Courageous and Influential Woman

What if you were banished from your community for sharing your beliefs with people who wanted to hear them? Do you think a woman’s value is any less than that of a man? That is what happened to Anne Hutchinson and that was the reality of her life in The Massachusetts Bay Colony. Mrs. Hutchinson went against the men of the Puritan Colony by violating the Puritan doctrine and teaching her own beliefs of God, which later ended in a trial in the General Court.

Although the trial is the most heard about part of her life, Anne had many other factors that contributed to her being a courageous and influential woman in the early American colonies.

Anne Hutchinson was the daughter of a dissident English minister who taught her scripture. As a child, Anne had been greatly influenced by her rebellious father and his troubles with the church left a big impression on her, according to the book “American Jezebel”.

Later, Anne would go on to marry William Hutchinson and migrate to America where she would earn money working as a midwife. While working as a midwife, Anne would be able to spread her religious beliefs among the many women she encountered. Anne would then begin to hold weekly meetings in her home to preach her religious views which would greatly differ from those of the Puritan colony. “Anne Hutchinson’s greatest crime, and the source of her power, was the series of public meetings she held at her house to discuss Scripture and theology.

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” Although, her meetings were only a part of the reason for her trial.

Gender roles played a big part in the early American colonies where the Massachusetts Bay Colony was a man’s world and women had no defined legal identity as an individual. Women were expected to follow their presumed gender roles and breaking that could lead to a trial like Anne. “The Puritans believed that men were superior to women because the God of the Bible was male. Therefore, men were the only people who could speak in church and public meetings”. The gender bias influence can be seen throughout the court’s treatment of Anne Hutchinson and her defiant actions. During the trial, Anne was accused of heresy, slander, and being a female preacher where the interrogation was led by Governor John Winthrop. but her statements that her revelations came directly from God sealed her fate on the account of a clear case of heresy. “In asserting her rights, Hutchinson miscalculated when she told the court that she had received a direct revelation from God and that she could interpret the scriptures for herself, which lead to her banishment from the colony”.

After her banishment, Hutchinson moved to Roger Williams settlement in Rhode Island where she met up with her husband and children who had left the colony before her. After her husband Williams’s death, Massachusetts ministers followed Anne and made her believe that they would soon take over her new home. To escape the meddling ministers, Anne relocated again to the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam where her life came to an end by a Native American warrior attack. Hearing of Anne’s death, the interrogator of her trial; John Winthrop, felt relief that God had handled her befittingly.

Nevertheless, many significant aspects of Hutchinson’s life made her a model for other women. Anne is incredibly brave for staying true to herself and her faith while battling a government full of prideful, close-minded men. She continued to share her beliefs despite all of the efforts to stop her. Furthermore, my opinion of Mrs. Hutchinson has not changed, as I still believe she was one of the most courageous and influential women of the early American colonies. Anne Hutchinson’s determination is something that helped pave the way for the growth of gender roles and religious beliefs in America.