who was the lawyer elected by the puritans to govern the massachusetts bay colony

by Else Franecki Published 2 years ago Updated 1 year ago 8 min read

John Winthrop (January 12, 1587/88 – March 26, 1649) was an English Puritan lawyer and one of the leading figures in founding the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the second major settlement in New England following Plymouth Colony.

How did the Massachusetts Bay Colony elect its representatives?

The freemen of Massachusetts Bay Colony eventually found it inconvenient to all meet in one place and chose to elect representatives to represent their interests. It was apparent that even at the beginning there was a democratic tendency to the government.

Who was the Massachusetts Bay Colony governor in 1636?

For most of the early years the governorship of Massachusetts Bay Colony alternated between Winthrop and Dudley, but in 1636 a young man named Harry Vane won the governorship. Harry Vane was a radical and his policies caused a severe rift in the colony between he and a minister named Roger Williams. Roger Williams’ ideas were ahead of his time.

What did the puritans do in the Massachusetts Bay Colony?

In the 1630’s, English Puritans in the Massachusetts Bay Colony created a theocratic self-government that went far beyond what existed in England. In 1534, King Henry VIII of England broke with the Roman Catholic Church and established the Church of England (the Angli- can Church).

Who were the leaders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony?

By the time of the American Revolutionary War, the colonies were split into 13 different colonies. Massachusetts Bay Colony became the cradle of the revolution with men such as Samuel Adams, John Adams, John Hancock, James Otis, Paul Revere, Robert Treat Paine , Elbridge Gerry, and Joseph Warren leading the way.

Who governed in the Massachusetts Bay Colony did the Puritans have a representative government?

IN THE 1630S, ENGLISH PURITANS IN MASSACHUSETTS BAY COLONY CRE- ATED A SELF-GOVERNMENT THAT WENT FAR BEYOND WHAT EXISTED IN ENGLAND. SOME HISTORIANS ARGUE THAT IT WAS A RELIGIOUS GOVERNMENT, OR THEOCRACY. OTHERS CLAIM IT WAS A DEMOCRACY.

Who was John Winthrop and what did he do?

John Winthrop (1588–1649) was an early Puritan leader whose vision for a godly commonwealth created the basis for an established religion that remained in place in Massachusetts until well after adoption of the First Amendment. It was, however, eventually superseded by ideas of separation of church and state.

Who was elected the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Company colony?

Governor of the Colony of Connecticut, 1657, 1659-1676. John Winthrop, often known as “John Winthrop, Junior” or “the Younger”, was the eldest son of John Winthrop, first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and Mary Forth, his first wife.

How were the officials of the Massachusetts Bay Colony chosen?

The Massachusetts Bay Colony was a charter colony. This meant that the administration of the colony was elected by the colonists and the colony was allowed to self-govern, as long as its laws aligned with those of England.

What did Roger Williams do?

The political and religious leader Roger Williams (c. 1603?-1683) is best known for founding the state of Rhode Island and advocating separation of church and state in Colonial America. He is also the founder of the first Baptist church in America.

Who was elected governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and wrote about its history?

For the remaining 19 years of his life, Winthrop lived in the New England wilderness, a father figure among the colonists. In the annual Massachusetts elections he was chosen governor 12 times between 1631 and 1648, and during the intervening years he sat on the court of assistants or colony council.

Who was the Puritans first governor?

John WinthropWithin fifteen years, however, the ideal community was beset by political and religious turmoil, and by the late 1600s the Massachusetts Bay experiment was a failure. The Massachusetts Bay Puritans were led by John Winthrop (1588–1649), a wealthy Englishman and member of the elect, and the first governor of the colony.

Who was the leader of the Puritans?

John WinthropJohn Winthrop (l. c. 1588-1649 CE) was an English lawyer best known as the Puritan leader of the first large wave of the Great Migration of Puritans from England to North America in 1630 CE and governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony (founded in 1628 CE) which they settled and expanded upon, and the founder of the ...

Who were the governors of the Massachusetts Bay Colony?

