The Puritan Dilemma: The Story of John Winthrop

Library of American Biography

by Edmund S. Morgan

Caught between the ideals of God's Law and the practical needs of the people, John Winthrop walked a line few could tread. In every aspect of our society today we see the workings of the tension between individual freedom and the demands of authority. Here is the story of the people that brought this idea to our shores: the Puritans. Edmund Morgan relates the hardships and triumphs of the Puritan movement through this vivid account of its most influential leader, John Winthrop. The titles in the Library of American Biography Series make ideal supplements for American History Survey courses or other courses in American history where figures in history are explored. Paperback, brief, and inexpensive, each interpretive biography in this series focuses on a figure whose actions and ideas significantly influenced the course of American history and national life. In addition, each biography relates the life of its subject to the broader themes and developments of the times.

Genres: History, Biography, American History, Nonfiction, Religion, School, Christianity

202 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1958

About the author

Edmund Sears Morgan

Reviews

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 long to feel ashamed for the callowness of my youthful judgment, as 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 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 biography remains a valuable short study 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.

[Michael Canoeist · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Puritan Dilemma was: how to live in the world while trying to live up to the ideals they found in the Bible. That conflict presented a constant stream of issues to understand and resolve, including whether to leave England and abandon the church they sought to purify; how to set up a new world in Massachusetts; and, not least, how to cope with Anne Hutchinson! John Winthrop's thoughtfulness and decency propelled him, mostly against his wishes, into the leadership of the group of Puritans who were creating and seeking a royal charter for the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He was elected governor of the colony numerous times, and also voted out a few times, too. The Puritans' efforts to shape their colony mirror so many of the larger national issues that were to arise 130 years later, some of which continue to this day. I was reminded of some things I had forgotten, and learned many new things (including what a loon Roger Williams was) from this 50-year-old book, parts of which I subjected my family to hearing read aloud. We learn of some very fine men in the right place at the right time, including John Cotton and Nathaniel Ward. Ward, after the colony had been operating a couple years, wrote up the Puritans' general code and, though not a big fan of popular democracy, insisted that citizens of the colony "not be denyed their proper and lawfull liberties." One can only wish his "Body of Liberties" were studied by today's Islamists, who face some of the same issues in directing governments and a religion. Though this code had some strict punishments, author Edmund Morgan also notes its protections for animals, servants, children and women. And for those cast out of a church -- while that might seem one of the highest offenses a Puritan could commit, no citizen of the Colony could for that reason lose any aspect of his citizenship and its rights, according to the code. When we pass a New England village green, and look at one of those peaceful, white clapboard Congregational churches, it can be hard to imagine it once holding a congregation of rabid, intolerant Puritans. And for a good reason. As Morgan reminds us, that stereotyped impression of these early American settlers is far from an accurate depiction.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book (1958) is outdated in the sense that Morgan approaches his topic differently than how we would today. Still, the book is very readable and gives one a very clear sense of why the Puritans were moving to New England and what the role of Winthrop, who was governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony off and on for many years, was in Massachusetts life. Especially, Edmund simply and matter-of-factly explains the political and theological disputes and schisms that roiled England and New England in the 1600s. Why are these developments of interest to us today? They are relevant because we still agonize about local and centralized forms of government, democratic and paternalistic forms of governance, strict and flexible laws, tolerance and intolerance of those with different beliefs. We have these debates not only in national and local elections or in different religious institutions but also in all realms of life--our schools and universities, our workplaces, our political and social organizations outside of the electoral process, and so on.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 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.

[Spectre · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written 65 years ago (1958) about events that occurred some 400 years ago(1588-1649) Edmund Morgan traces the early New England settlements through the adult life of John Winthrop, the major player during this particular time and place in our nation's beginnings. The author takes you back in an historic review of your high school's American History class as Winthrop deals with the hardships and difficult decisions balancing personal and community morality with the demands of a struggling colony. One quote from the book reads - "...it's harder to control the good then to punish the wicked"- and best describes the dilemma John Winthrop faced. There certainly a modern thread to the choices between large government and small government, between individual and group concerns as well as tolerance or punishment of those who think differently than you. Morgan's narrative style of writing is much easier to read than those high school history books!

