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| author | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:40:41 -0700 |
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| committer | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:40:41 -0700 |
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diff --git a/12767-h/12767-h.htm b/12767-h/12767-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..3f31f46 --- /dev/null +++ b/12767-h/12767-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,7842 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> + +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> + <head> + <meta content="pg2html (binary v0.17)" name="linkgenerator" /> + <title> + The Beginnings of New England, by John Fiske + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + + body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; } + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + .indent5 { margin-left: 5%;} + .indent10 { margin-left: 10%;} + .indent15 { margin-left: 15%;} + .indent20 { margin-left: 20%;} + .indent30 { margin-left: 30%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; } + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + .pagenum {position: absolute; right: 1%; font-size: 0.6em; + font-variant: normal; font-style: normal; + text-align: right; background-color: #FFFACD; + border: 1px solid; padding: 0.3em;text-indent: 0em;} + .side { float: left; font-size: 75%; width: 25%; padding-left: 0.8em; + border-left: dashed thin; text-align: left; + text-indent: 0; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; + font-weight: bold; color: black; background: #eeeeee; border: solid 1px;} + p.pfirst, p.noindent {text-indent: 0} + span.dropcap { float: left; margin: 0 0.1em 0 0; line-height: 0.8 } + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} + +</style> + </head> + <body> +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 12767 ***</div> + + <div style="height: 8em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h1> + THE BEGINNINGS OF NEW ENGLAND + </h1> + <h3> + Or The Puritan Theocracy In Its Relations To Civil And Religious Liberty + </h3> + <h2> + By John Fiske + </h2> + <h3> + 1892 + </h3> + <blockquote> + <p> + "The Lord Christ intends to achieve greater matters by this little + handful than the world is aware of." EDWARD JOHNSON, <i>Wonder-Working + Providence of Zion's Saviour in New England</i> 1654 + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0001" id="link2H_4_0001"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + To + </h2> + <h3> + MY DEAR CLASSMATES, + </h3> + <h3> + BENJAMIN THOMPSON FROTHINGHAM, + </h3> + <h3> + WILLIAM AUGUSTUS WHITE, + </h3> + <h3> + AND + </h3> + <h3> + FREDERIC CROMWELL, + </h3> + <h3> + I DEDICATE THIS BOOK. + </h3> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_PREF" id="link2H_PREF"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + PREFACE. + </h2> + <p> + This book contains the substance of the lectures originally given at the + Washington University, St. Louis, in May, 1887, in the course of my annual + visit to that institution as University Professor of American History. The + lectures were repeated in the following month of June at Portland, Oregon, + and since then either the whole course, or one or more of the lectures, + have been given in Boston, Newton, Milton, Chelsea, New Bedford, Lowell, + Worcester, Springfield, and Pittsfield, Mass.; Farmington, Middletown, and + Stamford, Conn.; New York, Brooklyn, and Tarrytown, N.Y.; Philadelphia and + Ogontz, Pa.; Wilmington, Del.; Chicago, 111.; San Francisco and Oakland, + Cal. + </p> + <p> + In this sketch of the circumstances which attended the settlement of New + England, I have purposely omitted many details which in a formal history + of that period would need to be included. It has been my aim to give the + outline of such a narrative as to indicate the principles at work in the + history of New England down to the Revolution of 1689. When I was writing + the lectures I had just been reading, with much interest, the work of my + former pupil, Mr. Brooks Adams, entitled "The Emancipation of + Massachusetts." + </p> + <p> + With the specific conclusions set forth in that book I found myself often + agreeing, but it seemed to me that the general aspect of the case would be + considerably modified and perhaps somewhat more adequately presented by + enlarging the field of view. In forming historical judgments a great deal + depends upon our perspective. Out of the very imperfect human nature which + is so slowly and painfully casting off the original sin of its inheritance + from primeval savagery, it is scarcely possible in any age to get a result + which will look quite satisfactory to the men of a riper and more + enlightened age. Fortunately we can learn something from the stumblings of + our forefathers, and a good many things seem quite clear to us to-day + which two centuries ago were only beginning to be dimly discerned by a few + of the keenest and boldest spirits. The faults of the Puritan theocracy, + which found its most complete development in Massachusetts, are so glaring + that it is idle to seek to palliate them or to explain them away. But if + we would really understand what was going on in the Puritan world of the + seventeenth century, and how a better state of things has grown out of it, + we must endeavour to distinguish and define the elements of wholesome + strength in that theocracy no less than its elements of crudity and + weakness. + </p> + <p> + The first chapter, on "The Roman Idea and the English Idea," contains a + somewhat more developed statement of the points briefly indicated in the + thirteenth section (pp. 85-95) of "The Destiny of Man." As all of the + present book, except the first chapter, was written here under the shadow + of the Washington University, I take pleasure in dating it from this + charming and hospitable city where I have passed some of the most + delightful hours of my life. + </p> + <p> + St. Louis, April 15, 1889. + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <b>CONTENTS</b> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_PREF"> PREFACE. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_TOC"> DETAILED CONTENTS. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0003"> THE BEGINNINGS OF NEW ENGLAND. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0001"> CHAPTER I. — THE ROMAN IDEA AND THE ENGLISH + IDEA. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0002"> CHAPTER II. — THE PURITAN EXODUS. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0003"> CHAPTER III. — THE PLANTING OF NEW ENGLAND. + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0004"> CHAPTER IV. — THE NEW ENGLAND CONFEDERACY. + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0005"> CHAPTER V. — KING PHILIP'S WAR. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0006"> CHAPTER VI. — THE TYRANNY OF ANDROS. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0010"> BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_NOTE"> NOTES: </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_TOC" id="link2H_TOC"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + DETAILED CONTENTS CONTENTS. + </h2> + <blockquote> + <p> + CHAPTER I. <br /> THE ROMAN IDEA AND THE ENGLISH IDEA. <br /> When did the + Roman Empire come to an end? ... 1-3 <br /> Meaning of Odovakar's work + ... 3 <br /> The Holy Roman Empire ... 4, 5 <br /> Gradual shifting of + primacy from the men who spoke Latin, and their <br /> descendants, to + the men who speak English ... 6-8 <br /> Political history is the history + of nation-making ... 8, 9 <br /> The ORIENTAL method of nation-making; <i>conquest + without incorporation</i> <br /> ... 9 <br /> Illustrations from eastern + despotisms ... 10 <br /> And from the Moors in Spain ... 11 <br /> The + ROMAN method of nation-making; <i>conquest with incorporation, but <br /> + without representation</i> ... 12 <br /> Its slow development ... 13 + <br /> Vices in the Roman system. ... 14 <br /> Its fundamental defect ... + 15 <br /> It knew nothing of political power delegated by the people to + <br /> representatives ... 16 <br /> And therefore the expansion of its + dominion ended in a centralized <br /> Despotism ... 16 <br /> Which + entailed the danger that human life might come to stagnate in <br /> + Europe, as it had done in Asia ... 17 <br /> The danger was warded off by + the Germanic invasions, which, however, <br /> threatened to undo the + work which the Empire had done in organizing <br /> European society ... + 17 <br /> But such disintegration was prevented by the sway which the + Roman Church <br /> had come to exercise over the European mind ... 18 + <br /> The wonderful thirteenth century ... 19 <br /> The ENGLISH method + of nation-making; <i>incorporation with representation</i> <br /> ... 20 + <br /> Pacific tendencies of federalism ... 21 <br /> Failure of Greek + attempts at federation ... 22 <br /> Fallacy of the notion that republics + must be small ... 23 <br /> "It is not the business of a government to + support its people, but of <br /> the people to support their government" + ... 24 <br /> Teutonic March-meetings and representative assemblies ... + 25 <br /> Peculiarity of the Teutonic conquest of Britain ... 26, 27 + <br /> Survival and development of the Teutonic representative assembly + in <br /> England ... 28 <br /> Primitive Teutonic institutions less + modified in England than in Germany <br /> ... 29 <br /> Some effects of + the Norman conquest of England ... 30 <br /> The Barons' War and the + first House of Commons ... 31 <br /> Eternal vigilance is the price of + liberty ... 32 <br /> Conflict between Roman Idea and English Idea begins + to become clearly <br /> visible in the thirteenth century ... 33 <br /> + Decline of mediaeval Empire and Church with the growth of modern <br /> + nationalities ... 34 <br /> Overthrow of feudalism, and increasing power + of the crown ... 35 <br /> Formidable strength of the Roman Idea ... 36 + <br /> Had it not been for the Puritans, political liberty would probably + have <br /> disappeared from the world ... 37 <br /> Beginnings of + Protestantism in the thirteenth century ... 38 <br /> The Cathari, or + Puritans of the Eastern Empire ... 39 <br /> The Albigenses ... 40 <br /> + Effects of persecution; its feebleness in England ... 41 <br /> Wyclif + and the Lollards ... 42 <br /> Political character of Henry VIII.'s + revolt against Rome ... 43 <br /> The yeoman Hugh Latimer ... 44 <br /> + The moment of Cromwell's triumph was the most critical moment in history + <br /> ... 45 <br /> Contrast with France; fate of the Huguenots ... 46, + 47 <br /> Victory of the English Idea ... 48 <br /> Significance of the + Puritan Exodus ... 49 <br /> CHAPTER II. <br /> THE PURITAN EXODUS. <br /> + Influence of Puritanism upon modern Europe ... 50, 51 <br /> Work of the + Lollards ... 52 <br /> They made the Bible the first truly popular + literature in England ... <br /> 53, 54 <br /> The English version of the + Bible ... 54, 55 <br /> Secret of Henry VIII.'s swift success in his + revolt against Rome ... 56 <br /> Effects of the persecution under Mary + ... 57 <br /> Calvin's theology in its political bearings ... 58, 59 + <br /> Elizabeth's policy and its effects ... 60, 61 <br /> Puritan + sea-rovers ... 61 <br /> Geographical distribution of Puritanism in + England; it was strongest in <br /> the eastern counties ... 62 <br /> + Preponderance of East Anglia in the Puritan exodus ... 63 <br /> Familiar + features of East Anglia to the visitor from New England ... 64 <br /> + Puritanism was not intentionally allied with liberalism ... 65 <br /> + Robert Brown and the Separatists ... 66 <br /> Persecution of the + Separatists ... 67 <br /> Recantation of Brown; it was reserved for + William Brewster to take the <br /> lead in the Puritan exodus ... 68 + <br /> James Stuart, and his encounter with Andrew Melville ... 69 <br /> + What James intended to do when he became King of England ... 70 <br /> + His view of the political situation, as declared in the conference at + <br /> Hampton Court ... 71 <br /> The congregation of Separatists at + Scrooby ... 72 <br /> The flight to Holland, and settlement at Leyden in + 1609 ... 73 <br /> Systematic legal toleration in Holland ... 74 <br /> + Why the Pilgrims did not stay there; they wished to keep up their <br /> + distinct organization and found a state ... 74 <br /> And to do this they + must cross the ocean, because European territory was <br /> all + preoccupied ... 75 <br /> The London and Plymouth companies ... 75 <br /> + First explorations of the New England coast; Bartholomew Gosnold (1602), + <br /> and George Weymouth (1605) ... 76 <br /> The Popham colony (1607) + ... 77 <br /> Captain John Smith gives to New England its name (1614) ... + 78 <br /> The Pilgrims at Leyden decide to make a settlement near the + Delaware <br /> river ... 79 <br /> How King James regarded the enterprise + ... 80 <br /> Voyage of the Mayflower; she goes astray and takes the + Pilgrims to Cape <br /> Cod bay ... 81 <br /> Founding of the Plymouth + colony (1620) ... 82, 83 <br /> Why the Indians did not molest the + settlers ... 84, 85 <br /> The chief interest of this beginning of the + Puritan exodus lies not so <br /> much in what it achieved as in what it + suggested ... 86, 87 <br /> CHAPTER III. <br /> THE PLANTING OF NEW + ENGLAND. <br /> Sir Ferdinando Gorges and the Council for New England ... + 88, 89 <br /> Wessagusset and Merrymount ... 90, 91 <br /> The Dorchester + adventurers ... 92 <br /> John White wishes to raise a bulwark against + the Kingdom of Antichrist <br /> ... 93 <br /> And John Endicott + undertakes the work of building it ... 94 <br /> Conflicting grants sow + seeds of trouble; the Gorges and Mason claims ... <br /> 94, 95 <br /> + Endicott's arrival in New England, and the founding of Salem ... 95 + <br /> The Company of Massachusetts Bay; Francis Higginson takes a + powerful <br /> reinforcement to Salem ... 96 <br /> The development of + John White's enterprise into the Company of <br /> Massachusetts Bay + coincided with the first four years of the reign of <br /> Charles I ... + 97 <br /> Extraordinary scene in the House of Commons (June 5, 1628) ... + 98, 99 <br /> The King turns Parliament out of doors (March 2, 1629) ... + 100 <br /> Desperate nature of the crisis ... 100, 101 <br /> The meeting + at Cambridge (Aug. 26, 1629), and decision to transfer the <br /> charter + of the Massachusetts Bay Company, and the government established <br /> + under it, to New England ... 102 <br /> Leaders of the great migration; + John Winthrop ... 102 <br /> And Thomas Dudley ... 103 <br /> Founding of + Massachusetts; the schemes of Gorges overwhelmed ... 104 <br /> + Beginnings of American constitutional history; the question as to <br /> + self-government raised at Watertown ... 105 <br /> Representative system + established ... 106 <br /> Bicameral assembly; story of the stray pig ... + 107 <br /> Ecclesiastical polity; the triumph of Separatism ... 108 <br /> + Restriction of the suffrage to members of the Puritan congregational + <br /> churches ... 109 <br /> Founding of Harvard College ... 110 <br /> + Threefold danger to the New England settlers in 1636:— <br /> 1. + From the King, who prepares to attack the charter, but is foiled by + <br /> dissensions at home ... 111-113 <br /> 2. From religious + dissensions; Roger Williams ... 114-116 <br /> Henry Vane and Anne + Hutchinson ... 116-119 <br /> Beginnings of New Hampshire and Rhode + Island ... 119-120 <br /> 3. From the Indians; the Pequot supremacy ... + 121 <br /> First movements into the Connecticut valley, and disputes with + the Dutch <br /> settlers of New Amsterdam ... 122, 123 <br /> Restriction + of the suffrage leads to disaffection in Massachusetts; <br /> profoundly + interesting opinions of Winthrop and Hooker ... 123, 124 <br /> + Connecticut pioneers and their hardships ... 125 <br /> Thomas Hooker, + and the founding of Connecticut ... 120 <br /> The Fundamental Orders of + Connecticut (Jan 14, 1639); the first written <br /> constitution that + created a government ... 127 <br /> Relations of Connecticut to the + genesis of the Federal Union ... 128 <br /> Origin of the Pequot War; + Sassacus tries to unite the Indian tribes in a <br /> crusade against the + English ... 129, 130 <br /> The schemes of Sassacus are foiled by Roger + Williams ... 130 <br /> The Pequots take the war path alone ... 131 <br /> + And are exterminated ... 132-134 <br /> John Davenport, and the founding + of New Haven ... 135 <br /> New Haven legislation, and legend of the + "Blue Laws" ... 136 <br /> With the meeting of the Long Parliament, in + 1640, the Puritan exodus <br /> comes to its end ... 137 <br /> What might + have been ... 138, 391 <br /> CHAPTER IV. — THE NEW ENGLAND + CONFEDERACY. <br /> The Puritan exodus was purely and exclusively English + ... 