Massachusetts Bay Colony: 1629–1686, 1689–1692GovernorTook officeDeputy governorSir Henry Vane the YoungerMay 25, 1636John WinthropJohn WinthropMay 17, 1637Thomas DudleyThomas DudleyMay 13, 1640Richard BellinghamRichard BellinghamJune 2, 1641John Endecott23 more rows

What ruling body governed Massachusetts?

Massachusetts Bay was largely self-governing with its own house of deputies, governor, and other self-appointed officers. The colony also did not keep its headquarters and oversight in London but moved them to the colony.

Who organized the government in the Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay Colony's?

The government in Plymouth was organized by the colonists themselves as they did not have an official royal charter.

Who is the government in Massachusetts?

Government of MassachusettsHead of State and GovernmentTitleGovernorCurrentlyCharlie BakerAppointerElection25 more rows

Introduction

In 1534, King Henry VIII of England broke with the Roman Catholic Church and established the Church of England (the Angli- can Church).

Errand into the Wilderness

Portrait of Massachusetts Bay Colony (3rd) Governor John Winthrop / Antiquarian Society, Wikimedia Commons

The Congregational Church

A Congregational church in Cheshire, Connecticut, United States / Photo by John Phelan, Wikimedia Commons

The General Court

Mary Dyer was a Quaker and supporter of Anne Hutchinson. In 1660, Dyer was executed on Boston Commons for disobeying Puritan anti-Quaker laws / Unknown 19th-century artist, Wikimedia Commons

Church and State

John Cotton and Henry Vane plaque, near the John Adams Courthouse, Boston, Massachusetts / Photo by Daderot, Wikimedia Commons

Body of Liberties

Below are seven excerpts from the numbered provisions of the “Massachusetts Body of Liberties.” Try to match the liberty in each excerpt with a similar right found in one or more of the ten amendments of the U. S. Bill of Rights.

Decline of Puritan Power

By the 1640s, the Massachusetts Bay government had evolved from a company’s board of officers to an elected representative system based on the consent of the governed. The Puritans accomplished this independent of the king and Parliament, and it was far ahead of what existed in England.

Why did the delegates of Massachusetts Bay meet with the Lords of Trade?

Two delegates from Massachusetts Bay were sent to London to meet with the Lords of Trade when the crown threatened the colony with a quo warranto. The Lords demanded a supplementary charter to alleviate problems, but the delegates were under orders that they could not negotiate any change with the Charter and this enraged the Lords. The quo warranto was issued immediately. The King feared that this would stir problems within the colony and attempted to reassure the colonists that their private interests would not be infringed upon. The declaration did create problems, however, and the confrontations increased between the moderates and conservatives. The moderates controlled the office of Governor and the Council of Assistants, and the conservatives controlled the Assembly of Deputies. This political turmoil ended in compromise with the deputies voting to allow the delegates in London to negotiate and defend the colonial charter.

Who was the father of the Massachusetts colony?

This company was originally organized through the efforts of Puritan minister John White (1575–1648) of Dorchester, in the English county of Dorset. White has been called "the father of the Massachusetts Colony" because of his influence in establishing this settlement, even though he never emigrated.

How far was the Merrimack River from the colony?

The colonial charter specified that the boundaries were to be from three miles (4.8 km) north of the Merrimack River to three miles south of the southernmost point of the Charles River and thence westward to the "South Sea" (i.e., the Pacific Ocean ). At the time, the course of neither of the rivers was known for any significant length, which eventually led to boundary disputes with the colony's neighbors. The colony's claims were large, but the practicalities of the time meant that they never actually controlled any land further west than the Connecticut River valley. The colony also claimed additional lands by conquest and purchase, further extending the territory that it administered.

Why did the Pilgrims establish Plymouth?

In December 1620, a group of Pilgrims established Plymouth Colony just to the south of Massachusetts Bay, seeking to preserve their cultural identity and attain religious freedom. Plymouth's colonists faced great hardships and earned few profits for their investors, who sold their interests to them in 1627. Edward Winslow and William Bradford were two of the colony's leaders and were likely the authors of a work published in England in 1622 called Mourt's Relation. This book in some ways resembles a promotional tract intended to encourage further immigration. There were other short-lived colonial settlements in 1623 and 1624 at Weymouth, Massachusetts; Thomas Weston's Wessagusset Colony failed, as did an effort by Robert Gorges to establish an overarching colonial structure.

