Anne Hutchinson And Roger Williams example essay topic

The main goal of the colonial Puritans was to purify English Christianity, and in order to do so, they unjustly felt the need to be rid of those with different religious beliefs. These religious "outcasts" included Quakers and religious dissenters, such as Anne Hutchinson and Roger Williams. The Quakers were a religious group who enjoyed peace. They opposed a government that funded the church through taxes and a paid clergy, and opposed oppression based on race, sex, or class. They met in meetinghouses and practiced silent meditation, speaking only if they felt moved. Because of their challenge to Puritan authority, the Quakers were persecuted with penalties including, among others, whippings, banishments, and fines.

In 1659, Virginia created anti-Quaker laws, including the death penalty for any disobedient Quakers. Despite this, they remained committed to their beliefs, and demonstrated passive resistance to their punishments. In 1681, Quaker William Penn established Pennsylvania, a colony where settlers of any religion were guaranteed freedom of worship. However, due to having friendly relations with the overthrown Catholic king James II, Penn was accused of treason and thrown into a debtors prison, showing once again the cruelty of the Puritans towards those of differing religious beliefs. Another challenger to the Puritan ways of life was Anne Hutchinson. A midwife by profession, Anne had a lot of influence on the other women in her community.

She took the Puritan belief of predestination to the extremes, claiming that all individuals were already predestined, or chosen, by God to go to heaven or hell. Because this had been decided since birth, Anne declared, leading a holy life did not mean salvation any more than disobeying God meant damnation. Because of her strong influence, the government viewed Anne as a threat to Puritan ideals brought her to trial in 1638. She was able to outwit the clergy for a few days, and most likely would have been acquitted had she not claimed to have been spoken to directly by God, an even higher heresy than she was already in trouble for.

She was banished from the Bay Colony and left for Rhode Island on foot. After living there with her family for some time, she moved to New York, where she and her family, save one, were attacked and killed by Indians in the area. This didn't shock many back in the Bay Colony, as they believed she was being punished by God for her rebellion. Anne Hutchinson did not come up with her views on predestination on her own. She had been influenced by Roger Williams, a Salem minister and extreme Separatist.

Williams felt the church in the New World should break away from the Church of England completely, and he urged others to follow his beliefs. He condemned the Bay Colony's charter for not compensating the Indians, and considered a government that controlled religious actions to be corrupt. In 1635, the government had enough of this and banished him for spreading his ideas to others in the Bay Colony. He was given permission to remain for some number of months due to an illness, but he kept preaching during this time. This infuriated the leaders of the colony and plans were made to exile him to England. However, he escaped to Rhode Island and established the first American Baptist church, offering complete religious freedom for everyone.

Jews, Catholics, and Quakers alike sought refuge in Rhode Island, and other settlements were soon formed around the squatter colony. In 1644, Rhode Island secured a charter from Parliament, making it an official colony. The Puritans acted mostly in fear, banishing those who they felt could cause settlers to deviate from their religious paths, like Anne Hutchinson and Roger Williams. The actions did not stop with banishments, as many of the Quaker religion were tortured or even killed for their beliefs.

Based on these examples, the behavior of colonial Puritans towards differing religious opinions is shown to be unjust.