[giordana l. · Rating 2 out of 5]

chizik when i catch u chizik. chizik when i catch u

[Master Chief · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books of historical biography I’ve ever read. Short, sweet, and impactful, Puritan Dilemma looks into the life of John Winthrop, without question one of the most underrated American figures in history.

Winthrop laid the foundation for New England, and New England, believe it or not, for America. We as Americans will never be able to grasp how much we owe to men like Winthrop, who gave us not only our concepts of rights and liberties, our zeal for religion, our relentless self-criticism, but also our collective vision of America, in Winthrop’s words, as a “citty upon a hill.”

If you are an American, and enjoy the following, you owe some measure of thanks to Winthrop and his life’s mission:

- democracy
- peaceful transitions of power
- Universal education
- Pragmatism

Winthrop skillfully navigated the world as a devout, Bible-believing Christian. He knew he had to be in the world but not of it, to walk the line between licentiousness and fanaticism. His skillful maneuvers in this vein preserved Massachusetts from threats domestic and foreign, religious and political, economic and militaristic. He is one of the Great American Founders, and deserves a place in the pantheon with Washington, Lincoln, and others. May God have mercy on his long-departed soul.

[Justin Canfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book more than I expected to when I stole it off my grandfather's shelf. What seemed to initially be a tedious recounting of a historical figure's life turned out to be an interesting perspective on the role of the individual in the state, as well as a commentary on the danger of separatist movements and search for moral purity. The author seems to have some theological background but remains fairly unbiased, even going so far as to say that he was far intellectually inferior to the likes of Anne Hutchinson.

[Ram · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is essentially beach reading, if you like reading about some of our Anglo forebears who were so uptight they squeaked when they walked...and then held a town meeting to discuss what awful squeakers they were. Truly, the Puritans were terrible nags, but at least they annoyed themselves as much as others. Still, one can appreciate their dilemma for what it was: self-inflicted psychic torment and impossibly convoluted.

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice little introduction to the earliest years of English settlement in Massachusetts. However, Morgan tries too hard to make the Puritans, especially John Winthrop, attractive to the modern reader. He actually manages very well; I never expected to need to ask my students to take a more critical attitude toward the Puritans.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book due to two of my less popular interests: Puritanism, and the American Studies/Consensus School scholars. In many respects, my picture of the former is a product of the latter, and they had some important structural elements in common. Both were institution-builders; both have had oversized impacts on the baseline of American thought and cultural life. Both projected a sort of high-mindedness they meant to catch on with a larger mass of non-intellectuals, but were motivated at least in part by the same base motives as everyone else. Neither are particularly cool to talk about these days. With the Puritans, everyone knows who they are (or think they do) and disapprove; the Consensus School of American history and the founders of American Studies are best known as foils to more current trends in their fields, to the extent they’re known at all.

I feel stuck with them, in some strange ways- I guess as a New Englander and a student of American history, culture, and institutions, I feel kinship with them. This, despite belonging to groups that can be seen as the opposite of both: the descendant of Catholic and Jewish immigrants on the one hand, and an engaged leftist scholar who places conflict, not consensus, at the center of American history on the other. What can I say? You don’t pick your ancestors, and the imprint the Puritans left on New England and that the American Studies founders left on their subject are profound, and I think they influence more than just me- I’m just willing to cop to it.

