Anne Hutchinson

Alright, so we’re in Boston in the 1630s. Puritans separated from the Church of England and formed the Massachusetts Bay colony in pursuit of religious freedom. Some of these Puritans started to feel the religious convictions of the colony were waning. One of these Puritans was a baddie named Anne Hutchinson.

Anne was a wife, midwife, and mother of fifteen children. Governor Winthrop described her husband as “mild-tempered and wholly guided by his wife.” Essentially, he was a simp. And who wouldn’t be, with a smart and charismatic wife like Anne?

It started innocently enough. She’d have meetings at her house on Sunday afternoons to discuss that morning’s sermon. Hutchinson believed that good works and a holy life didn’t guarantee salvation. If you were saved, you were under no obligation to obey local laws and religious codes. If you were a true believer, the holy spirit was already in your heart. This stance came to be known as “Antinomianism,” coming from the Greek word for “against the law.” Our girl was a rule-breaker.

Her beliefs challenged local authority and the idea that women should be deferential and obedient. More and more people started showing up to her post-service meetings. First only women, but eventually huge crowds of both men and women came to hear her speak. And her speeches became less and less about the sermons and more about her personal viewpoints on Puritanism.

As her influence grew, she claimed that many of the area’s ministers weren’t chosen by God. They did not like that. “HERESY!” That was their charge, and our Anne was put on trial in 1638. Anne stood her ground, claiming that God had spoken directly to her. Well, that was a step too far. She was convicted of sedition and was banished from the colony.

Pregnant Anne and her family traveled through Rhode Island by foot, eventually making it to New York. There, she was tragically murdered by Native Americans. The Puritan leaders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony saw it as God’s will.

Despite how her story ended, Anne Hutchinson remains a legendary Bostonian figure. She was a rare female voice standing up for her beliefs to a room full of formidable men. And for that, she will be forever remembered in feminist history ꩜