What tribes lived in Massachusetts?

The Pennacooks occupied the Merrimack River valley to the north, and the Nipmucs, Pocumtucs, and Mahicans occupied the western lands of Massachusetts, although some of those tribes were under tribute to the Mohawks, who were expanding aggressively from upstate New York. The total Indigenous population in 1620 has been estimated to be 7,000. This number was significantly larger as late as 1616; in later years, contemporaneous chroniclers interviewed Indigenous people who described a major pestilence which killed as many as two-thirds of the population. The land-use patterns of the Indigenous people included plots cleared for agricultural purposes and woodland territories for hunting game. Land divisions among the tribes were well understood.

What countries did the Massachusetts Bay colony trade with?

The Massachusetts Bay Colony was economically successful, trading with England, Mexico and the West Indies. In addition to barter, transactions were done in English pounds, Spanish "pieces of eight", and wampum in the 1640s.

Why did the Crown want to include non-Puritans in the leadership of the colony?

The Crown learned of these divisions and sought to include non-Puritans in the leadership in the hope of managing the colony.

Who were the Puritans in Massachusetts?

The Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony were highly influential in the mindset of future colonists. The quote “No Taxation without Representation” was first uttered in Watertown around 1631, 146 years before the battles of the Revolutionary War took place.

Why did the freemen of Massachusetts Bay Colony elect representatives?

Why did the Massachusetts Bay colony become independent?

It had become a successful independent commonwealth largely due to the internal strife within England. That changed during the reign of King Charles II.

What was required to live in Massachusetts Bay?

In order to live in Massachusetts Bay, one was required to take an oath and adhere to the religious principles that governed the colony, but the Quakers would not. The few that first came were quickly sent back to England and laws were enacted that prohibited them from coming to the colony in the future.

What was the name of the colony that the settlers left Massachusetts Bay and established?

He and his followers left Massachusetts Bay and established a colony in what is now Rhode Island. It was called Providence Plantations and the colony would eventually become part of the New England Confederation which Massachusetts Bay was a part of.

What were the Puritans' forms of government?

The Puritans form of government would go on to influence the forms of government in Connecticut colony, Rhode Island Colony, and the Province of New Hampshire since those three colonies were offshoots of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. They would eventually be called the New England Colonies. The second step to fusing the colonists and ...

What was the largest colony in New England?

It quickly became the largest colony in New England and was the mother colony of Rhode Island and Connecticut. By the time of the Revolution, the colony of Plymouth had been absorbed and the city of Boston was the largest port in the colonies.

Who was the Puritan colonist who was exiled from the colony of Connecticut?

That same year, Roger Williams (1603–1683) was exiled and ended up founding Rhode Island colony.

Who were the Puritans fighting against?

In the earliest days of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the Puritans carried out a war of extermination against the Pequots in 1637, and a war of attrition against the Narragansetts. In 1643, the English turned the Narragansett sachem (leader) Miantonomo (1565–1643) over to his enemies, the Mohegan tribe, where he was summarily killed.

Why did the Puritans emigrate to the New World?

While they emigrated to the New World to be able to freely practice their religion, they did not espouse freedom of religion for other settlers.

What was the role of Massachusetts in the American Revolution?

Massachusetts played a key role in the American Revolution. In December 1773, Boston was the site of the famous Boston Tea Party in reaction to the Tea Act that had been passed by the British. Parliament reacted by passing acts to control the colony, including a naval blockade of the harbor.

What was the first major political crisis in Massachusetts Bay?

One of those is known as the "Antinomian Crisis" which resulted in the departure of Anne Hutchinson (1591–1643) from Massachusetts Bay.

What was the purpose of the grant issued by King Charles I to the colonists?

A grant issued by King Charles I empowered the group to create a colony in Massachusetts. While the company was intended to transfer the wealth of the New World to stockholders in England, the settlers themselves transferred the charter to Massachusetts. By so doing, they turned a commercial venture into a political one.

When was Boston the capital of the Massachusetts Bay Colony?

In 1632, Boston was made the capital of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. By 1640, hundreds more English Puritans had joined Winthrop and Blackstone in their new colony. By 1750, more than 15,000 colonists lived in Massachusetts.