Anyway, Edmund Morgan, one of the great American historians, is a cusp case, as far as the Consensus School/American Studies gestalt is concerned. His flagship book, “American Freedom, American Slavery” broke with the school (in the mid-seventies, when it was in decline anyway) by placing slavery at the center of early American history. But in the fifties, he seems to have resided pretty soundly in the Consensus school of his mentor Perry Miller, if “The Puritan Dilemma” is any evidence. For those unfamiliar (are any still hanging around reading this?) the Consensus school of American history held that, as the name suggests, consensus over liberal values (as understood by midcentury white upper-middle class Americans) defined American history, and specifically not conflict over ideology, power, or anything else. It was a reaction against both the youthful leftism many of its founders dabbled in during the 1930s and a school of thought exemplified by Charles Beard and others who placed a populism-inflected vision of class conflict at the center of American history. This movement reached its peak during and was mutually influenced by and influential on the founding of American Studies as a field, with American Studies’ stated goal of advancing a unitary American civilization to protect against the threat of right- but mostly left-wing extremism. There’s a reason they’re not cool anymore.

Morgan’s “The Puritan Dilemma” hits a lot of the Consensus school buttons. It’s wrong to say that the Consensus historians saw no conflict in American history- just that most of it was over ownership of a few key ideological constants, like what constitutes freedom. So Morgan illustrates numerous conflicts that his subject, first Governor of Puritan Massachusetts John Winthrop, managed during his time. In keeping with the Consensus school, Winthrop, who represents a future for America and the values of its founding, wins most of these conflicts, though makes the occasional tragic mis-step. Another Consensus school flag is the use of biography (another uncool thing in contemporary historiography). The big Consensus school work that’s still read sometimes is Richard Hofstadter’s “The American Political Tradition,” in which a series of pocket biographies of American political figures who either did or would have hated each other’s guts are brought into harmony over the key aspects of liberalism. “The Puritan Dilemma,” written ten years later, projects much the same dynamic backwards into the far colonial past. Winthrop’s foils and opponents in this biography — mainly Anne Hutchinson and Roger Williams — represent not so much opposition to Winthrop and Puritanism’s central project but it’s being taken too far in assorted directions. This emphasis on a personal character that prizes practicality and compromise over vision and consistency is very Consensus school.

This can make “The Puritan Dilemma” something of a just-so story, which, if it were less well-executed and consistent, would have ruined the book and might still ruin it for some readers. Winthrop was born into comfortable countryside circumstances in England in the 1580s (he died well before the Salem witch trials- he and Morgan both dodged a reputational bullet there). The dilemma he and the Puritans were constantly faced with was how to make a good society in a world they saw as fundamentally bad. Maybe that’s why I relate to them- unlike a lot of other leftists, I don’t see the world as fundamentally good. I see it as fundamentally indifferent… anyway. Especially given the Puritan fixation on the afterlife — and unlike other Christians, they couldn’t influence which afterlife they got — the quandaries of worldly action presented themselves in stark terms. This was intensified by the degree of education and theological sophistication at work, to say nothing of the blank social slate with which the Puritans found themselves presented.

At every stage, Morgan shows Winthrop as being faced with a choice between retreat from and engagement with the world. At every stage, Winthrop makes the right choice. This pretty much always means engagement. The one exception was a biggie: his retreat from England to Massachusetts, where he was sorely tempted to stay and fight for Puritan values at home. But this was an out of frying pan, into the fire situation- a retreat to an even more intensive variety of engagement in problems ranging from the immediately practical (food) to the theological.

In Massachusetts, Winthrop depicts Morgan as a bulwark of stolid good sense, a George Washington (as Washington was then conceived) figure, a practical unifier who is surrounded, more than Washington was, by crazed ideologues. Winthrop recognized when to push and when to pull back- he made the Massachusetts covenant considerably more democratic (involving freeman suffrage, that is, suffrage for ordinary church — which was the same as community — members) than he had to according to his orders from the Massachusetts Bay Company, Morgan argues. This is also an ingenious way to explain away what looks a lot like oppression and abuse of power on the part of Winthrop and the power structure he represented. He knew the way to go- others did not. Winthrop giveth, Winthrop taketh away (the sort of remark that’d get my tongue pulled out in 17th century Massachusetts).

