Differences Between Puritans And Anne Hutchinson

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

The Puritans and the Quakers are two religious groups that played an important role in the colonization of America. Both of these groups disliked the church of England and sought to gain freedom of worship and lifestyle. Therefore, the Puritans and the Quakers are similar to each other because they both faced persecution and left England to go to America with the goal and hope of living the life they wanted, gain more opportunity, and to practice their desired religion freely.

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

She began hosting discussions about Cotton’s sermon, but the article, "Anne Marbury Hutchinson,” clearly explained, “Gradually, the meetings shifted to critiques of Puritan beliefs about the Covenant of Works – the role of good works and adherence to religious law in salvation.” (Michal) Anne Hutchinson inserted her personal beliefs in the gatherings. As the population of the attendees increased, the attention of the wrong individuals grew as well.Due to the wrong attention Hutchinson brought on herself “the growing tensions of the era became known as the Antinomian Controversy,” (“Anne Hutchinson”) The puritan church accused Anne Hutchinson and her followers of practicing something which is opposed to the law of grace; this practice is known as Antinomianism. Despite of the trouble, Anne Hutchinson continued attempting to justify her reasons for her words. Anne Hutchinson is a figure displaying Henry David Thoreau’s belief of one doing what is necessary to stay true to the morals and

concept of freedom which consisted of natural liberty (doing whatever you want) and moral liberty (doing what is good). In the Massachusetts Bay colony, the Puritans wanted to have the right to worship and govern themselves but had to exercise good moral conduct by obeying religious and government authority. Winthrop explains the idea of freedom with an example of the status of women in society. He states that a woman has the liberty to choose her husband and thus is subject to his authority. So, a woman gets the liberty to choose who rules over her but then must obey everything her husband says. This shows that in the Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay colonies, individuals needed to conform to the colony and practice what the authority wanted them to practice; they had low individuality and women had low status and rights under her husband. The trial of Anne Hutchinson also supports this idea as she was prosecuted for having views that differed and “endangered” society by holding meetings to discuss religious issues. Hutchinson was brought before the court led by John Winthrop because she “seduced honest people” in her meetings (Foner 36) thereby dishonoring the commonwealth and disrupting society. Winthrop stated that Hutchinson holding meetings and talking about churches is not fitting of her sex, showing that women were not supposed to discuss

Shortly after Anne Hutchinson moved to Massachusetts’s, she was tried by the Puritans because of her strong religious beliefs and because she lead unauthorized bible studies. The Puritans saw Hutchinson as a threat for many reasons. For example, she reversed gender roles, had her own religious views, and she supported the old governor. The Puritans wanted to be portrayed as the “city on a hill,” and that was close to impossible with Hutchinson spreading her own religious views and leading a group of people.

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.

Both Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson were banished as a result of their opposing views of the Church. Williams praised freedom of religion and the separation of church and state. Hutchinson was a female who disagreed with some of the Puritans viewpoints. The Puritans wanted to set an example and make their society free of opposition, adding the the idea of a “city upon a hill.” This probably discouraged others from speaking out against the Church.

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

     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,

Freedom of religion, a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community towards their religion. Freedom of religion or belief is associated with the separation of church and state. Through many years, centuries, religion was being shaped by many important individuals that helped to bring religion in society to the point it is at today, sacrificing a lot for their own freedom and religion. Some of them were Anne Hutchinson, Martin Luther, Roger Williams and Elijah Craig. Anne Hutchinson, I think is the bravest of them all because she sacrificed the most compared to Luther, Williams, and Craig. Anne and 14 of her kids were attacked by a group of Native Americans and brutally killed. It

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

Due to their previous experiences, the settlers of Massachusetts built a culture that centered around the preservation and growth of their own religious practices, through the notions of order and unity. Ironically, the means they used in order to carry out said order were often violent and through the persecution of those who were not Puritan, similar to the way the Anglicans treated them. One of the most notable examples of this institutional violence was that of Anne Hutchinson. Hutchinson was a preacher who challenged the fundamental concept of predestination, which was the principle that God had already selected those who were going to heaven and those who were going to hell. While many Puritans considered predestination to mean that they had to live a pious life in the event that

Anne Hutchinson”. She felt so responsible for own salvation that she challenged the priests of her time with her understanding of her connection with God. The Puritans allowance of “sanctification” to replace the inner seal of the Holy Spirit for the test of grace angered Hutchinson. She spoke against sanctification here “I seek not for graces, but for Christ; I seek not for promises, but for Christ; I seek not for sanctification but for Christ; tell me not of meditation and duties, but tell me of Christ” (Helmert, 154). Hutchinson was speaking against the idea of a “covenant of works” that certain actions will lead to salvation. Emerson found this idea nonsensical as following a pattern laid out by the past is taking away from every person’s connection with God. Emerson viewed imitation as in direct contrast of understanding the God within