Anne Hutchinson's Words and Their Later Significance Essay

My name is Robert Coxswain.  I am a citizen of Boston , whether the tallow catch’s of that whiffle-waffle believe I’m a citizen or not is the opinion of them.  I have picked up my quill today to state the opinions I hold on the matter involving Hester Prynne.  I would also take the time to give thoughts on what should happen to Mrs. Prynne’s daughter.                                  Mrs. Prynne having sinned and committed such a sornering act, such as adultery, should not be purged of her daughter Pearl.   Governor, how would woud taking the young one help the situation?  Pearl is a skelpie limmer, who is still the daughter of the very person who brought great controversy to the area.  Sir, I do not believe it is

Your Excellency, Judge Danforth. You know, I have graduated from Harvard College and I am an expert in all things witchcraft and the supernatural. When I first arrived in Salem, I was tangled in a web of lies and a sheet of deception. In this trial, I believe that the accused are innocent people with good names. There is absolutely no mark upon my credibility and it is in my honest opinion that hysteria is running through Salem. Your Honour, Abigail Williams is nothing but a whore who wants to dance

Therefore, we must rely upon her victims – and they do testify, the children certainly do testify. As for the witches, none will deny that we are most eager for all their confessions. Therefore, what is left for a lawyer to bring out? I think I have made my point. Have I not?"(239-243). Reverend Hale is starting to believe that the girls are lying, and he thinks that the ones being accused should have a lawyer but Danforth just says the accused only rely on victims and witnesses. Danforth feels that he has much power and he wants it to stay that way by "defending" the people. "I cannot hear you. What do you say? You will confess yourself or you will hang! Do you know who I am? I say you will hang if you do not open with me!" (483-487). Danforth knows that he has the power to say if someone hangs or not so he's using it to scare Mary into telling the truth, or in this case the truth he wants to hear.

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 against Anne Hutchinson, she was charged, in a vague manner, to be a danger to the colony because of the spreading of her Antinomian opinions at her meetings. Throughout the entire trial Anne was slowly being backed into a corner in which ideally she would have then broken down and admitted to doing all the wrongs in which Governor Winthrop believed she was guilty of, but she never really did. The evidence against her was so weak in nature, that it seemed that Winthrop, along with all the other elders and deputies, really needed a confession to completely justify her banishment. Though unsuccessful in their efforts, even when it was brought up by the Deputy Governor that Anne went to a meeting of ministers and told them all that they preached the "covenant of works" to their very faces, Anne stayed with the Fifth Amendment technique and denied nothing, while admitting nothing. Where I believe she might have messed up is when she attested to the probability of her saying this of the ministers in private. By saying that, she more than admitted to being of the same mindset of the ostracized Antinomians. This in turn gave the hungry judges/jury enough evidence for the banishment.

His reply is accompanied with a vindictive nature towards anyone who opposes the actions of the court or by extension, him. Therefore, his arrogance and pride restrains him from listening to others point of view. Lastly, despite hearing about the mass opposition and rebellion at the Andover witchcraft trials, Judge Danforth refuses to postpone the hangings and orders Reverend Parris that “Now hear me, and beguile yourselves no more… Postponement now speaks a floundering on my part.” (Miller 129). Danforth arrogantly waves off the request of postponement made by Hale and Parris. He thinks that the act of postponement of the hangings will raise the issue of his credibility as a judge. Danforth’s pride of his status as a judge denies him from giving it a thought that his actions can lead to the death of innocent lives. When pride and arrogance interferes with ones wisdom the repercussions are often destructive. Judge Danforth proves this through the medium of his actions which lead to the destruction of trustworthiness in the community and brought tragedy to Salem.

religious topics. At the conclusion of the trial, Hutchinson was subjected to being banished from the colony. Though she did not agree with the judgement of

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.

After she had been charged, Anne Hutchinson was forced to go on trial in November 1637. Winthrop personally interrogated her and claimed that she was defaming the ministers. Anne was accused of questioning Bible teachings. Hutchinson fought Winthrop to prove his claim. She would answer his questions with challenging questions of her own. In result to her defiance, Winthrop condemned her teaching men in public as “not fitting for her gender.” Anne attempted to defend herself with biblical terms and by quoting Titus. She wanted to make it clear that it was up to the older women to the younger ones. Unfortunately, her fate was decided. Because Hutchinson claimed her revelations came directly from God, it showed that there was a clear case of heresy. The magistrates immediately revealed that she was to be banished from the community.

Through his illustration of Deputy Governor Danforth as a stubborn figure who remains convinced of the accused’s guilt, Miller shows the cause of why following the rules does not always suffice. Although titled “Governor”, Danforth heads the witch trials of Salem. Readers initially witness his nature when the townsfolk refer to him when they explain why the suspected witches confessed to their sins, remarking, “The Deputy Governor promise hangin’ if they’ll not confess”(58). If the women declare

extremist of sorts when it came to the role of women under the Puritan religion.

     In the trial against Anne Hutchinson, she was charged, in a vague manner, to be a danger to the colony because of the spreading of her Antinomian opinions at her meetings. Throughout the entire trial Anne was slowly being backed into a corner in which ideally she would have then broken down and admitted to doing all the wrongs in which Governor Winthrop believed she was guilty of, but she never really did. The evidence against her was so weak in nature, that it seemed that Winthrop, along with all the other elders and deputies, really needed a confession to completely justify her banishment. Though unsuccessful in their efforts, even when it was brought up by the Deputy Governor that Anne went to a meeting of ministers and told them all that they preached the “covenant of works” to their very faces, Anne stayed with the Fifth Amendment technique and denied nothing,

Hutchinson spoke her mind freely, making her end up in prison for going against the Puritan beliefs, for speaking more about gender discrimination rather than talk about nothing but God, as was the Puritan style. Anne Hutchinson spoke about everything but God, so she was thought to be a helper of the devil,and as a result, she was thrown in jail for going against the Puritan beliefs. After she got out of jail, the rose-bush “had sprung up under the footsteps of the sainted Ann Hutchinson…” (Hawthorne 46). For committing this sin, Hutchinson was imprisoned and eventually banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

That was a crime” (Brown). The women kept silent of the evidence that they found against Mrs. Wright, because they felt

Justification for the subjugation of females to males during the sixteenth century came from a variety of sources. Ranging from the view that God gave Adam authority over Eve as penalty for the fall, to a belief in the superiority of a husbands’ physical strength over that of his wife, attempts at rationalization of the restricted freedom of women came from every direction.1 Puritan reformers also believed that Eve was God’s gift, given to Adam ‘to consummate and make up his happinesse.’[1] From this perspective, we can easily make the mental adjustment necessary to embrace the view of