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The Massachusetts Bay Colony Case against Anne Hutchinson (1637): The Trial
The Puritans' struggle to practice their own religion freely did not extend to toleration for those who questioned church policies, as Anne Hutchinson, the intelligent, well-read, forty-six-year-old wife of a prosperous merchant, discovered. In 1637 Hutchinson faced prosecution for practices and beliefs deemed threatening to the stability of church and commonwealth. The ministers and magistrates did not think her weekly meetings unseemly when she began them in 1635, but revised their opinions as her audience, interpretation, and instruction of scripture changed. Hutchinson attacked some doctrinal premises, such as blaming Eve—and, correspondingly, women—for Original Sin, while denouncing some ministers for not properly teaching Puritan dogma. She also revealed that she had an inclination to mysticism. For her antinomianism (beliefs against the law) the magistrates exiled Hutchinson. She then moved with her family into what became Rhode Island, helping found Portsmouth there, and then on to Long Island where she and most of her children were later slain by Indians.
wwnorton.com/college/history/archive/resources/documents/ch02_03.htm
The Puritans' struggle to practice their own religion freely did not extend to toleration for those who questioned church policies, as Anne Hutchinson, the intelligent, well-read, forty-six-year-old wife of a prosperous merchant, discovered. In 1637 Hutchinson faced prosecution for practices and beliefs deemed threatening to the stability of church and commonwealth. The ministers and magistrates did not think her weekly meetings unseemly when she began them in 1635, but revised their opinions as her audience, interpretation, and instruction of scripture changed. Hutchinson attacked some doctrinal premises, such as blaming Eve—and, correspondingly, women—for Original Sin, while denouncing some ministers for not properly teaching Puritan dogma. She also revealed that she had an inclination to mysticism. For her antinomianism (beliefs against the law) the magistrates exiled Hutchinson. She then moved with her family into what became Rhode Island, helping found Portsmouth there, and then on to Long Island where she and most of her children were later slain by Indians.
wwnorton.com/college/history/archive/resources/documents/ch02_03.htm
Lessons
Anne Hutchinson and Religious Dissent Duration:30 min StandardsTopic: 2.7 Colonial Society and Culture Theme: ARC Am Grade Level 9, 10, 11, 12 Period: Colonial America Topic:Communities, Freedom of Religion, Religious Freedom, Women’s History billofrightsinstitute.org/essays/anne-hutchinson-and-religious-dissent Anne Hutchinson and Courage: In the Face of Adversity (45 min) In this lesson, students will analyze Anne Hutchinson’s courageous actions to support religious freedom in the American colonies. billofrightsinstitute.org/lessons/anne-hutchinson-courage-face-adversity Freedom of Religion: Anne Hutchinson and the Antinomian Controversy www.firstladies.org/curriculum/curriculum.aspx?Curriculum=1057 |