Massachusetts Bay Colony Quotes
The sermon was actually given in England just before their embarkation for America. The “city upon a hill” image was later used by Presidents Kennedy and Regan {624222}.
This established the right of trial by jury in America. The spelling is the original from 1641
Anne Hutchinson was tried by the Puritan religious and civil court for heresy. She started with Bible Study classes in her home and drew a substantial following. The clergy at the time were threatened and outraged. It was one thing for a woman to teach Bible Study to other women, but to also have men with the women was too much. The decision of the court was that she was banished from the colony. See {584753}.
Mather was urging the community to protect their children against the Devil and his band. To exemplify just how terrible Devils were to his audience, he used a comparison to the worst thing the audience was familiar with—Indians. Although there were a few examples in Colonial America of Indians being perceived as benign or even people, they were few and far between, and tended to be in New York and Pennsylvania.
Those who argue that the United States is a Christian country often point to this quotation to illustrate the fundamental religious purpose to the Massachusetts Colonies
It is you who have called us unto this office; but being thus called we have our authority from God;
Then the Deputy Governor, Winthrop had been attacked as being too authoritarian. The conceptual struggle with democracy, divine right, and religion had begun in America long before the American Revolution. There is an interesting parallel with the current debate over Islamic attacks on democracy by an Islamic party being elected, but then responsible to God and not only the people who elected them.
Massachusetts Bay Colony Governor John Winthrop
She had been accused of having religious meetings and “instructing” men and women.
Most people would assume that he was referring to the Native Americans but to many early Americans Catholics were more heathen than ignorant Indians.
These appear to be the first economic regulations of New England. Note that although there was a Governor of the Colony, such economic issues were considered to be fundamentally religious in nature. Therefore Cotton—the leading cleric of the colony—was called upon to in effect legislate on the subject. Ironically, this is not terribly different from the theocracy in Iran or some other Muslim countries of today where like some of the early American Colonies, there was no separation of church and state.
Interestingly, even in one of our earliest colonies that was intensely religious, there was a recognition of the problem of child abuse and a willingness to do something about it.
This law, reflecting the religious values of the Puritans, would form the basis and example of slavery prohibition in some of the other Northern States of Colonial America. They colony allowed indentured servitude, if voluntary, but required that even indentured servants have certain freedoms, and of course when the period of indenture was served, the servant was totally free.
This is the first documentary evidence of Negro slaves in Colonial America organizing a Christian religious service. It was a Puritan service in Massachusetts.
