The Trial of Anne Hutchinson

5th Grade History Class with Veronica


In the Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony, in the year 1637, one woman, Anne Hutchinson, was put on trial for sedition. Her religious beliefs were on trial. She held meetings in her home to discuss sermons and she stated that she believed individuals could have a relationship with God. The power of the church patriarchy was threatened. Veronica and I watched a clip of the show PBS: God in America, which re-enacted a scene between John Winthrop and the judges and Anne Hutchinson. They were impressed by Anne's confidence and knowledge of the Scriptures (her father was a minister). Later Anne went on with her husband to found the colony of Providence, Rhode Island. 


After reading more background information about Hutchinson and the transcript of her trial, Veronica and I (Ms. P) wrote opening and closing arguments (hypothetical) for Anne's trial. 
Veronica's opening statement is written in the voice of Anne Hutchinson.
Ms. Pennington wrote the closing statement as though she were Anne's lawyer.  

Anne Hutchinson’s Beliefs 1637

By: Veronica

Anne Hutchinson: I know not why I am sentenced here in court today. I have broken no law, nor have committed wrongdoings. I shall not withstand this unlawful injustice, but therefore fight for this community’s right against praying individually to the Lord. The meetings that are held are not wrong. There is no law against it, for the Fathers of The Church, I have seen held the same ones.

If you wish to demean those of my sex, and tell me that I, a woman, can not do those of the things that the men are doing, then that Governor is another case. “I am called here to answer before you, but I hear no things laid to my charge.” God came upon the community today, and blessed, as he does each day, with the gift of food, love and friendship. If you go against that, you are questioning the gifts God has given each one of us, and are therefore going against his rules. He came to you, Governor and every other persons in the community and blessed us with the greatest gift of all, life. He came to each of us individually.

You are here today, because I am questioning your power with God, not because I have broken any rules, that you sir, made. You are not worried about the community’s relationship with God, but your power over the community. 

Anne Hutchinson Court Case: Closing Argument: Her Lawyer

By Ms. Pennington

The beliefs of Anne Hutchinson depend upon the idea that each person can have an individual relationship with God. Today in America, we the Puritans have left England so that we may practice our religion free from the strict demands of the Church of England, so that we may practice in a way that we interpret as closer to the Word of God. We believe that we interpret the Scriptures so that we may practice our religion in a way that is pleasing to God. In her own way, Anne Hutchinson is practicing her beliefs in a way that is pleasing to God. We should support Anne Hutchinson as she strives to bring the community closer to God. As the Church Fathers, you should not be afraid of people moving closer to God—you should encourage this, instead of worrying about losing your power.  Anne Hutchinson is not concerned with power, or usurping your power. She simply wants to hold meetings where she engages with others in discussing sermons and moving closer to the Word of God. Surely that is not a behavior we should condemn?

Do not stop her practice because she is a woman. She has a clear strong mind and education in religion ever since she was a child, at the knee of her father, a minister. If you banish Anne Hutchinson from the community, you will be losing so many potential intellectual and spiritual gifts. This is not something the Massachusetts Bay Colony can afford. 

Would God condemn the actions of Anne Hutchinson? Or would he simply see one of His children striving to share His Word and build a relationship with Him among his flock?

Veronica's and Jessica's Thoughts on the Bowers Museum Exhibit

We visited the exhibit about Chinese History at the Bowers Museum today entitled Chinese Warriors, Temples and Tombs. The exhibit covered 3 Chinese dynasties. Many of the artifacts had left China for the FIRST time, so we were some of the first people to see these amazing pieces of art and history outside of China! Veronica and Jessica each chose some of their favorite artifacts to discuss below. 

Statue of Chinese Woman

By Veronica

The Chinese Woman is my favorite artifact in the Terra-cotta Warriors exhibit because it shows how the Chinese artist's perspective of women and art changed. They use to make woman look delicate and powerless, but after a while sculptors started wanting models who were hefty. I think that their artistic sense of style changed because of the Silk Road. Many cultures came into different countries from here, and I think the diversity if the people influenced the artist's sense of style. 

When Persians came to China, it greatly affected the style of their utensils. Almost all of their plates were metal, but the Persians influenced them. They started making glass plates. Colored plates had the same value as precious gems. They started making more until they weren't that valuable any more. The woman was sitting on a steady strong horse, and she was wearing  (faded) pink clothing. There were two of them, one wearing blue, and the other wearing pink. Below is a picture of a modern day glass plate. The colored glass plate that I saw at the exhibit was fairly similar to this one. The one at the Bower’s Museum was blue, and slightly transparent. It was about the size of two fists. On the rim, it had ornate etchings.

A Trip To The Bowers Museum

By Jessica

       At the  Bowers Museum, there are many stations, 24 to be exact. One of my favorite stations was the station that once held the Budda's pinky finger inside of it. At station 23, there were four boxes. One was a large iron box with intricate designs covering the entire box. They depicted scenes of battles and important marriages. The next box was a slightly smaller gold  box, it had imprints on the side. After that were the ancient writings. Next in line, there was a jade box just a tiny bit smaller than the gold. It was of a rectangular shape with a pointed top.  The  last box was one was a little bit bigger than a pinky finger made of pure crystal. This box held the slender bone of the Buddha. After putting the bone in the crystal box, they would put the crystal box into the slightly larger jade box. Then they would set the jade box, gently in the gold box. They would tightly seal the gold box then place the gold box into the iron box. After tightening the iron box, they would bring it to different monasteries to pray to.