Anne Marbury Hutchinson (The Elder) Part lV

Home | Biography | Her Creed | Bibliography | The Trial
Biography (cont.)
Small women's prayer groups were allowed by law, but large groups listening to the teachings and opinions of one individual leader were considered to be disorderly, so Winthrop took legal action against Anne's "subversive" gatherings, and arrested her. Once in custody at the house of the marshal of Roxbury, Massachusetts, Anne Hutchinson's beliefs were examined by the court, but John Winthrop, who had been her strongest opponent up to this point had already made up his mind, and what followed was anything but a fair trial. Winthrop's misogyny, particularly in the case of Anne Hutchinson was quite apparent from the very first statements he made in his diary.  Anne was referred to as " an American Jezebel, who had gone a-whoring from God", and should be "tried as a heretic." Anne was accused of Antinomianism. Winthrop voiced his outrage at her belief  that inner light was the guarantee of salvation, and that one need be knowledgeable in the Bible of Puritan texts to be worthy of salvation.  Anne's opinions that the law should be interpreted by each person as their own conscience would dictate, and  that Indian slavery and racial prejudice were wrong, also stirred quite a bit of controversy, not just with Winthrop, but with many other Puritans, who at this point could easily be convinced of Anne's heresy. Anne was convicted and sentenced to banishment from the community.   Surprisingly, Anne Hutchinson still had followers, and some even decided to join her and her family on their exile to a small settlement on the island of Aquidneck.  A few years later, following the death of her husband, Anne, her servants and 5 of her children were massacred by Mahican Indians in September of 1643 in East Chester New York. While this news horrified some her friends back in the Massachusetts Bay community, others viewed it as God's final judgment of her blasphemy; and while Anne's words had opened the minds of many, her trial had taught them to exercise silence.   But all was not lost, as her story serves as a great reminder of the hardships endured by those who suffered under tyrants, and the hardships endured by women throughout history.  It also serves to remind us of the value of freedom, and how others suffered for the liberty we sometimes take for granted. The Puritans were at the heart of some of America's saddest incidents, including the hanging of Mary Dyer, a friend of Anne's, and the infamous Salem witch trials of 1692, over fifty years after Anne Hutchinson's conviction.  Continued...