140 <br /> And the settlers were all thrifty and prosperous; chiefly + country <br /> squires and yeomanry of the best and sturdiest type ... + 141, 142 <br /> In all history there has been no other instance of + colonization so <br /> exclusively effected by picked and chosen men ... + 143 <br /> What, then, was the principle of selection? The migration was + not <br /> intended to promote what we call religious liberty ... 144, + 145 <br /> Theocratic ideal of the Puritans ... 146 <br /> The impulse + which sought to realize itself in the Puritan ideal was an <br /> ethical + impulse ... 147 <br /> In interpreting Scripture, the Puritan appealed to + his Reason ... 148, <br /> 149 <br /> Value of such perpetual theological + discussion as was carried on in <br /> early New England ... 150, 151 + <br /> Comparison with the history of Scotland ... 152 <br /> Bearing of + these considerations upon the history of the New England <br /> + confederacy ... 153 <br /> The existence of so many colonies (Plymouth, + Massachusetts, Connecticut, <br /> New Haven, Rhode Island, the + Piscataqua towns, etc.) was due to <br /> differences of opinion on + questions in which men's religious ideas were <br /> involved ... 154 + <br /> And this multiplication of colonies led to a notable and + significant <br /> attempt at confederation ... 155 <br /> Turbulence of + dissent in Rhode Island ... 156 <br /> The Earl of Warwick, and his Board + of Commissioners ... 157 <br /> Constitution of the Confederacy ... 158 + <br /> It was only a league, not a federal union ... 159 <br /> Its + formation involved a tacit assumption of sovereignty ... 160 <br /> The + fall of Charles I. brought up, for a moment, the question as to the + <br /> supremacy of Parliament over the colonies ... 161 <br /> Some + interesting questions ... 162 <br /> Genesis of the persecuting spirit + ... 163 <br /> Samuel Gorton and his opinions ... 163-165 <br /> He flees + to Aquedneck and is banished thence ... 166 <br /> Providence protests + against him ... 167 <br /> He flees to Shawomet, where he buys land of + the Indians ... 168 <br /> Miantonomo and Uncas ... 169, 170 <br /> Death + of Miantonomo ... 171 <br /> Edward Johnson leads an expedition against + Shawomet ... 172 <br /> Trial and sentence of the heretics ... 173 <br /> + Winthrop declares himself in a prophetic opinion ... 174 <br /> The + Presbyterian cabal ... 175-177 <br /> The Cambridge Platform; deaths of + Winthrop and Cotton ... 177 <br /> Views of Winthrop and Cotton as to + toleration in matters of Religion ... <br /> 178 <br /> After their death, + the leadership in Massachusetts was in the hands of <br /> Endicott and + Norton ... 179 <br /> The Quakers; their opinions and behavior ... + 179-181 <br /> Violent manifestations of dissent ... 182 <br /> Anne + Austin and Mary Fisher; how they were received in Boston ... 183 <br /> + The confederated colonies seek to expel the Quakers; noble attitude of + <br /> Rhode Island ... 184 <br /> Roger Williams appeals to his friend, + Oliver Cromwell ... 185 <br /> The "heavenly speech" of Sir Harry Vane + ... 185 <br /> Laws passed against the Quakers ... 186 <br /> How the + death penalty was regarded at that time in New England ... 187 <br /> + Executions of Quakers on Boston Common ... 188, 189 <br /> Wenlock + Christison's defiance and victory ... 189, 190 <br /> The "King's + Missive" ... 191 <br /> Why Charles II. interfered to protect the Quakers + ... 191 <br /> His hostile feeling toward the New England governments ... + 192 <br /> The regicide judges, Goffe and Whalley ... 193, 194 <br /> New + Haven annexed to Connecticut ... 194, 195 <br /> Abraham Pierson, and the + founding of Newark ... 196 <br /> Breaking-down of the theocratic policy + ... 197 <br /> Weakening of the Confederacy ... 198 <br /> CHAPTER V. + — KING PHILIP'S WAR. <br /> Relations between the Puritan settlers + and the Indians ... 199 <br /> Trade with the Indians ... 200 <br /> + Missionary work; Thomas Mayhew ... 201 <br /> John Eliot and his + translation of the Bible ... 202 <br /> His preaching to the Indians ... + 203 <br /> His villages of Christian Indians ... 204 <br /> The Puritan's + intention was to deal gently and honourably with the red <br /> men ... + 205 <br /> Why Pennsylvania was so long unmolested by the Indians ... + 205, 206 <br /> Difficulty of the situation in New England ... 207 <br /> + It is hard for the savage and the civilized man to understand one <br /> + another ... 208 <br /> How Eliot's designs must inevitably have been + misinterpreted by the <br /> Indians ... 209 <br /> It is remarkable that + peace should have been so long preserved ... 210 <br /> Deaths of + Massasoit and his son Alexander ... 211 <br /> Very little is known about + the nature of Philip's designs ... 212 <br /> The meeting at Taunton ... + 213 <br /> Sausamon informs against Philip ... 213 <br /> And is murdered + ... 214 <br /> Massacres at Swanzey and Dartmouth ... 214 <br /> Murder of + Captain Hutchinson ... 215 <br /> Attack on Brookfield, which is relieved + by Simon Willard ... 216 <br /> Fighting in the Connecticut valley; the + mysterious stranger at Hadley <br /> ... 217, 218 <br /> Ambuscade at + Bloody Brook ... 219 <br /> Popular excitement in Boston ... 220 <br /> + The Narragansetts prepare to take the war-path ... 221 <br /> And + Governor Winslow leads an army against them ... 222, 223 <br /> Storming + of the great swamp fortress ... 224 <br /> Slaughter of the Indians ... + 225 <br /> Effect of the blow ... 226 <br /> Growth of the humane + sentiment in recent times, due to the fact that the <br /> horrors of war + are seldom brought home to everybody's door ... 227, 228 <br /> Warfare + with savages is likely to be truculent in character ... 229 <br /> Attack + upon Lancaster ... 230 <br /> Mrs. Rowlandson's narrative ... 231-233 + <br /> Virtual extermination of the Indians (February to August, 1676) + ... 233, <br /> 234 <br /> Death of Canonchet ... 234 <br /> Philip pursued + by Captain Church ... 235 <br /> Death of Philip ... 236 <br /> Indians + sold into slavery ... 237 <br /> Conduct of the Christian Indians ... 238 + <br /> War with the Tarratines ... 239 <br /> Frightful destruction of + life and property ... 240 <br /> Henceforth the red man figures no more + in the history of New England, <br /> except in frontier raids under + French guidance ... 241 <br /> CHAPTER VI. <br /> THE TYRANNY OF ANDROS. + <br /> Romantic features in the early history of New England ... 242 + <br /> Captain Edward Johnson, of Woburn, and his book on "The + Wonder-working <br /> Providence of Zion's Saviour in New England" ... + 243,244 <br /> Acts of the Puritans often judged by an unreal and + impossible standard <br /> ... 245 <br /> Spirit of the "Wonder-working + Providence" ... 246 <br /> Merits and faults of the Puritan theocracy ... + 247 <br /> Restriction of the suffrage to church members ... 248 <br /> It + was a source of political discontent ... 249 <br /> Inquisitorial + administration of justice ... 250 <br /> The "Half way Covenant" ... 251 + <br /> Founding of the Old South church ... 252 <br /> Unfriendly + relations between Charles II and Massachusetts ... 253 <br /> Complaints + against Massachusetts ... 254 <br /> The Lords of Trade ... 255 <br /> + Arrival of Edward Randolph in Boston ... 256 <br /> Joseph Dudley and the + beginnings of Toryism in New England ... 257, 258 <br /> Charles II. + erects the four Piscataqua towns into the royal province of <br /> New + Hampshire ... 259 <br /> And quarrels with Massachusetts over the + settlement of the Gorges claim <br /> to the Maine district ... 260 <br /> + Simon Bradstreet and his verse-making wife ... 261 <br /> Massachusetts + answers the king's peremptory message ... 262 <br /> Secret treaty + between Charles II. and Louis XIV ... 263 <br /> Shameful proceedings in + England ... 264 <br /> Massachusetts refuses to surrender her charter; + and accordingly it is <br /> annulled by decree of chancery, June 21, + 1684 ... 265 <br /> Effect of annulling the charter ... 266 <br /> Death + of Charles II, accession of James II., and appointment of Sir <br /> + Edmund Andros as viceroy over New England, with despotic powers ... 267 + <br /> The charter oak ... 268 <br /> Episcopal services in Boston ... + 268, 269 <br /> Founding of the King's Chapel ... 269 <br /> The tyranny + ... 270 <br /> John Wise of Ipswich ... 271 <br /> Fall of James II ... + 271 <br /> Insurrection in Boston, and overthrow of Andros ... 272 <br /> + Effects of the Revolution of 1689 ... 273 <br /> Need for union among all + the northern colonies ... 274 <br /> Plymouth, Maine, and Acadia annexed + to Massachusetts ... 275 <br /> Which becomes a royal province ... 276 + <br /> And is thus brought into political sympathy with Virginia ... 276 + <br /> The seeds of the American Revolution were already sown, and the + spirit <br /> of 1776 was foreshadowed in 1689 ... 277, 278 <br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0003" id="link2H_4_0003"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h1> + THE BEGINNINGS OF NEW ENGLAND. + </h1> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0001" id="link2HCH0001"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER I. — THE ROMAN IDEA AND THE ENGLISH IDEA. + </h2> + <p> + It used to be the fashion of historians, looking superficially at the + facts presented in chronicles and tables of dates, without analyzing and + comparing vast groups of facts distributed through centuries, or even + suspecting the need for such analysis and comparison, to assign the date + 476 A.D. as the moment at which the Roman Empire came to an end. It was in + that year that the soldier of fortune, Odovakar, commander of the Herulian + mercenaries in Italy, sent the handsome boy Romulus, son of Orestes, + better known as "little Augustus," from his imperial throne to the + splendid villa of Lucullus near Naples, and gave him a yearly pension of + $35,000 [6,000 solidi] to console him for the loss of a world. As 324 + years elapsed before another emperor was crowned at Rome, and as the + political headship of Europe after that happy restoration remained upon + the German soil to which the events of the eighth century had shifted it, + nothing could seem more natural than the habit which historians once had, + of saying that the mighty career of Rome had ended, as it had begun, with + a Romulus. Sometimes the date 476 was even set up as a great landmark + dividing modern from ancient history. For those, however, who took such a + view, it was impossible to see the events of the Middle Ages in their true + relations to what went before and what came after. It was impossible to + understand what went on in Italy in the sixth century, or to explain the + position of that great Roman power which had its centre on the Bosphorus, + which in the code of Justinian left us our grandest monument of Roman law, + and which for a thousand years was the staunch bulwark of Europe against + the successive aggressions of Persian, Saracen, and Turk. It was equally + impossible to understand the rise of the Papal power, the all-important + politics of the great Saxon and Swabian emperors, the relations of + mediaeval England to the Continental powers, or the marvellously + interesting growth of the modern European system of nationalities. + [[Sidenote: When did the Roman Empire come to an end?] + </p> + <p> + Since the middle of the nineteenth century the study of history has + undergone changes no less sweeping than those which have in the same time + affected the study of the physical sciences. Vast groups of facts + distributed through various ages and countries have been subjected to + comparison and analysis, with the result that they have not only thrown + fresh light upon one another, but have in many cases enabled us to recover + historic points of view that had long been buried in oblivion. Such an + instance was furnished about twenty-five years ago by Dr. Bryce's + epoch-making work on the Holy Roman Empire. Since then historians still + recognize the importance of the date 476 as that which left the Bishop of + Rome the dominant personage in Italy, and marked the shifting of the + political centre of gravity from the Palatine to the Lateran. This was one + of those subtle changes which escape notice until after some of their + effects have attracted attention. The most important effect, in this + instance, realized after three centuries, was not the overthrow of Roman + power in the West, but its indefinite extension and expansion. The men of + 476 not only had no idea that they were entering upon a new era, but least + of all did they dream that the Roman Empire had come to an end, or was + ever likely to. Its cities might be pillaged, its provinces overrun, but + the supreme imperial power itself was something without which the men of + those days could not imagine the world as existing. It must have its + divinely ordained representative in one place if not in another. If the + throne in Italy was vacant, it was no more than had happened before; there + was still a throne at Constantinople, and to its occupant Zeno the Roman + Senate sent a message, saying that one emperor was enough for both ends of + the earth, and begging him to confer upon the gallant Odovakar the title + of patrician, and entrust the affairs of Italy to his care. So when + Sicambrian Chlodwig set up his Merovingian kingdom in northern Gaul, he + was glad to array himself in the robe of a Roman consul, and obtain from + the eastern emperor a formal ratification of his rule. + </p> + <p> + [Transcriber's note: page missing in original.] still survives in + political methods and habits of thought that will yet be long in dying + out. With great political systems, as with typical forms of organic life, + the processes of development and of extinction are exceedingly slow, and + it is seldom that the stages can be sharply marked by dates. The processes + which have gradually shifted the seat of empire until the prominent part + played nineteen centuries ago by Rome and Alexandria, on opposite sides of + the Mediterranean, has been at length assumed by London and New York, on + opposite sides of the Atlantic, form a most interesting subject of study. + But to understand them, one must do much more than merely catalogue the + facts of political history; one must acquire a knowledge of the drifts and + tendencies of human thought and feeling and action from the earliest ages + to the times in which we live. In covering so wide a field we cannot of + course expect to obtain anything like complete results. In order to make a + statement simple enough to be generally intelligible, it is necessary to + pass over many circumstances and many considerations that might in one way + and another qualify what we have to say. Nevertheless it is quite possible + for us to discern, in their bold general outlines, some historic truths of + supreme importance. In contemplating the salient features of the change + which has now for a long time been making the world more English and less + Roman, we shall find not only intellectual pleasure and profit but + practical guidance. For in order to understand this slow but mighty + change, we must look a little into that process of nation-making which has + been going on since prehistoric ages and is going on here among us to-day, + and from the recorded experience of men in times long past we may gather + lessons of infinite value for ourselves and for our children's children. + As in all the achievements of mankind it is only after much weary + experiment and many a heart-sickening failure that success is attained, so + has it been especially with nation-making. Skill in the political art is + the fruit of ages of intellectual and moral discipline; and just as + picture-writing had to come before printing and canoes before steamboats, + so the cruder political methods had to be tried and found wanting, amid + the tears and groans of unnumbered generations, before methods less crude + could be put into operation. In the historic survey upon which we are now + to enter, we shall see that the Roman Empire represented a crude method of + nation-making which began with a masterful career of triumph over earlier + and cruder methods, but has now for several centuries been giving way + before a more potent and satisfactory method. And just as the merest + glance at the history of Europe shows us Germanic peoples wresting the + supremacy from Rome, so in this deeper study we shall discover a grand and + far-reaching Teutonic Idea of political life overthrowing and supplanting + the Roman Idea. Our attention will be drawn toward England as the + battle-ground and the seventeenth century as the critical moment of the + struggle; we shall see in Puritanism the tremendous militant force that + determined the issue; and when our perspective has thus become properly + adjusted, we shall begin to realize for the first time how truly wonderful + was the age that witnessed the Beginnings of New England. We have long had + before our minds the colossal