fined in principle. Dissenters and radicals from the Church of England were essentially just other groups of Puritans. After the religious fervor of the first couple of generations died down, Puritanism became routine, a "problematic anachronism." (B. Bailyn, p. 91.) Bernard Bailyn is implying in his wording that the Puritan cause soon became dated and unwieldy, representing the views born of the religious and political situation in England several decades previously. Puritanism soon lost its original purpose, which was to purify and make holy the Church of England. It became another oppressive, structured form of Christianity that kept its followers from drawing conclusions of their own about issues such as predestination or visible saints. John Cotton graphically illustrates this oppression in his evaluation of the situation: "Here members of the Church have suffered whippings for having a whim of their own." (As quoted in D. Crawford, p. 88.) It clearly took a woman of great courage like Anne Hutchinson to stand up for her principles amidst controversy and threats.It must be said, however, that the Puritans believed they had a covenant with God to establish a holy colony, an example for others. They didn't care if Quakers, Catholics, or Jews settled nearby in Rhode Island but desired to establish Massachusetts Bay Colony for the specific purpose of creating a community of devout Puritans. John Winthrop wanted to build "a Citty [sic] upon a Hill," a place where the Puritan religion would be exclusively followed with utmost devotion. (As quoted in C. Bridenbaugh, Early Americans, p. 87.) Obviously, this was not a colony with a high tolerance level for dissension from the established guidelines of the faith. Their view of liberty was freely choosing the Puritan religion and then following through on the commitments that came with that. Anne Hutchinson was a convert to Puritanism who had too much of a mind of her own to be tolerated by t...