“History is written by the winners,” they say, but by the twentieth century the winners in early Massachusetts’s theological-cum-political conflicts, like Winthrop, weren’t that popular, and figures of opposition like Anne Hutchinson and Roger Williams had been made over into patron saints of freedom of religion. To support their exile is a bold move, one Morgan makes with aplomb (which isn’t to say I agree with him). He depicts Hutchinson and Williams as fanatics — reasonably persuasively, but fanaticism in Puritan Massachusetts sounds like speeding at the Indianapolis 500 — whose beliefs were dangerous to the commonwealth. Antinomianism, ala Hutchinson, was corrosive to public welfare in its dismissal of all good works and implication that law had no bearing on those imbued with the Holy Spirit. Separatism, ala Roger Williams, threatened the political unity of the commonwealth, threatening to split every congregation from every other, as exemplified by Williams eventually refusing to believe in the grace of anyone other than himself and his wife. There’s a lot to debate here. Separatism did prove a boon to religious liberty, and the collapse predicted didn’t seem to strike Rhode Island. Antinomianism wasn’t threatening the social order so much as Hutchinson’s position as a woman questioning men, and even Morgan grants that Hutchinson ran rings around Winthrop intellectually. But still- Winthrop won, he founded the New England way of reconciling faith and world, and this was all for the best in this best of all possible Americas, Morgan heavily implies.

Needless to say, I don’t agree with much of this. But Morgan wielded a beautiful pen, a real sense for the storytelling behind the subject matter, and the book held my interest the way few have recently. At this point, my review threatens to be longer than the book- this is no hefty life and times biography, this makes its point in fewer than two hundred pages. In all, between my weird interests, Morgan’s capabilities as a writer and a historian, and my determination not to make my rating system an ideological test, I can’t but give this book my highest rating, for holding my attention rapt and making me think a lot. Your mileage may vary- but I still think both the Puritans and the Consensus School might have more to do with you than you might think. *****

[Phil]

classic book with classic flaws

[Jim Becker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good

[Reynold Witmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Niche read, but a very useful stepping stone towards understanding the complicated web of New England thought that still shapes our concepts of law, church, and state, and their relationships.
Implicit in the book is the recognition that the puritan dilemma is all religious peoples dilemma: how to live in the world, but not be the world. Or in more puritan language, how to separate ones society and self from sin, but still fulfill obligations to those "outside." In a word, separatism vs escapism.

[Katy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I have some familiarity with 18th and 19th century American history, I know very little about the very early history. Edmund Morgan's biography of John Winthrop is a delight. Winthrop left England because of the difficulties Puritans experienced living in a society they perceived to be thoroughly corrupt. The question for him was whether to stay and try to convert the unenlightened, or to set out for New England and a more godly life. He left. What he learned as governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony was that for the community to function, there had to be a certain amount of tolerance for those who were not righteous. Although Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson were banished to Rhode Island for their beliefs, for the most part, Winthrop learned that godly pragmatism was preferable to perfection. Also, many of the principles(independence from the king)that the bay colony adopted as they learned to govern themselves found full expression 150 years later in the US Constitution. Morgan's style flows effortlessly and his sense of irony is a delight. What a fine book.

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Morgan has a distinct perspective on Winthrop and the Puritans, and it is different from what I expected. Winthrop is a world-wise leader who knows separation is not the solution to evil. Roger Williams is an overzealous pastor intent on separation from all impurity until he is pressed into the impossibility of his position, gives it up (only after being expelled from Boston), and embraces toleration for all error. Ann Hutchinson is the brilliant and willful leader who not only communes directly with God, but claims to do it on behalf of others, to help them distinguish leaders of truth from leaders of error. In this account, Winthrop and the Puritans are on a mission, and pursue that mission with pragmatism and compromise necessary to remain in the world, but they are besieged by the forces of separatism. This pattern is still discernible in our world. We have the highest expectations for our country (often expressed in our denunciations), and sometimes we seek to pursue these ideals by destroying or separating from whatever we view as the current locus of evil.