figure of Roman Julius as "the foremost man + of all this world," but as the seventeenth century recedes into the past + the figure of English Oliver begins to loom up as perhaps even more + colossal. In order to see these world-events in their true perspective, + and to make perfectly clear the manner in which we are to estimate them, + we must go a long distance away from them. We must even go back, as nearly + as may be, to the beginning of things. [[Sidenote: Gradual shifting of + primacy from the men who spoke Latin, and their descendants, to the men + who speak English] + </p> + <p> + If we look back for a moment to the primitive stages of society, we may + picture to ourselves the surface of the earth sparsely and scantily + covered with wandering tribes of savages, rude in morals and manners, + narrow and monotonous in experience, sustaining life very much as lower + animals sustain it, by gathering wild fruits or slaying wild game, and + waging chronic warfare alike with powerful beasts and with rival tribes of + men. [[Sidenote: Political history is the history of nation-making] + </p> + <p> + In the widest sense the subject of political history is the description of + the processes by which, under favourable circumstances, innumerable such + primitive tribes have become welded together into mighty nations, with + elevated standards of morals and manners, with wide and varied experience, + sustaining life and ministering to human happiness by elaborate arts and + sciences, and putting a curb upon warfare by limiting its scope, + diminishing its cruelty, and interrupting it by intervals of peace. The + story, as laid before us in the records of three thousand years, is + fascinating and absorbing in its human interest for those who content + themselves with the study of its countless personal incidents, and neglect + its profound philosophical lessons. But for those who study it in the + scientific spirit, the human interest of its details becomes still more + intensely fascinating and absorbing. Battles and coronations, poems and + inventions, migrations and martyrdoms, acquire new meanings and awaken new + emotions as we begin to discern their bearings upon the solemn work of + ages that is slowly winning for humanity a richer and more perfect life. + By such meditation upon men's thoughts and deeds is the understanding + purified, till we become better able to comprehend our relations to the + world and the duty that lies upon each of us to shape his conduct rightly. + </p> + <p> + In the welding together of primitive shifting tribes into stable and + powerful nations, we can seem to discern three different methods that have + been followed at different times and places, with widely different + results. In all cases the fusion has been effected by war, but it has gone + on in three broadly contrasted ways. The first of these methods, which has + been followed from time immemorial in the Oriental world, may be roughly + described as <i>conquest without incorporation.</i> A tribe grows to + national dimensions by conquering and annexing its neighbours, without + admitting them to a share in its political life. Probably there is always + at first some incorporation, or even perhaps some crude germ of federative + alliance; but this goes very little way,—only far enough to fuse + together a few closely related tribes, agreeing in speech and habits, into + a single great tribe that can overwhelm its neighbours. In early society + this sort of incorporation cannot go far without being stopped by some + impassable barrier of language or religion. After reaching that point, the + conquering tribe simply annexes its neighbours and makes them its slaves. + It becomes a superior caste, ruling over vanquished peoples, whom it + oppresses with frightful cruelty, while living on the fruits of their toil + in what has been aptly termed Oriental luxury. Such has been the origin of + many eastern despotisms, in the valleys of the Nile and Euphrates, and + elsewhere. Such a political structure admits of a very considerable + development of material civilization, in which gorgeous palaces and + artistic temples may be built, and perhaps even literature and scholarship + rewarded, with money wrung from millions of toiling wretches. There is + that sort of brutal strength in it, that it may endure for many long ages, + until it comes into collision with some higher civilization. Then it is + likely to end in sudden collapse, because the fighting quality of the + people has been destroyed. Populations that have lived for centuries in + fear of impalement or crucifixion, and have known no other destination for + the products of their labour than the clutches of the omnipresent + tax-gatherer, are not likely to furnish good soldiers. A handful of + freemen will scatter them like sheep, as the Greeks did twenty-three + centuries ago at Kynaxa, as the English did the other day at Tel el-Kebir. + On the other hand, where the manliness of the vanquished people is not + crushed, the sway of the conquerors who cannot enter into political union + with them is likely to be cast off, as in the case of the Moors in Spain. + There was a civilization in many respects admirable. It was eminent for + industry, science, art, and poetry; its annals are full of romantic + interest; it was in some respects superior to the Christian system which + supplanted it; in many ways it contributed largely to the progress of the + human race; and it was free from some of the worst vices of Oriental + civilizations. Yet because of the fundamental defect that between the + Christian Spaniard and his Mussulman conqueror there could be no political + fusion, this brilliant civilization was doomed. During eight centuries of + more or less extensive rule in the Spanish peninsula, the Moor was from + first to last an alien, just as after four centuries the Turk is still an + alien in the Balkan peninsula. The natural result was a struggle that + lasted age after age till it ended in the utter extermination of one of + the parties, and left behind it a legacy of hatred and persecution that + has made the history of modern Spain a dismal record of shame and + disaster. [[Sidenote: The Oriental method of nation-making] + </p> + <p> + In this first method of nation-making, then, which we may call the + Oriental method, one now sees but little to commend. It was better than + savagery, and for a long time no more efficient method was possible, but + the leading peoples of the world have long since outgrown it; and although + the resulting form of political government is the oldest we know and is + not yet extinct, it nevertheless has not the elements of permanence. + Sooner or later it will disappear, as savagery is disappearing, as the + rudest types of inchoate human society have disappeared. + </p> + <p> + The second method by which nations have been made may be called the Roman + method; and we may briefly describe it as <i>conquest with incorporation, + but without representation</i>. The secret of Rome's wonderful strength + lay in the fact that she incorporated the vanquished peoples into her own + body politic. In the early time there was a fusion of tribes going on in + Latium, which, if it had gone no further, would have been similar to the + early fusion of Ionic tribes in Attika or of Iranian tribes in Media. But + whereas everywhere else this political fusion soon stopped, in the Roman + world it went on. One after another Italian tribes and Italian towns were + not merely overcome but admitted to a share in the political rights and + privileges of the victors. By the time this had gone on until the whole + Italian peninsula was consolidated under the headship of Rome, the result + was a power incomparably greater than any other that the world had yet + seen. Never before had so many people been brought under one government + without making slaves of most of them. Liberty had existed before, whether + in barbaric tribes or in Greek cities. Union had existed before, in + Assyrian or Persian despotisms. Now liberty and union were for the first + time joined together, with consequences enduring and stupendous. The whole + Mediterranean world was brought under one government; ancient barriers of + religion, speech, and custom were overthrown in every direction; and + innumerable barbarian tribes, from the Alps to the wilds of northern + Britain, from the Bay of Biscay to the Carpathian mountains, were more or + less completely transformed into Roman citizens, protected by Roman law, + and sharing in the material and spiritual benefits of Roman civilization. + Gradually the whole vast structure became permeated by Hellenic and Jewish + thought, and thus were laid the lasting foundations of modern society, of + a common Christendom, furnished with a common stock of ideas concerning + man's relation to God and the world, and acknowledging a common standard + of right and wrong. This was a prodigious work, which raised human life to + a much higher plane than that which it had formerly occupied, and endless + gratitude is due to the thousands of steadfast men who in one way or + another devoted their lives to its accomplishment. [[Sidenote: The Roman + method of nation-making] + </p> + <p> + This Roman method of nation-making had nevertheless its fatal + shortcomings, and it was only very slowly, moreover, that it wrought out + its own best results. It was but gradually that the rights and privileges + of Roman citizenship were extended over the whole Roman world, and in the + mean time there were numerous instances where conquered provinces seemed + destined to no better fate than had awaited the victims of Egyptian or + Assyrian conquest. The rapacity and cruelty of Caius Verres could hardly + have been outdone by the worst of Persian satraps; but there was a + difference. A moral sense and political sense had been awakened which + could see both the wickedness and the folly of such conduct. The voice of + a Cicero sounded with trumpet tones against the oppressor, who was brought + to trial and exiled for deeds which under the Oriental system, from the + days of Artaxerxes to those of the Grand Turk, would scarcely have called + forth a reproving word. It was by slow degrees that the Roman came to + understand the virtues of his own method, and learned to apply it + consistently until the people of all parts of the empire were, in theory + at least, equal before the law. In theory, I say, for in point of fact + there was enough of viciousness in the Roman system to prevent it from + achieving permanent success. Historians have been fond of showing how the + vitality of the whole system was impaired by wholesale slave-labour, by + the false political economy which taxes all for the benefit of a few, by + the debauching view of civil office which regards it as private perquisite + and not as public trust, and—worst of all, perhaps—by the + communistic practice of feeding an idle proletariat out of the imperial + treasury. The names of these deadly social evils are not unfamiliar to + American ears. Even of the last we have heard ominous whispers in the + shape of bills to promote mendicancy under the specious guise of fostering + education or rewarding military services. And is it not a striking + illustration of the slowness with which mankind learns the plainest + rudiments of wisdom and of justice, that only in the full light of the + nineteenth century, and at the cost of a terrible war, should the most + intelligent people on earth have got rid of a system of labour devised in + the crudest ages of antiquity and fraught with misery to the employed, + degradation to the employers, and loss to everybody? [[Sidenote: Its slow + development] + </p> + <p> + These evils, we see, in one shape or another, have existed almost + everywhere; and the vice of the Roman system did not consist in the fact + that under it they were fully developed, but in the fact that it had no + adequate means of overcoming them. Unless helped by something supplied + from outside the Roman world, civilization must have succumbed to these + evils, the progress of mankind must have been stopped. What was needed was + the introduction of a fierce spirit of personal liberty and local + self-government. The essential vice of the Roman system was that it had + been unable to avoid weakening the spirit of personal independence and + crushing out local self-government among the peoples to whom it had been + applied. It owed its wonderful success to joining Liberty with Union, but + as it went on it found itself compelled gradually to sacrifice Liberty to + Union, strengthening the hands of the central government and enlarging its + functions more and more, until by and by the political life of the several + parts had so far died away that, under the pressure of attack from + without, the Union fell to pieces and the whole political system had to be + slowly and painfully reconstructed. + </p> + <p> + Now if we ask why the Roman government found itself thus obliged to + sacrifice personal liberty and local independence to the paramount + necessity of holding the empire together, the answer will point us to the + essential and fundamental vice of the Roman method of nation-making. It + lacked the principle of representation. The old Roman world knew nothing + of representative assemblies. [[Sidenote: It knew nothing of + representation] + </p> + <p> + Its senates were assemblies of notables, constituting in the main an + aristocracy of men who had held high office; its popular assemblies were + primary assemblies,—town-meetings. There was no notion of such a + thing as political power delegated by the people to representatives who + were to wield it away from home and out of sight of their constituents. + The Roman's only notion of delegated power was that of authority delegated + by the government to its generals and prefects who discharged at a + distance its military and civil functions. When, therefore, the Roman + popular government, originally adapted to a single city, had come to + extend itself over a large part of the world, it lacked the one + institution by means of which government could be carried on over so vast + an area without degenerating into despotism. [[Sidenote: And therefore + ended in despotism] + </p> + <p> + Even could the device of representation have occurred to the mind of some + statesman trained in Roman methods, it would probably have made no + difference. Nobody would have known how to use it. You cannot invent an + institution as you would invent a plough. Such a notion as that of + representative government must needs start from small beginnings and grow + in men's minds until it should become part and parcel of their mental + habits. For the want of it the home government at Rome became more and + more unmanageable until it fell into the hands of the army, while at the + same time the administration of the empire became more and more + centralized; the people of its various provinces, even while their social + condition was in some respects improved, had less and less voice in the + management of their local affairs, and thus the spirit of personal + independence was gradually weakened. This centralization was greatly + intensified by the perpetual danger of invasion on the northern and + eastern frontiers, all the way from the Rhine to the Euphrates. Do what it + would, the government must become more and more a military despotism, must + revert toward the Oriental type. The period extending from the third + century before Christ to the third century after was a period of + extraordinary intellectual expansion and moral awakening; but when we + observe the governmental changes introduced under the emperor Diocletian + at the very end of this period, we realize how serious had been the + political retrogression, how grave the danger that the stream of human + life might come to stagnate in Europe, as it had long since stagnated in + Asia. + </p> + <p> + Two mighty agents, cooperating in their opposite ways to prevent any such + disaster, were already entering upon the scene. The first was the + colonization of the empire by Germanic tribes already far advanced beyond + savagery, already somewhat tinctured with Roman civilization, yet at the + same time endowed with an intense spirit of personal and local + independence. With this wholesome spirit they were about to refresh and + revivify the empire, but at the risk of undoing its work of political + organization and reducing it to barbarism. The second was the + establishment of the Roman church, an institution capable of holding + European society together in spite of a political disintegration that was + widespread and long-continued. While wave after wave of Germanic + colonization poured over romanized Europe, breaking down old + boundary-lines and working sudden and astonishing changes on the map, + setting up in every quarter baronies, dukedoms, and kingdoms fermenting + with vigorous political life; while for twenty generations this salutary + but wild and dangerous work was