Anne Hutchinson

Anne Hutchinson is a woman worth knowing about. She grew up in England, a learned puritan's daughter, and migrated to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1634. In her society, women were believed capable of little besides bearing and raising children. Despite her environment, she held fast to her views and theories; earning the ire and the respect of many theologians. Her progressive views would be the focus of dissenting opinions for decades, securing her a page in the text books centuries later. In the end, she was banished for crimes likened to heresy, but not before leaving her mark on the world.

Mrs. Hutchinson was born Anne Marbury in 1591 to an upstart deacon, Francis Marbury, in Cambridge. Her father would lead by example; dissenting openly on the corruption in his church and being jailed for it numerous times. Francis Marbury also home schooled his daughter, who had a natural affinity for academics. In her father's library, Anne found ample resources for her interests in theology. She would form her own unique opinions on different subjects over the years, however, being unfitting of her sex, she would confine these ideas to a small circle of confidantes.

Anne kept her silence until the age of 43 when she sailed to New England with her husband, 15 children, and John Cotton (a puritan radical). Under the premise that she was entering a community where religion would be freely shared and discussed, Anne began to open up on the voyage. Several of the colonists warned the local clergy when the ship docked, yet, upon investigation, they could find no fault with her. Anne soon realized that the city on a hill would be as accepting of individuals as the country she left behind. The oppressed had become the oppressors.

The citizens of the colony were subjected to strict laws. Everyone attended service for the greater part of the Sunday, breaking for a few hours so that folks could walk home and eat a meal (which had been prepared the previous day; no work of any kind was allowed on Sunday). Church attendance was a mandatory, punishable- like so many acts we take for granted today- by the stocks and various other disciplines. However, Anne would not allow anything to stop her from voicing shat she believed to be the truth. She gathered a small group in her home every Sunday to discuss the previous sermon and share her thoughts. At first, only women attended. As Anne gained respect and recognition, men as well as women started coming from surrounding towns to hear her views on religion.

Being a well-read person and having a sound background in rhetoric, her arguments bested many and captivated most. She believed that a person is born united to Christ, whether