws and tried to be a leader but was going the wrong way of disobeying

Anne Hutchinson wanted the freedom to express her opinions. In a time when Puritans had the final say on every topic in life not simply religion, Anne Hutchinson was accused of defying the principles of Puritan religion merely because she organized meetings to discuss subjects that had been preached about in church meetings. There was a tremendous backlash because of these studies and she was accused of

Anne Hutchinson has long been seen as a strong religious dissenter who paved the way for religious freedom in the strictly Puritan environment of New England. Another interpretation of the controversy surrounding Anne Hutchinson asserts that she was simply a loving wife and mother whose charisma and personal ideas were misconstrued to be a radical religious movement. Since this alleged religious movement was led by a woman, it was quickly dealt with by the Puritan fathers as a real threat. Whatever her motives, she was clearly a great leader in the cause of religious toleration in America and the advancement of women in society. Although Anne Hutchinson is historically documented to have been banished as a religious dissenter, the real

This is a very big step in the 1600’s because no man and woman would ever think about going against the church or doing something that is not entirely for the church. Anne Hutchinson broke this barrier and spoke out about it and she even took it to court where she stood her ground and when she was being badgered by the court she simply kept asking what she did wrong? She claimed that she did nothing wrong by holding these meetings in her house she was simply talking about religion and interpreting the clerical doctrine of the covenant of grace in her own views and opinions. This is a brave thing to do for a woman especially for these times. She was not

Anne Hutchinson is partially similar to Puritans, although there are differences among their theology. As the Puritans desired a place of worship, where the Crown would not be interfering with their ideologies, Anne Hutchinson desired a place of worship. Furthermore, as the government attempted to convert the ideologies of the Puritans, the Puritans strived to control, convert, the ideologies of Hutchinson. However, in spite of their similarities, the Puritans focused on their differences: they did not uphold the similar theological principles. Moreover, they deemed her as a heretic.