going on, there was never a moment when + the imperial sway of Rome was quite set aside and forgotten, there was + never a time when union of some sort was not maintained through the + dominion which the church had established over the European mind. When we + duly consider this great fact in its relations to what went before and + what came after, it is hard to find words fit to express the debt of + gratitude which modern civilization owes to the Roman Catholic church. + When we think of all the work, big with promise of the future, that went + on in those centuries which modern writers in their ignorance used once to + set apart and stigmatize as the "Dark Ages"; when we consider how the + seeds of what is noblest in modern life were then painfully sown upon the + soil which imperial Rome had prepared; when we think of the various work + of a Gregory, a Benedict, a Boniface, an Alfred, a Charlemagne; we feel + that there is a sense in which the most brilliant achievements of pagan + antiquity are dwarfed in comparison with these. Until quite lately, + indeed, the student of history has had his attention too narrowly confined + to the ages that have been preeminent for literature and art—the + so-called classical ages—and thus his sense of historical + perspective has been impaired. When Mr. Freeman uses Gregory of Tours as a + text-book, he shows that he realizes how an epoch may be none the less + portentous though it has not had a Tacitus to describe it, and certainly + no part of history is more full of human interest than the troubled period + in which the powerful streams of Teutonic life pouring into Roman Europe + were curbed in their destructiveness and guided to noble ends by the + Catholic church. Out of the interaction between these two mighty agents + has come the political system of the modern world. The moment when this + interaction might have seemed on the point of reaching a complete and + harmonious result was the glorious thirteenth century, the culminating + moment of the Holy Roman Empire. Then, as in the times of Caesar or + Trajan, there might have seemed to be a union among civilized men, in + which the separate life of individuals and localities was not submerged. + In that golden age alike of feudal system, of empire, and of church, there + were to be seen the greatest monarchs, in fullest sympathy with their + peoples, that Christendom has known,—an Edward I., a St. Louis, a + Frederick II. Then when in the pontificates of Innocent III. and his + successors the Roman church reached its apogee, the religious yearnings of + men sought expression in the sublimest architecture the world has seen. + Then Aquinas summed up in his profound speculations the substance of + Catholic theology, and while the morning twilight of modern science might + be discerned in the treatises of Roger Bacon, while wandering minstrelsy + revealed the treasures of modern speech, soon to be wrought under the + hands of Dante and Chaucer into forms of exquisite beauty, the sacred + fervour of the apostolic ages found itself renewed in the tender and + mystic piety of St. Francis of Assisi. It was a wonderful time, but after + all less memorable as the culmination of mediaeval empire and mediaeval + church than as the dawning of the new era in which we live to-day, and in + which the development of human society proceeds in accordance with more + potent methods than those devised by the genius of pagan or Christian + Rome. [[Sidenote: The German invaders and the Roman church] [[Sidenote: + The wonderful thirteenth century] + </p> + <p> + For the origin of these more potent methods we must look back to the early + ages of the Teutonic people; for their development and application on a + grand scale we must look chiefly to the history of that most Teutonic of + peoples in its institutions, though perhaps not more than half-Teutonic in + blood, the English, with their descendants in the New World. The third + method of nation-making may be called the Teutonic or preeminently the + English method. It differs from the Oriental and Roman methods which we + have been considering in a feature of most profound significance; it + contains the principle of representation. For this reason, though like all + nation-making it was in its early stages attended with war and conquest, + it nevertheless does not necessarily require war and conquest in order to + be put into operation. Of the other two methods war was an essential part. + In the typical Oriental nation, such as Assyria or Persia, we see a + conquering tribe holding down a number of vanquished peoples, and treating + them like slaves: here the nation is very imperfectly made, and its + government is subject to sudden and violent changes. In the Roman empire + we see a conquering people hold sway over a number of vanquished peoples, + but instead of treating them like slaves, it gradually makes them its + equals before the law; here the resulting political body is much more + nearly a nation, and its government is much more stable. A Lydian of the + fifth century before Christ felt no sense of allegiance to the Persian + master who simply robbed and abused him; but the Gaul of the fifth century + after Christ was proud of the name of Roman and ready to fight for the + empire of which he was a citizen. We have seen, nevertheless, that for + want of representation the Roman method failed when applied to an immense + territory, and the government tended to become more and more despotic, to + revert toward the Oriental type. Now of the English or Teutonic method, I + say, war is not an essential part; for where representative government is + once established, it is possible for a great nation to be formed by the + peaceful coalescence of neighbouring states, or by their union into a + federal body. An instance of the former was the coalescence of England and + Scotland effected early in the eighteenth century after ages of mutual + hostility; for instances of the latter we have Switzerland and the United + States. Now federalism, though its rise and establishment may be + incidentally accompanied by warfare, is nevertheless in spirit pacific. + Conquest in the Oriental sense is quite incompatible with it; conquest in + the Roman sense is hardly less so. At the close of our Civil War there + were now and then zealous people to be found who thought that the southern + states ought to be treated as conquered territory, governed by prefects + sent from Washington, and held down by military force for a generation or + so. Let us hope that there are few to-day who can fail to see that such a + course would have been fraught with almost as much danger as the secession + movement itself. At least it would have been a hasty confession, quite + uncalled for and quite untrue, that American federalism had thus far + proved itself incompetent,—that we had indeed preserved our national + unity, but only at the frightful cost of sinking to a lower plane of + national life. [[Sidenote: The English method of nation-making] + [[Sidenote: Pacific tendencies of federalism] + </p> + <p> + But federalism, with its pacific implications, was not an invention of the + Teutonic mind. The idea was familiar to the city communities of ancient + Greece, which, along with their intense love of self-government, felt the + need of combined action for warding off external attack. In their Achaian + and Aitolian leagues the Greeks made brilliant attempts toward founding a + nation upon some higher principle than that of mere conquest, and the + history of these attempts is exceedingly interesting and instructive. They + failed for lack of the principle of representation, which was practically + unknown to the world until introduced by the Teutonic colonizers of the + Roman empire. Until the idea of power delegated by the people had become + familiar to men's minds in its practical bearings, it was impossible to + create a great nation without crushing out the political life in some of + its parts. Some centre of power was sure to absorb all the political life, + and grow at the expense of the outlying parts, until the result was a + centralized despotism. Hence it came to be one of the commonplace + assumptions of political writers that republics must be small, that free + government is practicable only in a confined area, and that the only + strong and durable government, capable of maintaining order throughout a + vast territory, is some form of absolute monarchy. [[Sidenote: Fallacy of + the notion that republics must be small] + </p> + <p> + It was quite natural that people should formerly have held this opinion, + and it is indeed not yet quite obsolete, but its fallaciousness will + become more and more apparent as American history is better understood. + Our experience has now so far widened that we can see that despotism is + not the strongest but wellnigh the weakest form of government; that + centralized administrations, like that of the Roman empire, have fallen to + pieces, not because of too much but because of too little freedom; and + that the only perdurable government must be that which succeeds in + achieving national unity on a grand scale, without weakening the sense of + personal and local independence. For in the body politic this spirit of + freedom is as the red corpuscles in the blood; it carries the life with + it. It makes the difference between a society of self-respecting men and + women and a society of puppets. + </p> + <p> + Your nation may have art, poetry, and science, all the refinements of + civilized life, all the comforts and safeguards that human ingenuity can + devise; but if it lose this spirit of personal and local independence, it + is doomed and deserves its doom. As President Cleveland has well said, it + is not the business of a government to support its people, but of the + people to support their government; and once to lose sight of this vital + truth is as dangerous as to trifle with some stealthy narcotic poison. Of + the two opposite perils which have perpetually threatened the welfare of + political society—anarchy on the one hand, loss of self-government + on the other—Jefferson was right in maintaining that the latter is + really the more to be dreaded because its beginnings are so terribly + insidious. Many will understand what is meant by a threat of secession, + where few take heed of the baneful principle involved in a Texas + Seed-bill. + </p> + <p> + That the American people are still fairly alive to the importance of these + considerations, is due to the weary ages of struggle in which our + forefathers have manfully contended for the right of self-government. From + the days of Arminius and Civilis in the wilds of lower Germany to the days + of Franklin and Jefferson in Independence Hall, we have been engaged in + this struggle, not without some toughening of our political fibre, not + without some refining of our moral sense. Not among our English + forefathers only, but among all the peoples of mediaeval and modern Europe + has the struggle gone on, with various and instructive results. In all + parts of romanized Europe invaded and colonized by Teutonic tribes, + self-government attempted to spring up. What may have been the origin of + the idea of representation we do not know; like most origins, it seems + lost in the prehistoric darkness. Wherever we find Teutonic tribes + settling down over a wide area, we find them holding their primary + assemblies, usually their annual March-meetings, like those in which Mr. + Hosea Biglow and others like him have figured. Everywhere, too, we find + some attempt at representative assemblies, based on the principle of the + three estates, clergy, nobles, and commons. But nowhere save in England + does the representative principle become firmly established, at first in + county-meetings, afterward in a national parliament limiting the powers of + the national monarch as the primary tribal assembly had limited the powers + of the tribal chief. It is for this reason that we must call the method of + nation-making by means of a representative assembly the English method. + While the idea of representation was perhaps the common property of the + Teutonic tribes, it was only in England that it was successfully put into + practice and became the dominant political idea. We may therefore agree + with Dr. Stubbs that in its political development England is the most + Teutonic of all European countries,—the country which in becoming a + great nation has most fully preserved the local independence so + characteristic of the ancient Germans. The reasons for this are + complicated, and to try to assign them all would needlessly encumber our + exposition. But there is one that is apparent and extremely instructive. + There is sometimes a great advantage in being able to plant political + institutions in a virgin soil, where they run no risk of being modified or + perhaps metamorphosed through contact with rival institutions. In America + the Teutonic idea has been worked out even more completely than in + Britain; and so far as institutions are concerned, our English forefathers + settled here as in an empty country. They were not obliged to modify their + political ideas so as to bring them into harmony with those of the + Indians; the disparity in civilization was so great that the Indians were + simply thrust aside, along with the wolves and buffaloes. [[Sidenote: + Teutonic March-meetings and representative assemblies] + </p> + <p> + This illustration will help us to understand the peculiar features of the + Teutonic settlement of Britain. Whether the English invaders really slew + all the romanized Kelts who dwelt in the island, except those who found + refuge in the mountains of Cumberland, Wales, and Cornwall, or fled across + the channel to Brittany, we need not seek to decide. It is enough to point + out one respect in which the Teutonic conquest was immeasurably more + complete in Britain than in any other part of the empire. Everywhere else + the tribes who settled upon Roman soil—the Goths, Vandals, Suevi, + and Burgundians—were christianized, and so to some extent romanized, + before they came to take possession. Even the more distant Franks had been + converted to Christianity before they had completed their conquest of + Gaul. Everywhere except in Britain, therefore, the conquerors had already + imbibed Roman ideas, and the authority of Rome was in a certain sense + acknowledged. There was no break in the continuity of political events. In + Britain, on the other hand, there was a complete break, so that while on + the continent the fifth and sixth centuries are seen in the full midday + light of history, in Britain they have lapsed into the twilight of + half-legendary tradition. The Saxon and English tribes, coming from the + remote wilds of northern Germany, whither Roman missionaries had not yet + penetrated, still worshipped Thor and Wodan; and their conquest of Britain + was effected with such deadly thoroughness that Christianity was destroyed + there, or lingered only in sequestered nooks. A land once christianized + thus actually fell back into paganism, so that the work of converting it + to Christianity had to be done over again. From the landing of heathen + Hengest on the isle of Thanet to the landing of Augustine and his monks on + the same spot, one hundred and forty-eight years elapsed, during which + English institutions found time to take deep root in British soil with + scarcely more interference, as to essential points, than in American soil + twelve centuries afterward. [[Sidenote: Peculiarity of the Teutonic + conquest of Britain] + </p> + <p> + The century and a half between 449 and 597 is therefore one of the most + important epochs in the history of the people that speak the English + language. Before settling in Britain our forefathers had been tribes in + the upper stages of barbarism; now they began the process of coalescence + into a nation in which the principle of self-government should be retained + and developed. The township and its town-meeting we find there, as later + in New England. The county-meeting we also find, while the county is a + little state in itself and not a mere administrative district. And in this + county-meeting we may observe a singular feature, something never seen + before in the world, something destined to work out vaster political + results than Caesar ever dreamed of. This county-meeting is not a primary + assembly; all the freemen from all the townships cannot leave their homes + and their daily business to attend it. Nor is it merely an assembly of + notables, attended by the most important men of the neighbourhood. It is a + representative assembly, attended by select men from each township. We may + see in it the germ of the British parliament and of the American congress, + as indeed of all modern legislative bodies, for it is a most suggestive + commentary upon what we are saying that in all other countries which have + legislatures, they have been copied, within quite recent times, from + English or American