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Christopher Huang
Dr. Driver & Dr. Reagin
INT197T
22 September 2008
4 Observations of the Trial
Brothers and Sisters of the church, I know that many of you are alarmed at the
decisions of the court against Anne Hutchinson. Mrs. Hutchinson was wrongly convicted by
the court and without warrant. I ask for a moment of your time and allow me to voice a
few observations. First, Mrs. Hutchinson broke no common law or biblical doctrine. Second,
the court did not unanimously convict her. Third, Mrs. Hutchinson’s criticisms
of the ministers were private and confidential and fourth there is no way to prove that
her revelation’s from God were not real.
In the book of Titus chapter 1 verses 3-5 it says “The aged women . . . may teach
the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet,
chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be
not blasphemed” older women are responsible to teach and counsel younger women on many
matters. Mrs. Hutchinson has broken no law by holding a meeting in her home with other
women. These meetings by Mrs. Hutchinson show that she is an active and caring member
of the community. If members of the community seek counsel from her, should she turn
them away? If a member of the community asked you for your counsel or help would you
turn them away?
Now many of you know that I am a friend of Mrs. Hutchinson. She is a neighbor of
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mine and I have known her for many years. We have shared hardships and good times
together and that may influence my opinion of her, but I am not the only one who believes
that she is innocent. The court did not unanimously convict Mrs. Hutchinson. Three people,
Mr. Coddington, Mr. Colborn and Mr. Jennison did not vote to banish Mrs. Hutchinson and
Mr. Coddington and Mr. Colborn voted against banishing her. I would like to draw your
attention to the words said by Mr. Coddington during the trial:
I would say more Sir, another thing you lay to her charge is her speech to the
elders. I do not see any clear witness against her, and you know it is a rule of the
court that man may not be judge and accuser too. I do not speak to disparage our
elders and their callings, but I do not see anything that they accuse her of
witnessed against her, and therefore I do not see how she should be censured for
that. . . . I beseech you not to speak to force things along, for I do not see any
justice in the court in all your proceedings. Here is no law of God that she has
broken nor any law of the country that she has broken, and therefore she deserves
no censure (Carnes and Winship, p 83)
These words by Mr. Coddington show that Mrs. Hutchinson had not broken any biblical or
common law and “deserves no censure”. We as good Puritans wish to be a “city upon a hill”
(Winthrop) for others to follow. Do we want to teach others that punishing an innocent
person is right?
It is known that Mrs. Hutchinson had some negative and harsh views of the
ministers. She kept this information to herself, and did not tell anyone of her
opinion until she was pressed by the ministers themselves, therefore her conversation was
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private. The basis for this privacy can be found in the words of Mr. Coddington again
where he cites the book of Proverbs chapter 25 verse 9 “Debate they matter with thy
neighbor, and discover not the secret to another.” He says:
This is a scruple to me also, because Solomon said, everyman is partial in his own
cause and here is none that accuses her but the elders, and she spoke nothing to
them but in private, and I do not know what rule they had to make the thing publick.
Secret things ought to be spoken in secret and publick things in publick, therefore
I think they have broken the rules of God’s word. (Carnes and Winship, p 83)
Based on Proverbs chapter 25 verse 9, Mrs. Hutchinson’s conversation with the ministers
was private and not admissible in court. If the ministers never pressed Mrs. Hutchinson
for her opinion, then her opinion of the ministers would not be mentioned in the trial and
she would not have been convicted.
The scriptures revealed to Mrs. Hutchinson were sent by the lord. How can any
mortal man know whether the revelations were true or false? Just because members of
court believe that Mrs. Hutchinson’s revelation are delusional does not confirm whether or
not the revelations were sent by God. John Cotton during the trial suspects that the
revelations might be true:
I do not know whether I do understand her, but this I say, if she expects
deliverance in a way of providence—then I cannot deny it . . . I will repeat myself,
Sir, and my answer is plain: if she looks for deliverance from the hand of God by his
Providence, and the revelations are in a word of scripture or according to a word,
that I cannot deny. (Carnes and Winship, p 81)
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If the revelations are true and I suspect them to be, we have a very uncertain future
looming ahead of us. There will be consequences arising from our actions. We must make
our decisions patiently and wisely, not with haste and without thought.
I thank you brothers and sisters for listening to my 4 observations. I truly believe
that Mrs. Hutchinson is innocent, or else I would have not spoken today. She has broken no
common law or biblical doctrine, the court did not unanimously convict her, her criticisms
with the ministers were private and there is no way to prove that her revelations from God
were not real. It is clear that Anne Hutchinson has committed no crime and is innocent. I
ask you to judge Anne Hutchinson for yourself, and not to follow blindly those who wrongly
convict her. We are given an opportunity, an opportunity to right a wrong. An opportunity
to save our community and to become a “city upon a hill” (Winthrop) for others to watch
and to follow. Take it!
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Works Cited
Carnes, Mark and Michael Winship. The Trial of Anne Hutchinson Liberty, Law, and
Intolerance in Puritan New England. 2nd ed. Pearson Education, Inc., 2005.
The Holy Bible: King James Version. Iowa Falls, IA: World Bible Publishers, 2001
Winthrop, John. A Modell of Christian Charity. 22 Sep 2008.
<http://history.hanover.edu/texts/winthmod.html >