Anne Hutchinson
1591–1643
Boston
Anne Hutchinson moved from England to Boston in 1634 and hosted meetings to discuss sermons and religious ideas. Her knowledge and confidence attracted listeners, including people who questioned the colony's ministers. Massachusetts Bay leaders believed her teachings threatened their authority and the community's religious order. In 1637 they tried her and ordered her banishment; she left the following year. Hutchinson's story reveals the limits of religious freedom in a colony founded partly by people seeking it. It also raises questions about whose learning and public speech a society chooses to respect.
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Grades 6–8: dig deeper
What does Hutchinson's trial reveal about the relationship between religious belief and government power in Massachusetts Bay?
Follow the evidence.
This short reading is an original classroom summary. Open the source with your teacher to check details and learn more.
Read the source: National Park Service ↗Ask: Who made this source? What can it tell us? What might it leave out?