Why Anne Hutchinson Was An Important Woman In The 1600's

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

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

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

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

The reason I picked this topic is because I admire Anne Hutchinson and the history of her

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.

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.

It was shortly after that she married a man named William Hutchinson and moved to the town of Alford. In the town of Alford, they heard of a young minster by the name of John Cotton who preached near the port of Boston over 21 miles away. They soon began making the commute to his church as often as the could. William enjoyed the sermons, but they did not have the profound effect on him that they did on Anne. Cotton became somewhat of a mentor to Anne and they often spoke about issues such as absolute grace which Anne became very passionate about. In 1633, John Cotton left England for the new world and a year later, the Hutchinson family followed him. ("Anne Hutchinson -

Anne Hutchinson was a women from Boston. She challenged the puritan clergy and was forced to go to Rhode Island along with her family after her sentence. Anne challenged the clergy by saying that God showed himself to individuals without the help of clergy by their sides. Anne believed that those who had God's grace in their hearts would not go astray. Anne showed religious freedom which is a big part of what America does today.

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

During Anne Hutchinson’s life at Massachusetts Bay, she had come upon a set of beliefs through her own studies and ideas with them help of John Cotton, a minister and theologian. From the reading, it appeared that her beliefs were different compared to the original Puritans. For instance, she believed that salvation only came from faith, enslaving Indians was wrong, and that God came to her through an “immediate revelation” without the need of the clergy. In result, this showed a threat to the colony of Massachusetts Bay. Also, it was even more of threat to the colony that a woman, not a man, had this insight along with the separate meetings. In the end, the colony saw this whole situation as a threat, challenge, or even a test against the

     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,

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