Trial and Interrogation of Anne Hutchinson

The Antinomian Controversy erupted due to Anne Hutchinson’s incessant accusation of local ministers of their concentration on the gospel of works covenant rather than the grace covenant. Having emigrated from England, Anne had endeared herself with the teachings of John Cotton, whom she and her husband had keenly followed while in England (Carnes 12-18). The November 1637 trial of Anne Hutchinson did not deliver justice to her nor her accuser, but her banishment from the Boston colony was a wake-up call to all Puritans in the colony. Her trial, in which she was accused of slandering or traducing ministers, took two days, and a verdict was reached in the third. Historians argue that the banishment of Anne from the Boston colony was harsh and uncalled for but signalled a new era of religious intolerance.

The essay will argue that Anne's sentencing was an injustice that would have been corrected had evidence been adduced during the trial. A contemporary judge would not find Anne guilty of the charges that John Winthrop presented against her. This is because despite being a fierce critic of the ministers who preached the covenant of works, she did not speak openly in public about her disregard of the preacher.

Rather she held meetings in her house involving women and men, where she expressed her dislike of the local ministers. Prosecutor John Winthrop found it difficult to directly associate her with the rest of the accused, like Wheelwright, who openly expressed their views about the local ministers. The accuser and prosecutor Winthrop sought to accuse her as a co-conspirator of others who had acquiescently criticized the local ministers’ work and caused havoc in the colony. However, the second accusation of Anne making disparaging remarks against the colony ministers made use of the October meetings as evidence. The prosecutor used written versions of the October meeting from six ministers to present a case against Anne, thereby buying the decision of the judge.

On the third day of trial, Anne was sentenced and banished from the Boston colony, terming her as a “woman not fit for our society.” She was then placed under house arrest until she left the colony the following March (Carnes 32-38). A critical look at the judgment indicates that the judge failed to take into account the points raised by Anne and her supporters in support of her innocence. Nevertheless, a modern-day court can find out that her case, as it was then, cannot hold any water in the present-day court of law.

Following her sentencing and banishment, the church also excommunicated her, describing her as a bad influence. The church cited Anne's lack of respect for the local ministers as the main reason for her excommunication. The question one asks here is whether both the court and church were right in their actions.

Historians and law scholars can argue that the sentencing and excommunication were not justified and would be overturned if appealed in a contemporary court because of a lack of sufficient evidence.

Carnes, Mark C. The Trial of Anne Hutchinson: Liberty, Law, and Intolerance in Puritan New England. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2005. Print.