models. We can seldom if ever fix a date for the + beginning of anything, and we can by no means fix a date for the beginning + of representative assemblies in England. We can only say that where we + first find traces of county organization, we find traces of + representation. Clearly, if the English conquerors of Britain had left the + framework of Roman institutions standing there, as it remained standing in + Gaul, there would have been great danger of this principle of + representation not surviving. It would most likely have been crushed in + its callow infancy. The conquerors would insensibly have fallen into the + Roman way of doing things, as they did in Gaul. [[Sidenote: Survival and + development of Teutonic representative assembly in England] + </p> + <p> + From the start, then, we find the English nationality growing up under + very different conditions from those which obtained in other parts of + Europe. So far as institutions are concerned, Teutonism was less modified + in England than in the German fatherland itself, For the gradual conquest + and Christianization of Germany which began with Charles the Great, and + went on until in the thirteenth century the frontier had advanced eastward + to the Vistula, entailed to a certain extent the romanization of Germany. + For a thousand years after Charles the Great, the political head of + Germany was also the political head of the Holy Roman Empire, and the + civil and criminal code by which the daily life of the modern German + citizen is regulated is based upon the jurisprudence of Rome. Nothing, + perhaps, could illustrate more forcibly than this sheer contrast the + peculiarly Teutonic character of English civilization. Between the eighth + and the eleventh centuries, when the formation of English nationality was + approaching completion, it received a fresh and powerful infusion of + Teutonism in the swarms of heathen Northmen or Danes who occupied the + eastern coasts, struggled long for the supremacy, and gradually becoming + christianized, for a moment succeeded in seizing the crown. Of the + invasion of partially romanized Northmen from Normandy which followed soon + after, and which has so profoundly affected English society and English + speech, we need notice here but two conspicuous features. First, it + increased the power of the crown and the clergy, brought all England more + than ever under one law, and strengthened the feeling of nationality. It + thus made England a formidable military power, while at the same time it + brought her into closer relations with continental Europe than she had + held since the fourth century. Secondly, by superposing a new feudal + nobility as the upper stratum of society, it transformed the Old-English + thanehood into the finest middle-class of rural gentry and yeomanry that + has ever existed in any country; a point of especial interest to + Americans, since it was in this stratum of society that the two most + powerful streams of English migration to America—the Virginia stream + and the New England stream—alike had their source. [[Sidenote: + Primitive Teutonic institutions less modified in England than in Germany] + </p> + <p> + By the thirteenth century the increasing power and pretensions of the + crown, as the unification of English nationality went on, brought about a + result unlike anything known on the continent of Europe; it brought about + a resistless coalition between the great nobles, the rural gentry and + yeomanry, and the burghers of the towns, for the purpose of curbing + royalty, arresting the progress of centralization, and setting up + representative government on a truly national scale. This grand result was + partly due to peculiar circumstances which had their origin in the Norman + conquest; but it was largely due to the political habits generated by long + experience of local representative assemblies,—habits which made it + comparatively easy for different classes of society to find their voice + and use it for the attainment of ends in common. On the continent of + Europe the encroaching sovereign had to contend with here and there an + arrogant vassal, here and there a high-spirited and rebellious town; in + England, in this first great crisis of popular government, he found + himself confronted by a united people. The fruits of the grand combination + were <i>first</i>, the wresting of Magna Charta from King John in 1215, + and <i>secondly</i>, the meeting of the first House of Commons in 1265. + Four years of civil war were required to secure these noble results. The + Barons' War, of the years 1263 to 1267, was an event of the same order of + importance as the Great Rebellion of the seventeenth century and the + American Revolution; and among the founders of that political freedom + which is enjoyed to-day by all English-speaking people, the name of Simon + de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, deserves a place in our grateful + remembrance beside the names of Cromwell and Washington. Simon's great + victory at Lewes in 1264 must rank with Naseby and Yorktown. The work + begun by his House of Commons was the same work that has continued to go + on without essential interruption down to the days of Cleveland and + Gladstone. The fundamental principle of political freedom is "no taxation + without representation"; you must not take a farthing of my money without + consulting my wishes as to the use that shall be made of it. Only when + this principle of justice was first practically recognized, did government + begin to divorce itself from the primitive bestial barbaric system of + tyranny and plunder, and to ally itself with the forces that in the + fulness of time are to bring peace on earth and good will to men. Of all + dates in history, therefore, there is none more fit to be commemorated + than 1265; for in that year there was first asserted and applied at + Westminster, on a national scale, that fundamental principle of "no + taxation without representation," that innermost kernel of the English + Idea, which the Stamp Act Congress defended at New York exactly five + hundred years afterward. When we think of these dates, by the way, we + realize the import of the saying that in the sight of the Lord a thousand + years are but as a day, and we feel that the work of the Lord cannot be + done by the listless or the slothful. So much time and so much strife by + sea and land has it taken to secure beyond peradventure the boon to + mankind for which Earl Simon gave up his noble life on the field of + Evesham! Nor without unremitting watchfulness can we be sure that the day + of peril is yet past. From kings, indeed, we have no more to fear; they + have come to be as spooks and bogies of the nursery. But the gravest + dangers are those which present themselves in new forms, against which + people's minds have not yet been fortified with traditional sentiments and + phrases. The inherited predatory tendency of men to seize upon the fruits + of other people's labour is still very strong, and while we have nothing + more to fear from kings, we may yet have trouble enough from commercial + monopolies and favoured industries, marching to the polls their hordes of + bribed retainers. Well indeed has it been said that eternal vigilance is + the price of liberty. God never meant that in this fair but treacherous + world in which He has placed us we should earn our salvation without + steadfast labour. [Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty] + </p> + <p> + To return to Earl Simon, we see that it was just in that wonderful + thirteenth century, when the Roman idea of government might seem to have + been attaining its richest and most fruitful development, that the richer + and more fruitful English idea first became incarnate in the political + constitution of a great and rapidly growing nation. It was not long before + the struggle between the Roman Idea and the English Idea, clothed in + various forms, became the dominating issue in European history. We have + now to observe the rise of modern nationalities, as new centres of + political life, out of the various provinces of the Roman world. In the + course of this development the Teutonic representative assembly is at + first everywhere discernible, in some form or other, as in the Spanish + Cortes or the States-General of France, but on the continent it generally + dies out. Only in such nooks as Switzerland and the Netherlands does it + survive. In the great nations it succumbs before the encroachments of the + crown. The comparatively novel Teutonic idea of power delegated by the + people to their representatives had not become deeply enough rooted in the + political soil of the continent; and accordingly we find it more and more + disused and at length almost forgotten, while the old and deeply rooted + Roman idea of power delegated by the governing body to its lieutenants and + prefects usurps its place. Let us observe some of the most striking + features of this growth of modern nationalities. [[Sidenote: Conflict + between Roman Idea and English Idea begins to become clearly visible in + the thirteenth century] + </p> + <p> + The reader of medieval history cannot fail to be impressed with the + suddenness with which the culmination of the Holy Roman Empire, in the + thirteenth century, was followed by a swift decline. The imperial position + of the Hapsburgs was far less splendid than that of the Hohenstauffen; it + rapidly became more German and less European, until by and by people began + to forget what the empire originally meant. The change which came over the + papacy was even more remarkable. The grandchildren of the men who had + witnessed the spectacle of a king of France and a king of England humbled + at the feet of Innocent III., the children of the men who had found the + gigantic powers of a Frederick II. unequal to the task of curbing the + papacy, now beheld the successors of St. Peter carried away to Avignon, + there to be kept for seventy years under the supervision of the kings of + France. Henceforth the glory of the papacy in its political aspect was to + be but the faint shadow of that with which it had shone before. This + sudden change in its position showed that the medieval dream of a + world-empire was passing away, and that new powers were coming uppermost + in the shape of modern nationalities with their national sovereigns. So + long as these nationalities were in the weakness of their early formation, + it was possible for pope and emperor to assert, and sometimes to come near + maintaining, universal supremacy. But the time was now at hand when kings + could assert their independence of the pope, while the emperor was fast + sinking to be merely one among kings. + </p> + <p> + As modern kingdoms thus grew at the expense of empire and papacy above, so + they also grew at the expense of feudal dukedoms, earldoms, and baronies + below. The fourteenth and fifteenth centuries were as fatal to feudalism + as to world-empire and world-church. A series of wars occurring at this + time were especially remarkable for the wholesale slaughter of the feudal + nobility, whether on the field or under the headsman's axe. This was a + conspicuous feature of the feuds of the Trastamare in Spain, of the + English invasions of France, followed by the quarrel between Burgundians + and Armagnacs, and of the great war of the Roses in England. So + thorough-going was the butchery in England, for example, that only + twenty-nine lay peers could be found to sit in the first parliament of + Henry VII in 1485. The old nobility was almost annihilated, both in person + and in property; for along with the slaughter there went wholesale + confiscation, and this added greatly to the disposable wealth of the + crown. The case was essentially similar in France and Spain. In all three + countries the beginning of the sixteenth century saw the power of the + crown increased and increasing. Its vast accessions of wealth made it more + independent of legislative assemblies, and at the same time enabled it to + make the baronage more subservient in character by filling up the vacant + places with new creations of its own. Through the turbulent history of the + next two centuries, we see the royal power aiming at unchecked supremacy + and in the principal instances attaining it except in England. Absolute + despotism was reached first in Spain, under Philip II.; in France it was + reached a century later, under Louis XIV.; and at about the same time in + the hereditary estates of Austria; while over all the Italian and German + soil of the disorganized empire, except among the glaciers of Switzerland + and the dykes of the Netherlands, the play of political forces had set up + a host of petty tyrannies which aped the morals and manners of the great + autocrats at Paris and Madrid and Vienna. [[Sidenote: Increasing power of + the crown] + </p> + <p> + As we look back over this growth of modern monarchy, we cannot but be + struck with the immense practical difficulty of creating a strong + nationality without sacrificing self-government. Powerful, indeed, is the + tendency toward over-centralization, toward stagnation, toward political + death. Powerful is the tendency to revert to the Roman, if not to the + Oriental method. As often as we reflect upon the general state of things + at the end of the seventeenth century—the dreadful ignorance and + misery which prevailed among most of the people of continental Europe, and + apparently without hope of remedy—so often must we be impressed anew + with the stupendous significance of the part played by self-governing + England in overcoming dangers which have threatened the very existence of + modern civilization. It is not too much to say that in the seventeenth + century the entire political future of mankind was staked upon the + questions that were at issue in England. To keep the sacred flame of + liberty alive required such a rare and wonderful concurrence of conditions + that, had our forefathers then succumbed in the strife, it is hard to + imagine how or where the failure could have been repaired. Some of these + conditions we have already considered; let us now observe one of the most + important of all. Let us note the part played by that most tremendous of + social forces, religious sentiment, in its relation to the political + circumstances which we have passed in review. If we ask why it was that + among modern nations absolute despotism was soonest and most completely + established in Spain, we find it instructive to observe that the + circumstances under which the Spanish monarchy grew up, during centuries + of deadly struggle with the Mussulman, were such as to enlist the + religious sentiment on the side of despotic methods in church and state. + It becomes interesting, then, to observe by contrast how it was that in + England the dominant religious sentiment came to be enlisted on the side + of political freedom. + </p> + <p> + In such an inquiry we have nothing to do with the truth or falsity of any + system of doctrines, whether Catholic or Protestant. The legitimate + purposes of the historian do not require him to intrude upon the province + of the theologian. Our business is to trace the sequence of political + cause and effect. Nor shall we get much help from crude sweeping + statements which set forth Catholicism as invariably the enemy and + Protestantism as invariably the ally of human liberty. The Catholic has a + right to be offended at statements which would involve a Hildebrand or a + St. Francis in the same historical judgment with a Sigismund or a + Torquemada. The character of ecclesiastical as of all other institutions + has varied with the character of the men who have worked them and the + varying needs of the times and places in which they have been worked; and + our intense feeling of the gratitude we owe to English Puritanism need in + nowise diminish the enthusiasm with which we praise the glorious work of + the mediaeval church. It is the duty of the historian to learn how to + limit and qualify his words of blame or approval; for so curiously is + human nature compounded of strength and weakness that the best of human + institutions are likely to be infected with some germs of vice or folly. + [[Sidenote: Beginnings of Protestantism in the thirteenth century] + </p> + <p> + Of no human institution is this more true than of the great medieval + church of Gregory and Innocent when viewed in the light of its claims to + unlimited temporal and spiritual sovereignty. In striking down the + headship of the emperors, it would have reduced Europe to a sort of + Oriental caliphate, had it not been checked by the rising spirit of + nationality already referred to. But there was another and even mightier + agency coming in to curb its undue pretensions to absolute sovereignty. + That same thirteenth century which witnessed the culmination of its power + witnessed also the first bold and determined manifestation of the + Protestant temper of revolt against spiritual despotism. It was long + before this that the earliest Protestant heresy had percolated into + Europe, having its source, like so many other heresies, in that eastern + world where the stimulating thought of the Greeks busied itself with the + ancient theologies of Asia. From Armenia in the eighth century came the + Manichaean sect of Paulicians into Thrace, and for twenty generations + played a considerable part in the history of the Eastern Empire. In the + Bulgarian tongue they were known as Bogomilians, or men constant in + prayer. In Greek they were called Cathari, or "Puritans." They accepted + the New Testament, but set little store by the Old; they laughed at + transubstantiation, denied any mystical efficiency to baptism, frowned + upon image-worship as no better than idolatry, despised the intercession + of saints, and condemned the worship of the Virgin Mary. As for the symbol + of the cross, they scornfully asked, "If any man slew the son of a king + with a bit of wood, how could this piece of wood be dear to the king?" + Their ecclesiastical government was in the main presbyterian, and in + politics they showed a decided leaning toward democracy. They wore long + faces, looked askance at frivolous amusements, and were terribly in + earnest. Of the more obscure pages of mediaeval history, none are fuller + of interest than those in which we decipher the westward progress of these + sturdy heretics through the Balkan peninsula into Italy, and thence into + southern France, where toward the end of the twelfth century we find their + ideas coming to full blossom in the great Albigensian heresy. It was no + light affair to assault the church in the days of Innocent III. The + terrible crusade against the Albigenses, beginning in 1207, was the joint + work of the most powerful of popes and one of the most powerful of French + kings. On the part of Innocent it was the stamping out of a revolt that + threatened the very existence of the Catholic hierarchy; on the part of + Philip Augustus it was the suppression of those too independent vassals + the Counts of Toulouse, and the decisive subjection of the southern + provinces to the government at Paris. Nowhere in European history do we + read a more frightful story than that which tells of the blazing fires + which consumed thousand after thousand of the most intelligent and thrifty + people in France. It was now that the Holy Inquisition came into + existence, and after forty years of slaughter these Albigensian Cathari or + Puritans seemed exterminated. The practice of burning heretics, first + enacted by statute in Aragon in 1197, was adopted in most parts of Europe + during the thirteenth century, but in England not until the beginning of + the fifteenth. The Inquisition was never established in England. Edward + II. attempted to introduce it in 1311 for the purpose of suppressing the + Templars, but his utter failure showed that the instinct of + self-government was too strong in the English people to tolerate the + entrusting of so much power over men's lives to agents of the papacy. + Mediaeval England was ignorant and bigoted enough, but under a + representative government which so strongly permeated society, it was + impossible to set the machinery of repression to work with such deadly + thoroughness as it worked under the guidance of Roman methods. When we + read the history of persecution in England, the story in itself is + dreadful enough; but when we compare it with the horrors enacted in other + countries, we arrive at some startling results. During the two centuries + of English persecution, from Henry IV. to James I., some 400 persons were + burned at the stake, and three-fourths of these cases occurred in 1555-57, + the last three years of Mary Tudor. Now in a single province of Spain, in + the single year 1482, about 2000 persons were burned. The lowest estimates + of the number slain for heresy in the Netherlands in the course of the + sixteenth century place it at 75,000. Very likely such figures are in many + cases grossly exaggerated. But after making due allowance for this, the + contrast is sufficiently impressive. In England the persecution of + heretics was feeble and spasmodic, and only at one moment rose to anything + like the appalling vigour which ordinarily characterized it in countries + where the Inquisition was firmly established. Now among the victims of + religious persecution must necessarily be found an unusual proportion of + men and women more independent than the average in their thinking, and + more bold than the average in uttering their thoughts. The Inquisition was + a diabolical winnowing machine for removing from society the most flexible + minds and the stoutest hearts; and among every people in which it was + established for a length of time it wrought serious damage to the national + character. It ruined the fair promise of Spain, and inflicted incalculable + detriment upon the fortunes of France. No nation could afford to deprive + itself of such a valuable element in its political life as was furnished + in the thirteenth century by the intelligent and sturdy Cathari of + southern Gaul. [[Sidenote: The Cathari, or Puritans of the Eastern Empire] + [[Sidenote: The Albigenses] [[Sidenote: Effects of persecution; its + feebleness in England] + </p> + <p> + The spirit of revolt against the hierarchy, though broken and repressed + thus terribly by the measures of Innocent III., continued to live on + obscurely in sequestered spots, in the mountains of Savoy, and Bosnia, and + Bohemia, ready on occasion to spring into fresh and vigorous life. In the + following century Protestant ideas were rapidly germinating in England, + alike in baron's castle, in yeoman's farmstead, in citizen's shop, in the + cloistered walks of the monastery. Henry Knighton, writing in the time of + Richard II., declares, with the exaggeration of impatience, that every + second man you met was a Lollard, or "babbler," for such was the nickname + given to these free-thinkers, of whom the most eminent was John Wyclif, + professor at Oxford, and rector of Lutterworth, greatest scholar of the + age. [[Sidenote: Wyclif and the Lollards] + </p> + <p> + The career of this man is a striking commentary upon the difference + between England and continental Europe in the Middle Ages. Wyclif denied + transubstantiation, disapproved of auricular confession, opposed the + payment of Peter's pence, taught that kings should not be subject to + prelates, translated the Bible into English and circulated it among the + people, and even denounced the reigning pope as Antichrist; yet he was not + put to death, because there was as yet no act of parliament for the + burning of heretics, and in England things must be done according to the + laws which the people had made. <a href="#linknote-1" name="linknoteref-1" + id="linknoteref-1"><small>1</small></a> Pope Gregory XI. issued five bulls + against him, addressed to the king, the archbishop of Canterbury, and the + university of Oxford; but their dictatorial tone offended the national + feeling, and no heed was paid to them. Seventeen years after Wyclif's + death, the statute for burning heretics was passed, and the persecution of + Lollards began. It was feeble and ineffectual, however. Lollardism was + never trampled out in England as Catharism was trampled out in France. + Tracts of Wyclif and passages from his translation of the Bible were + copied by hand and secretly passed about to be read on Sundays in the + manor-house, or by the cottage fireside after the day's toil was over. The + work went on quietly, but not the less effectively, until when the papal + authority was defied by Henry VIII., it soon became apparent that England + was half-Protestant already. It then appeared also that in this + Reformation there were two forces cooperating,—the sentiment of + national independence which would not brook dictation from Rome, and the + Puritan sentiment of revolt against the hierarchy in general. The first + sentiment had found expression again and again in refusals to pay tribute + to Rome, in defiance of papal bulls, and in the famous statutes of <i>praemunire</i>, + which made it a criminal offence to acknowledge any authority in England + higher than the crown. The revolt of Henry VIII. was simply the carrying + out of these acts of Edward I. and Edward III. to their logical + conclusion. It completed the detachment of England from the Holy Roman + Empire, and made her free of all the world. Its intent was political + rather than religious. Henry, who wrote against Martin Luther, was far + from wishing to make England a Protestant country. Elizabeth, who differed + from her father in not caring a straw for theology, was by temperament and + policy conservative. Yet England could not cease to be Papist without + ceasing in some measure to be Catholic; nor could she in that day carry on + war against Spain without becoming a leading champion of Protestantism. + The changes in creed and ritual wrought by the government during this + period were cautious and skilful; and the resulting church of England, + with its long line of learned and liberal divines, has played a noble part + in history. [[Sidenote: Political character of Henry VIII's revolt against + Rome] + </p> + <p> + But along with this moderate Protestantism espoused by the English + government, as consequent upon the assertion of English national + independence, there grew up the fierce uncompromising democratic + Protestantism of which the persecuted Lollards had sown the seeds. This + was not the work of government. [[Sidenote: The yeoman, Hugh Latimer] + </p> + <p> + By the side of Henry VIII. stands the sublime figure of Hugh Latimer, most + dauntless of preachers, the one man before whose stern rebuke the + headstrong and masterful Tudor monarch quailed. It was Latimer that + renewed the work of Wyclif. and in his life as well as in his martyrdom,—to + use his own words of good cheer uttered while the fagots were kindling + around him,—lighted "such a candle in England as by God's grace + shall never be put out." This indomitable man belonged to that + middle-class of self-governing, self-respecting yeomanry that has been the + glory of free England and free America. He was one of the sturdy race that + overthrew French chivalry at Crecy and twice drove the soldiery of a + tyrant down the slope of Bunker Hill. In boyhood he worked on his father's + farm and helped his mother to milk the thirty kine; he practised archery + on the village green, studied in the village school, went to Cambridge, + and became the foremost preacher of Christendom. Now the most thorough and + radical work of the English Reformation was done by this class of men of + which Latimer was the type. It was work that was national in its scope, + arousing to fervent heat the strong religious and moral sentiment of the + people, and hence it soon quite outran the cautious and conservative + policy of the government, and tended to introduce changes extremely + distasteful to those who wished to keep England as nearly Catholic as was + consistent with independence of the pope. Hence before the end of + Elizabeth's reign, we find the crown set almost as strongly against + Puritanism as against Romanism. Hence, too, when under Elizabeth's + successors the great decisive struggle between despotism and liberty was + inaugurated, we find all the tremendous force of this newly awakened + religious enthusiasm cooperating with the English love of self-government + and carrying it under Cromwell to victory. From this fortunate alliance of + religious and political forces has come all the noble and fruitful work of + the last two centuries in which men of English speech have been labouring + for the political regeneration of mankind. But for this alliance of + forces, it is quite possible that the fateful seventeenth century might + have seen despotism triumphant in England as on the continent of Europe, + and the progress of civilization indefinitely arrested. [[Sidenote: The + moment of Cromwell's triumph was the most critical moment in history] + </p> + <p> + In illustration of this possibility, observe what happened in France at + the very time when the victorious English tendencies were shaping + themselves in the reign of Elizabeth. In France there was a strong + Protestant movement, but it had no such independent middle-class to + support it as that which existed in England; nor had it been able to + profit by such indispensable preliminary work as that which Wyclif had + done; the horrible slaughter of the Albigenses had deprived France of the + very people who might have played a part in some way analogous to that of + the Lollards. Consequently the Protestant movement in France failed to + become a national movement. Against the wretched Henry III who would have + temporized with it, and the gallant Henry IV who honestly espoused it, the + oppressed peasantry and townsmen made common cause by enlisting under the + banner of the ultra-Catholic Guises. The mass of the people saw nothing in + Protestantism but an idea favoured by the aristocracy and which they could + not comprehend. Hence the great king who would have been glad to make + France a Protestant country could only obtain his crown by renouncing his + religion, while seeking to protect it by his memorable Edict of Nantes. + But what a generous despot could grant, a bigoted despot might revoke; and + before another century had elapsed, the good work done by Henry IV. was + undone by Louis XIV., the Edict of Nantes was set aside, the process of + casting out the most valuable political element in the community was + carried to completion, and seven percent of the population of France was + driven away and added to the Protestant populations of northern Germany + and England and America. The gain to these countries and the damage to + France was far greater than the mere figures would imply; for in + determining the character of a community a hundred selected men and women + are more potent than a thousand men and women taken at random. Thus while + the Reformation in France reinforced to some extent the noble army of + freemen, its triumphs were not to be the triumphs of Frenchmen, but of the + race which has known how to enlist under its banner the forces that fight + for free thought, free speech, and self-government, and all that these + phrases imply. [[Sidenote: Contrast with France; fate of the Huguenots] + </p> + <p> + In view of these facts we may see how tremendous was the question at stake + with the Puritans of the seventeenth century. Everywhere else the Roman + idea seemed to have conquered or to be conquering, while they seemed to be + left as the forlorn hope of the human race. But from the very day when + Oliver Cromwell reached forth his mighty arm to stop the persecutions in + Savoy, the victorious English idea began to change the face of things. The + next century saw William Pitt allied with Frederick of Prussia to save the + work of the Reformation in central Europe and set in motion the train of + events that were at last to make the people of the Teutonic fatherland a + nation. At that same moment the keenest minds in France were awaking to + the fact that in their immediate neighbourhood, separated from them only + by a few miles of salt water, was a country where people were equal in the + eye of the law. It was the ideas of Locke and Milton, of Vane and Sidney, + that, when transplanted into French soil, produced that violent but + salutary Revolution which has given fresh life to the European world. And + contemporaneously with all this, the American nation came upon the scene, + equipped as no other nation had ever been, for the task of combining + sovereignty with liberty, indestructible union of the whole with + indestructible life in the parts. The English idea has thus come to be + more than national, it has become imperial. It has come to rule, and it + has come to stay. [[Sidenote: Victory of the English Idea] + </p> + <p> + We are now in a position to answer the question when the Roman Empire came + to an end, in so far as it can be answered at all. It did not come to its + end at the hands of an Odovakar in the year 476, or of a Mahomet II in + 1453, or of a Napoleon in 1806. It has been coming to its end as the Roman + idea of nation-making has been at length decisively overcome by the + English idea. For such a fact it is impossible to assign a date, because + it is not an event but a stage in the endless procession of events. But we + can point to landmarks on the way. Of movements significant and prophetic + there have been many. The whole course of the Protestant reformation, from + the thirteenth century to the nineteenth, is coincident with the transfer + of the world's political centre of gravity from the Tiber and the Rhine to + the Thames and the Mississippi. The whole career of the men who speak + English has within this period been the most potent agency in this + transfer. In these gigantic processes of evolution we cannot mark + beginnings or endings by years, hardly