[Dave Schubert · Rating 5 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed this book. It was a very helpful description of the challenges faced both internally and externally by the colony founded by religious Puritans.

The defining quote for me was this: "The purpose of New England was to show the world a community where the laws of God were followed by church and state - as nearly as fallible human beings could follow them." (pg 180)

With the term "puritan" or "puritanical" carrying a negative connotation today, this was a book that contextualized what the Puritans were all about within their day and time - an effort that, I believe, goes far to redeeming the Puritans. Their motives and goals were honorable, and John Winthrop himself is sen as a man of balance and self-control - not an extremist, as he/they are so often referred to.

I would greatly recommend this book to anyone interested in better understanding the motives and goals of a significant group of contributors to our nation's DNA.

[Kelsey · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this book for US History, and it it probably the 2nd worst book I've ever read. It is thorough, but it is not reader friendly. And don't be fooled by its small size; it took me almost a week to read it, when I normally read much larger books than this in under 2 hours! I didn't like it, but if you're interested in these types of book, more power to you. This just isn't something I'd ever be interested in. Sorry if my review is harsh...

[Stephen Mccollum · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was interesting for me because I had never read much about the Massachusetts Bay Colony. However, the author clearly did not understand Puritan theology. His chapters didn't seem to flow really well.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple and straightforward, a good beginner's biography of John Winthrop.

[Oliver Bateman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great short biography. Edmund Morgan (a student of the legendary Puritan historian Perry Miller) wrote some tremendous books on Puritan of his own (the Roger Williams bio, The Puritan Family, and more) prior to writing the excellent American Slavery, American Freedom (which iirc I reviewed sometime in 2009 or 2010, though perhaps I read it prior to starting GR and thus left it unrated). Here, you get an extremely condensed but expertly written look at the life, times, and politics of John Winthrop, whose shadow extended over Puritan politics (and its quest for a weird kind of moderation within the Congregationalist project) for a long spell.

The excellent concluding chapter, covering Winthrop and the foreign policy of Massachusetts in the 1640s, hadn't been treated in the existing literature, so Morgan threw it together for this slim volume based solely on his encyclopedic knowledge of the Winthrop papers. I'll read more of Morgan's work and finally push through Perry Miller's The Life of the Mind in America (unfinished but still great; I'm about 20% in right now after 3 years of poking away at it) when time allows.

quick note: I thought Morgan was still alive, because he was somehow still alive when I read AS, AF (he was in his nineties then). It was around this time (2012, I believe) that I met J.G.A. Pocock, who was also in his 90s, and began to speculate about the longevity of that WW2-era generation of scholars (of course, for every one of them, there's an Alexander Bickel, cut down in his prime).

[Mark Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable little snapshot into the early settlement of New England. I appreciate the lessons the author draws on from John Winthrop’s life. He argues that Winthrop was a true believer - a Puritan who wrestled for much of his life to put to death the deeds of he body and to seek after God. And yet the great strength of this leader is that, over time, he learned to integrate his faith into the muck and grime of the real world. He had immense realism, political discernment, and skill in governing - even as he passed legislation that would shock nearly everyone today by how utterly biblical (even theocratic!) it was.

The book argues that Winthrop wisely used his governmental abilities to hold the colonies together against the ever-present Puritan impulse to separate into increasingly “holier than thou” congregations - impulses that in many ways established New England, but if given complete reign would have destroyed New England, undermine any unity and social cohesion.

I really like the historical reflection of this book and it holds out the tantalizing possibility that it is the realists (those who seek to integrate their faith into all of the mess and ethical complexity of life) who are serving more faithfully in the long run than the idealists (who are pursuing a certain spiritual perfection that refuses to recon with the difficult circumstances of the real world).

