The Matter of Anne Hutchinson

Harvard University claims Anne Hutchinson, a Puritan wife and mother, as a founding cause of their institution. Anne's peers considered her a Jezebel. In modern times, she is acclaimed as a pioneer of women's rights. In 1637, she was banished from Massachusetts. In 1638, she was excommunicated from the church. Today, a statue of Anne stands on the Massachusetts State House lawn. What is certain about Anne is that she was the eye of the Antinomian Controversy that swept over the nascent Massachusetts Bay Colony from 1636 to 1638.

Though Anne is often viewed by historians through the colony's religious structure, the controversy threatening the colony swirled around the Protestant Reformation's doctrine of salvation. Author Christopher Kone untangles the matter of Anne Hutchinson by employing various processes of history that consider theology and government. As theology lives within the real world, social, political, and legal aspects are also applied to the matter of Anne. The story told is a part of the vibrant history of America and its revolutions. It is a story of the past that reflects on our time.