The Puritan Dilemma

I first read Edmund Morgan’s The Puritan Dilemma over twenty-five years ago, and I remember at that time thinking it a dull and uninteresting book that I suffered through rather than enjoyed. Recently, though, I came across a copy in a thrift store, and seeing it inspired me to revisit it and reassess my prior conclusion. It didn’t take me along to feel ashamed for the callowness of my youthful judgment. The more I read the more impressed I was by Morgan’s penetrating assessments of his subject and his clever turns of phrase.

The John Winthrop of Morgan’s book is a man who struggled his entire life with the challenge imposed by his faith to exercise restraint in a world besmirched by sin. The son of Suffolk gentry, Winthrop grew show more up in a world of privilege. As a young man, he embraced Puritanism and was soon engaged with the problem of living a godly life amidst temptation. Morgan provides a nicely nuanced summary of Puritan beliefs, making it clear that it was not a faith of humorless scolds but one that accepted the pleasures of the world and encouraged their enjoyment in moderation. The Puritans’ opposition to the Catholic influences in the Church of England increasingly put them odds with the Stuart monarchs, however, leading many to seek an alternative.

The alternative they found was resettlement in the New World. As a prosperous landowner and legal official Winthrop was a natural choice to spearhead their efforts to establish a colony in New England, and he was among the initial shipload of passengers who crossed the Atlantic Ocean in the spring of 1630 to make a new home in the region. While Morgan provides an effective account of the tribulations of the early settlement, his main focus is on the governance of the colony, in which Winthrop played a major part. He characterizes his subject’s approach to government as a form of loose despotism, in which Winthrop and the other councilors of the Massachusetts Bay colony exercised a near-total dominance over the colony. As the newly elected governor, the burden fell on Winthrop’s shoulders, and Morgan provides a laudatory description of his achievements.

Morgan notes that Winthrop’s main challenge was in building not just a successful colony, but one that reflected Puritan values. While the colonists were expected to police the sin in their communities, Winthrop faced as well the possibility of a schism, which he went to considerable lengths to deter. Morgan paints this as a challenge similar to the one Winthrop dealt with in his personal life: that of striking a balance, in this case between liberal acceptance on one side and separatism on the other. It was in navigating this path that Winthrop dealt with the most famous controversies of his career, including those of the ultra-separatist Roger Williams and the trial of Anne Hutchinson. It was Winthrop’s light touch on many of these matters which opened him up to criticism from some of the more ambitious members of the colonial leadership, leading to periods out of governorship though never completely out of power.

Morgan relates all of this in a work that wears its erudition lightly. Though a short book, it benefits enormously from Morgan’s use of Winthrop’s papers and other contemporary sources. His explanation of the doctrinal disputes is admirably clear, and while his focus on colonial government and politics can sometimes bog down in the details it’s never irrelevant or uninformative. Despite its age, his book remains a valuable short biography of Winthrop and an effective introduction to the early years of the Massachusetts Bay colony. I’m just disappointed that it took me as long as it did to appreciate its core value and its many subtle charms. show less

As a researcher, this book offers the best picture window I have seen in a long time into the world in which I have been wandering for the past few years. Cloth merchants, opportunities occasioned by the misfortunes of others, the inequities between the first son and all of the other children in families at this time as well as the motivations and hesitancies of those people who crossed the ocean to almost certain death sooner or later (but usually sooner) are all laid out here for our inspection. Very readable, taking you inside their home where you can feel the weight of life and world-changing choices that need to be made as well as the personal joys and disappointments of everyday family life in any age.

An interesting look at the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and the remarkable character who lead it for most of its first couple decades. It seems easier for many people to view the Puritans as stereotypes rather than real people, but they’re more interesting as flesh and blood human beings living in the real world. Considering their importance to American beginnings, it’s probably wiser to try to understand them as real people. They were amazing in some respects, misguided in others, but they got New England going, along with Harvard, Yale and a powerful commitment to literacy and education. They also started representative government in the New World, at least in the northern British colonies, and they had a leader of show more rare abilities in Winthrop. This is a part of American history that’s perhaps more relegated to either caricature or the dustbin than any other, and that’s to our loss in understanding our roots and their continuing effects on our society. show less

This compelling book delves into the intriguing life and leadership of John Winthrop, one of the most prominent figures in the early history of Massachusetts. The author deftly examines the complex interplay between Winthrop's religious and political ambitions, shedding light on the tensions and conflicts that arose as he sought to reconcile these two domains. Moreover, the book provides a nuanced exploration of Winthrop's relationships with other colonists, local tribes, and his motherland of England, illuminating the intricate web of power dynamics at play in colonial America. Overall, this thought-provoking work offers a fascinating glimpse into the fascinating world of colonial politics and religion, and is an informative and show more accessible read for anyone interested in this period of history. show less

I came away with a great appreciation for John Winthrop as, of all things, an effective moderate political leader. I now want to dig deeper into his life to see if that view holds. I'm also intrigued by the approach and style of the author (Edmund S. Morgan), and the larger series this book is a part of (Library of American Biography).

Interesting as, on the whole, a sympathetic view of John Winthrop, even on issues where others tend to be critical, notably his
treatment of Anne Hutchinson, who comes across as irresponsibly egotistical.

Good history on John Winthrop and the early Puritans. I read it a long time ago so I don't remember much. The Puritans were not like the myths about them.