[Greg Fletcher · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book to be a little bit story.....and a bit biography. (Love a good biography) I really didn't remember studying John Winthrop in school, but what I've learned from this book makes me believe that he and the other settlers in Massachusetts arbitrarily laid the foundation for government that was formally adopted by the founding fathers. Their main goal was to change a way of life that did not sit well with the English monarchy in regard to the Puritan religion. So they moved....3,000 miles and auspiciously went about setting up their own. (Good thing there was no internet back then. The King of England would have been aware of their intentions immediately) In doing so, they somewhat stumbled upon levels of government that are very close to what we have today. John Winthrop through diligence and a persuasive attitude was the one person who could see the forest THROUGH the trees. If you like a semi-biography......and a bit of historical non-fiction, you'll enjoy this book. It is insightful.

[R.E. E. Derouin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Puritan Dilemma by Edmund S. Morgan 7/31/2020 Paper

This well-detailed book follows the life of John Winthrop and the earliest days of Colonial America. After Plymouth was settled, there followed a surge of Puritans to the new world, looking for religious freedom and the chance to strive for the City on the hill, and the perfect life. This book records those seventeenth struggles of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. We begin in England and move to first Salem and later Boston as religious and moral issues threaten to destroy the settler’s dreams. Not all make it. In the first few years, many were unprepared to survive the harsh life and met an early or simply returned on the next ship east.

This is not a book for casual reading, but if you have a curiosity about early New England and America this is a fine detailed account. While it is heavy on the religious aspects of the colony, the political construction is most interesting. Highly recommended for a history buff.

[Matt Ely · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much more exciting than any biography of a 17th century Puritan governor written in 1958 has any right to be.

The central dilemma presented by the author was Winthrop’s apparent desire to be moderate in governance without abandoning certitude in his convictions. He spent much of his time battling cynics on one side and zealots on the other, finding zealous belief even more threatening to stability than apathy.

It’s interesting to wonder how much of this being composed in the McCarthy and Cold War eras influenced the author’s defense of moderation and charitable punishment over differences. While I would not relish living in John Winthrop’s colony personally, he presents a more complex picture of compromise and certitude than we tend to associate with America’s religiously-motivated forebears.

[Joel Everett · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 accessible read for anyone interested in this period of history.

[Roy McCullough · Rating 5 out of 5]

The classic biography of a fascinating man and an audacious experiment. The book is compact and a quick read, yet in just these few pages the author manages to provide insightful discussions of Winthrop himself, the 17th century religious and political environment that shaped his views, the daunting challenges posed by the great “errand into the wilderness” embarked upon by the Puritans in their attempt to create a wholly new society in an unfamiliar land, and the inevitable dissenters such as Roger Williams and Ann Hutchinson (separatists from the original Seperatists, one might say) that threatened the cohesion of this new society. A very rich work and still worth the occasional re-read.

[T Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got a little squinty when Morgan described Winthrop's wife as "one of the most attractive in history," a claim that seems extremely difficult to verify. Fortunately, the book soon recovers from such speculations, and its respect for women of all kinds does its depiction of the fiery revolutionary Anne Hutchinson much credit. If only people like Winthrop had guided it into the present day, Puritanism and religion in general would have a better, more merciful reputation.

[Kristian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recommended as a model of successful popularization. It did not disappoint. I knew almost nothing about the Puritans before reading this book. I found it compelling from first page to last, and now want to read more. John Winthrop, a fellow Suffolk native, is such an interesting and appealing man. I found myself captivated by his zeal, his love for America as a promised land, his wise political service, and his determination to resist fanaticism as the most pernicious enemy to community.

[Hunter Burnett · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book came across as less of a biography of John Winthrop and more as a history of the Massachusetts Bay Colony that he founded. The author, Edmund Morgan, seems to view the colony as the manifestations of Winthrop’s own thoughts, ideas, and theology. While this may be true, Morgan does not use a convincing amount citations or quotations from Winthrop’s own writings to justify that claim. Winthrop’s own writings deserve to be discussed more thoroughly in a biography about his life.