A History of the American People

That was all very well in theory. But the difficulty of applying it in practice was illustrated by
the vicissitudes of Winthrop's own career, as a political and religious leader of the colony. It is
early American history in microcosm. Winthrop had natural authority, a kind of charisma: that is
why he had been picked as governor in the first place. But his stern and at times brutal exercise
of it led strong-minded spirits-and there were plenty of them in the Bay Colony-to feel he had
exceeded its legitimate bounds.
Moreover, in what Winthrop no doubt felt was a justified stratagem, such as Joshua and David
and Solomon had indulged in from time to time, he had cheated. He obliged all colonists,
including non-freemen, to swear an oath of loyalty to his government, in accordance with the
charter. But, according to the charter, the General Court should meet four times a year, and
Winthrop called it only once. After four years of what some called his tyranny,' many colonists, freemen and non-freemen alike, demanded he show them the charter, to see what it said. He reluctantly did so. It was generally agreed he had acted ultra vires. The colonists brought with them from England a strong sense of the need to live under the rule of law, not of powerful individuals. That was what the developing struggle in the English parliament was all about. The colonists had been promised, by the founding company of Massachusetts, allthe rights of
Englishmen.' Winthrop, no doubt from high motives, had taken some of those rights from them,
by flouting the charter. So he was publicly deposed at a general meeting. The freemen of the
colony set up what was in effect a representative system of government, with each little town
sending deputies who should assist in making laws, disposing of lands etc.' This body confirmed Winthrop's dismissal, and replaced him with his deputy, Thomas Dudley. Thus the first political coup in the history of North America was carried out, in 1634, when the colony was still in its infancy. And it was carried out not by force of swords and firearms but by arguments and speeches, and in accordance with the rule of law. However, the colonists soon discovered that to change a government by popular mandate does not necessarily mean to improve it. During the next three years, 1634-7, the colony was shaken by a series of arguments over rebellious and antinomian figures, such as Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson. We will come to these two in a minute, because they are important in their own right. From the point of view of good government, they needed to be handled with a mixture of firmness, common sense, and fairness. The feeling grew in the colony that Winthrop's successors lacked all three. Some felt that the authorities were becoming antinomian themselves. It was a fact that the church in Boston itself tended to be antinomian, all the rest orthodox. The antinomians held that the only thing which mattered in religion was the inner light of faith, which was a direct gift of God's grace. The more orthodox held that good works and exemplary behavior were also necessary, and were visible, outward evidence of true faith and godliness. This argument was raging in England and Holland and other countries where Calvinism was strong. But it was fiercer in Massachusetts than anywhere. One contemporary wrote:It began to
be as common here to distinguish between men, by being under a Covenant of Grace or a
Covenant of Works, as in other countries between Protestants and Papists.'
The argument came to a head in the first contested election on American soil, May 17, 1637,
an important date in the development of American democracy. The issue was religious; but
behind it was the question of good, orderly government. If the antinomians had their way, it was
argued, religion and government would cease to be based on reasoned argument, and learning,
and the laws of evidence, and would come to rest entirely on heightened emotion-a form of
continuous revivalism with everyone claiming to be inspired by the Holy Spirit. The issue was