Which colony was a part of the Massachusetts Bay?

A new charter was issued in 1691 that joined the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the Plymouth Colony, and the Maine Colony as the Province of Massachusetts Bay and placed it under a royal governor. Charles I. Learn more about Charles I.

How many people were in Massachusetts Bay in the 1640s?

By the mid-1640s Massachusetts Bay Colony had grown to more than 20,000 inhabitants. Increasing estrangement between the colony and England resulted in the annulment of the company’s charter in 1684 and the substitution of royal government under a new charter granted in 1691.

What was the name of the river that the Massachusetts Bay Company landed on?

In 1629 the Massachusetts Bay Company had obtained from King Charles I a charter empowering the company to trade and colonize in New England between the Charles and Merrimack rivers.

What colony was merged with Maine in 1691?

The charter of 1691 merged the Plymouth colony and Maine into the Massachusetts Bay Colony. See also Plymouth. This article was most recently revised and updated by Jeff Wallenfeldt, Manager, Geography and History. History at your fingertips.

What was the importance of the Massachusetts Bay Colony?

What is the importance of the Massachusetts Bay Colony? By moving the Massachusetts Bay Company’s General Court from England to America, the Puritans converted it from an instrument of the company to a legislative and administrative assembly free from royal oversight.

When was Massachusetts Bay colony established?

See Article History. Massachusetts Bay Colony, one of the original English settlements in present-day Massachusetts, settled in 1630 by a group of about 1,000 Puritan refugees from England under Gov. John Winthrop and Deputy Gov. Thomas Dudley.

When was the first public school in America?

The first public school in North America, the Boston Latin School, was established in Boston in 1635, and Harvard University was founded in ...

Overview

The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1630–1691), more formally The Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of America around the Massachusetts Bay, the northernmost of the several colonies later reorganized as the Province of Massachusetts Bay. The lands of the settlement were in southern New England, with initial settlements on two natural harbors …

History

Before the arrival of European colonists on the eastern shore of New England, the area around Massachusetts Bay was the territory of several Algonquian-speaking peoples, including the Massachusetts, Nausets, and Wampanoags. The Pennacooks occupied the Merrimack River valley to the north, and the Nipmucs, Pocumtucs, and Mahicans occupied the western lands of Massachusetts, altho…

Life

Life could be quite difficult in the early years of the colony. Many colonists lived in fairly crude structures, including dugouts, wigwams, and dirt-floor huts made using wattle and daub construction. Construction improved in later years, and houses began to be sheathed in clapboard, with thatch or plank roofs and wooden chimneys. Wealthier individuals would extend their house by adding a …

Government

The structure of the colonial government changed over the lifetime of the charter. The Puritans established a theocratic government limited to church members. Winthrop, Dudley, the Rev. John Cotton, and other leaders sought to prevent dissenting religious views, and many were banished because of differing religious beliefs, including Roger Williams of Salem and Anne Hutchin…

Economy and trade

In the early years, the colony was highly dependent on the import of staples from England and was supported by the investments of a number of wealthy immigrants. Certain businesses were quick to thrive, notably shipbuilding, fisheries, and the fur and lumber trades. As early as 1632, ships built in the colony began trading with other colonies, England, and foreign ports in Europe. By 1660, the colony's merchant fleet was estimated at 200 ships and, by the end of the century, its …

Demographics

Most of the people who arrived during the first 12 years emigrated from two regions of England. Many of the colonists came from the county of Lincolnshire and East Anglia, northeast of London, and a large group also came from Devon, Somerset, and Dorset in the southwest of England. These areas provided the bulk of the migration, although colonists also came from other regions of England. The pattern of migration often centered around specific Nonconformist clergy who sou…

Geography

The Massachusetts colony was dominated by its rivers and coastline. Major rivers included the Charles and Merrimack, as well as a portion of the Connecticut River, which has been used to transport furs and timbers to Long Island Sound. Cape Ann juts into the Gulf of Maine, providing harbors for fishermen plying the fishing banks to the east, and Boston's harbor provided secure anchorage for seagoing commercial vessels. Development in Maine was restricted to coastal ar…