John Winthrop : social builder

Abstract

During the 1630's, a large number of Puritan people under the leadership of John Winthrop and others migrated from England to the coast of America landing in the area what is presently known as Boston. This plantation sought religious and social freedom as well as new opportunities for individual expression. John Winthrop was elected governor of this colony holding this office on and off until his death in 1649. These people established the Massachusetts Bay Colony hoping to make a new home for themselves away from the political and religious turmoil of England. Their hopes, dreams, and goals were met with several difficulties. Nonetheless, their governor, John Winthrop, attempted to maintain this commonwealth above all outside interference. In this respect, he was quite successful, but he overlooked the internal structure of this young colony. From the very beginning, social and religious disruptions plagued the commonwealth forcing Winthrop and other magistrates into "controversial" situations. With the actual landing, certain men and women together with the overwhelming environment that America afforded, began to flex this newly discovered freedom in the form of theological expression and social awareness. As a result of this "disruption" factions and divisions dominated the everyday lifestyle of the Puritan commonwealth. These factions gradually transformed Winthrop's Massachusetts Bay Colony from a theocracy to a secular society. During the closing years of his life many of the dreams, hopes, and goals of John Winthrop and his Puritan following were profoundly changed and even lost. But the community continued to survive, prosper, and mature.