even by centuries. But among the + significant events which prophesied the final triumph of the English over + the Roman idea, perhaps the most significant—the one which marks + most incisively the dawning of a new era—was the migration of + English Puritans across the Atlantic Ocean, to repeat in a new environment + and on a far grander scale the work which their forefathers had wrought in + Britain. The voyage of the Mayflower was not in itself the greatest event + in this migration; but it serves to mark the era, and it is only when we + study it in the mood awakened by the general considerations here set forth + that we can properly estimate the historic importance of the great Puritan + Exodus. [[Sidenote: Significance of the Puritan Exodus] + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0002" id="link2HCH0002"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER II. — THE PURITAN EXODUS. + </h2> + <p> + In the preceding chapter I endeavoured to set forth and illustrate some of + the chief causes which have shifted the world's political centre of + gravity from the Mediterranean and the Rhine to the Atlantic and the + Mississippi; from the men who spoke Latin to the men who speak English. In + the course of the exposition we began to catch glimpses of the wonderful + significance of the fact that—among the people who had first + suggested the true solution of the difficult problem of making a powerful + nation without sacrificing local self-government—when the supreme + day of trial came, the dominant religious sentiment was arrayed on the + side of political freedom and against political despotism. If we consider + merely the territorial area which it covered, or the numbers of men slain + in its battles, the war of the English parliament against Charles I. seems + a trivial affair when contrasted with the gigantic but comparatively + insignificant work of barbarians like Jinghis or Tamerlane. But if we + consider the moral and political issues involved, and the influence of the + struggle upon the future welfare of mankind, we soon come to see that + there never was a conflict of more world-wide importance than that from + which Oliver Cromwell came out victorious. It shattered the monarchical + power in England at a time when monarchical power was bearing down all + opposition in the other great countries of Europe. It decided that + government by the people and for the people should not then perish from + the earth. It placed free England in a position of such moral advantage + that within another century the English Idea of political life was able to + react most powerfully upon continental Europe. It was the study of English + institutions by such men as Montesquieu and Turgot, Voltaire and Rousseau, + that gave shape and direction to the French Revolution. That violent but + wholesome clearing of the air, that tremendous political and moral + awakening, which ushered in the nineteenth century in Europe, had its + sources in the spirit which animated the preaching of Latimer, the song of + Milton, the solemn imagery of Bunyan, the political treatises of Locke and + Sidney, the political measures of Hampden and Pym. The noblest type of + modern European statesmanship, as represented by Mazzini and Stein, is the + spiritual offspring of seventeenth-century Puritanism. To speak of Naseby + and Marston Moor as merely English victories would be as absurd as to + restrict the significance of Gettysburg to the state of Pennsylvania. If + ever there were men who laid down their lives in the cause of all mankind, + it was those grim old Ironsides whose watchwords were texts from Holy + Writ, whose battle-cries were hymns of praise. [[Sidenote: Influence of + Puritanism upon modern Europe] + </p> + <p> + It was to this unwonted alliance of intense religious enthusiasm with the + instinct of self-government and the spirit of personal independence that + the preservation of English freedom was due. When James I. ascended the + English throne, the forces which prepared the Puritan revolt had been + slowly and quietly gathering strength among the people for at least two + centuries. The work which Wyclif had begun in the fourteenth century had + continued to go on in spite of occasional spasmodic attempts to destroy it + with the aid of the statute passed in 1401 for the burning of heretics. + The Lollards can hardly be said at any time to have constituted a sect, + marked off from the established church by the possession of a system of + doctrines held in common. The name by which they were known was a nickname + which might cover almost any amount of diversity in opinion, like the + modern epithets "free-thinker" and "agnostic." The feature which + characterized the Lollards in common was a bold spirit of inquiry which + led them, in spite of persecution, to read Wyclif's English Bible and call + in question such dogmas and rites of the church as did not seem to find + warrant in the sacred text. Clad in long robes of coarse red wool, + barefoot, with pilgrim's staff in hand, the Lollard preachers fared to and + fro among the quaint Gothic towns and shaded hamlets, setting forth the + word of God wherever they could find listeners, now in the parish church + or under the vaulted roof of the cathedral, now in the churchyard or + market-place, or on some green hillside. During the fifteenth century + persecution did much to check this open preaching, but passages from + Wyclif's tracts and texts from the Bible were copied by hand and passed + about among tradesmen and artisans, yeomen and plough-boys, to be pondered + over and talked about and learned by heart. It was a new revelation to the + English people, this discovery of the Bible. Christ and his disciples + seemed to come very near when the beautiful story of the gospels was first + read in the familiar speech of every-day life. Heretofore they might well + have seemed remote and unreal, just as the school-boy hardly realizes that + the Cato and Cassius over whom he puzzles in his Latin lessons were once + living men like his father and neighbours, and not mere nominatives + governing a verb, or ablatives of means or instrument. Now it became + possible for the layman to contrast the pure teachings of Christ with the + doctrines and demeanour of the priests and monks to whom the spiritual + guidance of Englishmen had been entrusted. Strong and self-respecting men + and women, accustomed to manage their own affairs, could not but be + profoundly affected by the contrast. [[Sidenote: Work of the Lollards] + </p> + <p> + While they were thus led more and more to appeal to the Bible as the + divine standard of right living and right thinking, at the same time they + found in the sacred volume the treasures of a most original and noble + literature unrolled before them; stirring history and romantic legend, + cosmical theories and priestly injunctions, profound metaphysics and pithy + proverbs, psalms of unrivalled grandeur and pastorals of exquisite + loveliness, parables fraught with solemn meaning, the mournful wisdom of + the preacher, the exultant faith of the apostle, the matchless eloquence + of Job and Isaiah, the apocalyptic ecstasy of St. John. At a time when + there was as yet no English literature for the common people, this untold + wealth of Hebrew literature was implanted in the English mind as in a + virgin soil. Great consequences have flowed from the fact that the first + truly popular literature in England—the first which stirred the + hearts of all classes of people, and filled their minds with ideal + pictures and their every-day speech with apt and telling phrases— + was the literature comprised within the Bible. The superiority of the + common English version of the Bible, made in the reign of James I., over + all other versions, is a fact generally admitted by competent critics. The + sonorous Latin of the Vulgate is very grand, but in sublimity of fervour + as in the unconscious simplicity of strength it is surpassed by the + English version, which is scarcely if at all inferior to the original, + while it remains to-day, and will long remain, the noblest monument of + English speech. The reason for this is obvious. The common English version + of the Bible was made by men who were not aiming at literary effect, but + simply gave natural expression to the feelings which for several + generations had clustered around the sacred text. They spoke with the + voice of a people, which is more than the voice of the most highly gifted + man. They spoke with the voice of a people to whom the Bible had come to + mean all that it meant to the men who wrote it. To the Englishmen who + listened to Latimer, to the Scotchmen who listened to Knox, the Bible more + than filled the place which in modern times is filled by poem and essay, + by novel and newspaper and scientific treatise. To its pages they went for + daily instruction and comfort, with its strange Semitic names they + baptized their children, upon its precepts, too often misunderstood and + misapplied, they sought to build up a rule of life that might raise them + above the crude and unsatisfying world into which they were born. + [[Sidenote: The English version of the Bible] + </p> + <p> + It would be wrong to accredit all this awakening of spiritual life in + England to Wyclif and the Lollards, for it was only after the Bible, in + the translations of Tyndall and Coverdale, had been made free to the whole + English people in the reign of Edward VI. that its significance began to + be apparent; and it was only a century later, in the time of Cromwell and + Milton, that its full fruition was reached. It was with the Lollards, + however, that the spiritual awakening began and was continued until its + effects, when they came, were marked by surprising maturity and + suddenness. Because the Lollards were not a clearly defined sect, it was + hard to trace the manifold ramifications of their work. During the + terrible Wars of the Roses, contemporary chroniclers had little or nothing + to say about the labours of these humble men, which seemed of less + importance than now, when we read them in the light of their world-wide + results. From this silence some modern historians have carelessly inferred + that the nascent Protestantism of the Lollards had been extinguished by + persecution under the Lancastrian kings, and was in nowise continuous with + modern English Protestantism. Nothing could be more erroneous. The extent + to which the Lollard leaven had permeated all classes of English society + was first clearly revealed when Henry VIII. made his domestic affairs the + occasion for a revolt against the Papacy. Despot and brute as he was in + many ways, Henry had some characteristics which enabled him to get on well + with his people. He not only represented the sentiment of national + independence, but he had a truly English reverence for the forms of law. + In his worst acts he relied upon the support of his Parliament, which he + might in various ways cajole or pack, but could not really enslave. In his + quarrel with Rome he could have achieved but little, had he not happened + to strike a chord of feeling to which the English people, trained by this + slow and subtle work of the Lollards, responded quickly and with a + vehemence upon which he had not reckoned. As if by magic, the fabric of + Romanism was broken to pieces in England, monasteries were suppressed and + their abbots hanged, the authority of the Pope was swept away, and there + was no powerful party, like that of the Guises in France to make such + sweeping measures the occasion for civil war. The whole secret of Henry's + swift success lay in the fact that the English people were already more + than half Protestant in temper, and needed only an occasion for declaring + themselves. Hence, as soon as Catholic Henry died, his youthful son found + himself seated on the throne of a Protestant nation. The terrible but + feeble persecution which followed under Mary did much to strengthen the + extreme Protestant sentiment by allying it with the outraged feeling of + national independence. The bloody work of the grand-daughter of Ferdinand + and Isabella, the doting wife of Philip II., was rightly felt to be + Spanish work; and never, perhaps, did England feel such a sense of relief + as on the auspicious day which welcomed to the throne the great Elizabeth, + an Englishwoman in every fibre, and whose mother withal was the daughter + of a plain country gentleman. But the Marian persecution not only + increased the strength of the extreme Protestant sentiment, but indirectly + it supplied it with that Calvinistic theology which was to make it + indomitable. Of the hundreds of ministers and laymen who fled from England + in 1555 and the two following years, a great part found their way to + Geneva, and thus came under the immediate personal influence of that man + of iron who taught the very doctrines for which their souls were craving, + and who was then at the zenith of his power. [[Sidenote: Secret of Henry + VIII.'s swift success in his revolt against Rome] [[Sidenote: Effects of + the persecution under Mary] + </p> + <p> + Among all the great benefactors of mankind the figure of Calvin is perhaps + the least attractive. He was, so to speak, the constitutional lawyer of + the Reformation, with vision as clear, with head as cool, with soul as + dry, as any old solicitor in rusty black that ever dwelt in chambers in + Lincoln's Inn. His sternness was that of the judge who dooms a criminal to + the gallows. His theology had much in it that is in striking harmony with + modern scientific philosophy, and much in it, too, that the descendants of + his Puritan converts have learned to loathe as sheer diabolism. It is hard + for us to forgive the man who burned Michael Servetus, even though it was + the custom of the time to do such things and the tender-hearted + Melanchthon found nothing to blame in it. It is not easy to speak of + Calvin with enthusiasm, as it comes natural to speak of the genial, + whole-souled, many-sided, mirth-and-song-loving Luther. Nevertheless it + would be hard to overrate the debt which mankind owe to Calvin. The + spiritual father of Coligny, of William the Silent, and of Cromwell must + occupy a foremost rank among the champions of modern democracy. Perhaps + not one of the mediaeval popes was more despotic in temper than Calvin; + but it is not the less true that the promulgation of his theology was one + of the longest steps that mankind have taken toward personal freedom. + Calvinism left the individual man alone in the presence of his God. His + salvation could not be wrought by priestly ritual, but only by the grace + of God abounding in his soul; and wretched creature that he felt himself + to be, through the intense moral awakening of which this stern theology + was in part the expression, his soul was nevertheless of infinite value, + and the possession of it was the subject of an everlasting struggle + between the powers of heaven and the powers of hell. In presence of the + awful responsibility of life, all distinctions of rank and fortune + vanished; prince and pauper were alike the helpless creatures of Jehovah + and suppliants for his grace. Calvin did not originate these doctrines; in + announcing them he was but setting forth, as he said, the Institutes of + the Christian religion; but in emphasizing this aspect of Christianity, in + engraving it upon men's minds with that keen-edged logic which he used + with such unrivalled skill, Calvin made them feel, as it had perhaps never + been felt before, the dignity and importance of the individual human soul. + It was a religion fit to inspire men who were to be called upon to fight + for freedom, whether in the marshes of the Netherlands or on the moors of + Scotland. In a church, moreover, based upon such a theology there was no + room for prelacy. Each single church tended to become an independent + congregation of worshippers, constituting one of the most effective + schools that has ever existed for training men in local self-government. + [[Sidenote: Calvin's theology in its political bearings] + </p> + <p> + When, therefore, upon the news of Elizabeth's accession to the throne, the + Protestant refugees made their way back to England, they came as + Calvinistic Puritans. Their stay upon the Continent had been short, but it + had been just enough to put the finishing touch upon the work that had + been going on since the days of Wyclif. Upon such men and their theories + Elizabeth could not look with favour. With all her father's despotic + temper, Elizabeth possessed her mother's fine tact, and she represented so + grandly the feeling of the nation in its life-and-death-struggle with + Spain and the pope, that never perhaps in English history has the crown + wielded so much real power as during the five-and-forty years of her + wonderful reign. + </p> + <p> + One day Elizabeth asked a lady of the court how she contrived to retain + her husband's affection. The lady replied that "she had confidence in her + husband's understanding and courage, well founded on her own steadfastness + not to offend or thwart, but to cherish and obey, whereby she did persuade + her husband of her own affection, and in so doing did command his." "Go + to, go to, mistress," cried the queen, "You are wisely bent, I find. After + such sort do I keep the good will of all my husbands, my good people; for + if they did not rest assured of some special love towards them, they would + not readily yield me such good obedience." <a href="#linknote-2" + name="linknoteref-2" id="linknoteref-2"><small>2</small></a> Such a theory + of government might work well in the hands of an Elizabeth, and in the + circumstances in which England was then placed; but it could hardly be + worked by a successor. The seeds of revolt were already sown. The + disposition to curb the sovereign was growing and would surely assert + itself as soon as it should have some person less loved and respected than + Elizabeth to deal with. The queen in some measure foresaw this, and in the + dogged independence and uncompromising enthusiasm of the Puritans she + recognized the rock on which the monarchy might dash itself into pieces. + She therefore hated the Puritans, and persecuted them zealously with one + hand, while circumstances forced her in spite of herself to aid and abet + them with the other. She could not maintain herself against Spain without + helping the Dutch and the Huguenots; but every soldier she sent across the + channel came back, if he came at all, with his head full of the doctrines + of Calvin; and these stalwart converts were reinforced by the refugees + from France and the Netherlands who came flocking into English towns to + set up their thrifty shops and hold prayer-meetings in their humble + chapels. To guard the kingdom against the intrigues of Philip and the + Guises and the Queen of Scots, it was necessary to choose the most zealous + Protestants for the most responsible positions, and such men were more + than likely to be Calvinists and Puritans. Elizabeth's great ministers, + Burleigh, Walsingham, and Nicholas Bacon, were inclined toward Puritanism; + and so were the naval heroes who won the most fruitful victories of that + century, by shattering the maritime power of Spain and thus opening the + way for Englishmen to colonize North America. If we would realize the + dangers that would have beset the Mayflower and her successors but for the + preparatory work of these immortal sailors, we must remember the dreadful + fate of Ribault and his Huguenot followers in Florida, twenty-three years + before that most happy and glorious event, the destruction of the Spanish + Armada. But not even the devoted men and women who held their + prayer-meetings in the Mayflower's cabin were more constant in prayer or + more assiduous in reading the Bible than the dauntless rovers, Drake and + Hawkins, Gilbert and Cavendish. In the church itself, too, the Puritan + spirit grew until in 1575-83 it seized upon Grindal, archbishop of + Canterbury, who incurred the queen's disfavour by refusing to meddle with + the troublesome reformers or to suppress their prophesyings. By the end of + the century the majority of country gentlemen and of wealthy merchants in + the towns had become Puritans, and the new views had made great headway in + both universities, while at Cambridge they had become dominant. + [[Sidenote: Elizabeth's policy, and its effects] [[Sidenote: Puritan + Sea-rovers] + </p> + <p> + This allusion to the universities may serve to introduce the very + interesting topic of the geographical distribution of Puritanism in + England. No one can study the history of the two universities without + being impressed with the greater conservatism of Oxford, and the greater + hospitality of Cambridge toward new ideas. Possibly the explanation may + have some connection with the situation of Cambridge upon the East Anglian + border. The eastern counties of England have often been remarked as rife + in heresy and independency. For many generations the coast region between + the Thames and the Humber was a veritable <i>litus haereticum.</i> + Longland, bishop of Lincoln in 1520, reported Lollardism as especially + vigorous and obstinate in his diocese, where more than two hundred + heretics were once brought before him in the course of a single + visitation. It was in Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, and Essex, and among + the fens of Ely, Cambridge, and Huntingdon, that Puritanism was strongest + at the end of the sixteenth century. It was as member and leading spirit + of the Eastern Counties Association that Oliver Cromwell began his + military career; and in so far as there was anything sectional in the + struggle between Charles I. and the Long Parliament, it was a struggle + which ended in the victory of east over west. East Anglia was from first + to last the one region in which the supremacy of Parliament was + unquestionable and impregnable, even after the strength of its population + had been diminished by sending some thousands of picked men and women to + America. While every one of the forty counties of England was represented + in the great Puritan exodus, the East Anglian counties contributed to it + far more than all the rest. Perhaps it would not be far out of the way to + say that two-thirds of the American people who can trace their ancestry to + New England might follow it back to the East Anglian shires of the + mother-country; one-sixth might follow it to those southwestern countries—Devonshire, + Dorset, and Somerset—which so long were foremost in maritime + enterprise; one-sixth to other parts of England. I would not insist upon + the exactness of such figures, in a matter where only a rough + approximation is possible; but I do not think they overstate the East + Anglian preponderance. It was not by accident that the earliest counties + of Massachusetts were called Norfolk, Suffolk, and Essex, or that Boston + in Lincolnshire gave its name to the chief city of New England. The native + of Connecticut or Massachusetts who wanders about rural England to-day + finds no part of it so homelike as the cosy villages and smiling fields + and quaint market towns as he fares leisurely and in not too straight a + line from Ipswich toward Hull. Countless little unobtrusive features + remind him of home. The very names on the sign-boards over the sleepy + shops have an unwontedly familiar look. In many instances the homestead + which his forefathers left, when they followed Winthrop or Hooker to + America, is still to be found, well-kept and comfortable; the ancient + manor-house built of massive unhewn stone, yet in other respects much like + the New England farmhouse, with its long sloping roof and gable end toward + the road, its staircase with twisted balusters running across the shallow + entry-way, its low ceilings with their sturdy oaken beams, its spacious + chimneys, and its narrow casements from which one might have looked out + upon the anxious march of Edward IV. from Ravenspur to the field of + victory at Barnet in days when America was unknown. Hard by, in the little + parish church which has stood for perhaps a thousand years, plain enough + and bleak enough to suit the taste of the sternest Puritan, one may read + upon the cold pavement one's own name and the names of one's friends and + neighbours in startling proximity, somewhat worn and effaced by the + countless feet that have trodden there. And yonder on the village green + one comes with bated breath upon the simple inscription which tells of + some humble hero who on that spot in the evil reign of Mary suffered death + by fire. Pursuing thus our interesting journey, we may come at last to the + quiet villages of Austerfield and Scrooby, on opposite banks of the river + Idle, and just at the corner of the three shires of Lincoln, York, and + Nottingham. It was from this point that the Puritan exodus to America was + begun. [[Sidenote: Puritanism was strongest in the eastern counties] + [[Sidenote: Preponderance of East Anglia in the Puritan exodus] + </p> + <p> + It was not, however, in the main stream of Puritanism, but in one of its + obscure rivulets that this world-famous movement originated. During the + reign of Elizabeth it was not the purpose of the Puritans to separate + themselves from the established church of which the sovereign was the + head, but to remain within it and reform it according to their own + notions. For a time they were partially successful in this work, + especially in simplifying the ritual and in giving a Calvinistic tinge to + the doctrines. In doing this they showed no conscious tendency toward + freedom of thought, but rather a bigotry quite as intense as that which + animated the system against which they were fighting. The most advanced + liberalism of Elizabeth's time was not to be found among the Puritans, but + in the magnificent treatise on "Ecclesiastical Polity" by the churchman + Richard Hooker. But the liberalism of this great writer, like that of + Erasmus a century earlier, was not militant enough to meet the sterner + demands of the time. It could not then ally itself with the democratic + spirit, as Puritanism did. It has been well said that while Luther was the + prophet of the Reformation that has been, Erasmus was the prophet of the + Reformation that is to come, and so it was to some extent with the + Puritans and Hooker. The Puritan fight against the hierarchy was a + political necessity of the time, something without which no real and + thorough reformation could then be effected. In her antipathy to this + democratic movement, Elizabeth vexed and tormented the Puritans as far as + she deemed it prudent; and in the conservative temper of the people she + found enough support to prevent their transforming the church as they + would have liked to do. Among the Puritans themselves, indeed, there was + no definite agreement on this point. Some would have stopped short with + Presbyterianism, while others held that "new presbyter was but old priest + writ large," and so pressed on to Independency. It was early in + Elizabeth's reign that the zeal of these extreme brethren, inflamed by + persecution, gave rise to the sect of Separatists, who flatly denied the + royal supremacy over ecclesiastical affairs, and asserted the right to set + up churches of their own, with pastors and elders and rules of discipline, + independent of queen or bishop. [[Sidenote: Puritanism was not + intentionally allied with liberalism] + </p> + <p> + In 1567 the first congregation of this sort, consisting of about a hundred + persons assembled in a hall in Anchor Lane in London, was forcibly broken + up and thirty-one of the number were sent to jail and kept there for + nearly a year. By 1576 the Separatists had come to be recognized as a + sect, under the lead of Robert Brown, a man of high social position, + related to the great Lord Burleigh. Brown fled to Holland, where he + preached to a congregation of English exiles, and wrote books which were + smuggled into England and privately circulated there, much to the disgust, + not only of the queen, but of all parties, Puritans as well as High + Churchmen. The great majority of Puritans, whose aim was not to leave the + church, but to stay in it and control it, looked with dread and + disapproval upon these extremists who seemed likely to endanger their + success by forcing them into deadly opposition to the crown. Just as in + the years which ushered in our late Civil War, the opponents of the + Republicans sought to throw discredit upon them by confusing them with the + little sect of Abolitionists; and just as the Republicans, in resenting + the imputation, went so far as to frown upon the Abolitionists, so that in + December, 1860, men who had just voted for Mr. Lincoln were ready to join + in breaking up "John Brown meetings" in Boston; so it was with religious + parties in the reign of Elizabeth. The opponents of the Puritans pointed + to the Separatists, and cried, "See whither your anarchical doctrines are + leading!" and in their eagerness to clear themselves of this insinuation, + the leading Puritans were as severe upon the Separatists as anybody. It is + worthy of note that in both instances the imputation, so warmly resented, + was true. Under the pressure of actual hostilities the Republicans did + become Abolitionists, and in like manner, when in England it came to + downright warfare the Puritans became Separatists. But meanwhile it fared + ill with the little sect which everybody hated and despised. Their + meetings were broken up by mobs. In an old pamphlet describing a "tumult + in Fleet Street, raised by the disorderly preachment, pratings, and + prattlings of a swarm of Separatists," one reads such sentences as the + following: "At length they catcht one of them alone, but they kickt him so + vehemently as if they meant to beat him into a jelly. It is ambiguous + whether they have kil'd him or no, but for a certainty they did knock him + about as if they meant to pull him to pieces. I confesse it had been no + matter if they had beaten the whole tribe in the like manner." For their + leaders the penalty was more serious. The denial of the queen's + ecclesiastical supremacy could be treated as high treason, and two of + Brown's friends, convicted of circulating his books, were sent to the + gallows. In spite of these dangers Brown returned to England in 1585. + William the Silent had lately been murdered, and heresy in Holland was not + yet safe from the long arm of the Spaniard. Brown trusted in Lord + Burleigh's ability to protect him, but in 1588, finding himself in + imminent danger, he suddenly recanted and accepted a comfortable living + under the bishops who had just condemned him. His followers were already + known as Brownists; henceforth their enemies took pains to call them so + and twit them with holding doctrines too weak for making martyrs. + [[Sidenote: Robert Brown and the Separatists] + </p> + <p> + The flimsiness of Brown's moral texture prevented him from becoming the + leader in the Puritan exodus to New England. That honour was reserved for + William Brewster, son of a country gentleman who had for many years been + postmaster at Scrooby. The office was then one of high responsibility and + influence. After taking his degree at Cambridge, Brewster became private + secretary to Sir William Davison, whom he accompanied on his mission to + the Netherlands. When Davison's public career came to an end in 1587, + Brewster returned to Scrooby, and soon afterward succeeded his father as + postmaster, in which position he remained until 1607. During the interval + Elizabeth died, and James Stuart came from Scotland to take her place on + the throne. [[Sidenote: William Brewster] + </p> + <p> + The feelings with which the late queen had regarded Puritanism were mild + compared with the sentiments entertained by her successor. For some years + he had been getting worsted in his struggle with the Presbyterians of the + northern kingdom. His vindictive memory treasured up the day when a mighty + Puritan preacher had in public twitched him by the sleeve and called him + "God's silly vassal." "I tell you, sir," said Andrew Melville on that + occasion, "there are two kings and two kingdoms in Scotland. There is + Christ Jesus the King, and his kingdom the Kirk, whose subject James VI. + is, and of whose kingdom not a king, nor a lord, nor a head, but a member. + And they whom Christ hath called to watch over his kirk and govern his + spiritual kingdom have sufficient power and authority so to do both + together and severally." In this bold and masterful speech we have the + whole political philosophy of Puritanism, as in a nutshell. Under the + guise of theocratic fanaticism, and in words as arrogant as ever fell from + priestly lips, there was couched the assertion of the popular will against + despotic privilege. Melville could say such things to the king's face and + walk away unharmed, because there stood behind him a people fully aroused + to the conviction that there is an eternal law of God, which kings no less + than scullions must obey. <a href="#linknote-3" name="linknoteref-3" + id="linknoteref-3"><small>3</small></a> Melville knew this full well, and + so did James know it in the bitterness of his heart. He would have no such + mischievous work in England. He despised Elizabeth's grand national policy + which his narrow intellect could not comprehend. He could see that in + fighting Spain and aiding Dutchmen and Huguenots she was strengthening the + very spirit that sought to pull monarchy down. In spite of her faults, + which were neither few nor small, the patriotism of that fearless woman + was superior to any personal ambition. It was quite otherwise with James. + He was by no means fearless, and he cared more for James Stuart than for + either England or Scotland. He had an overweening opinion of his skill in + kingcraft. In coming to Westminster it was his policy to use his newly + acquired power to break down the Puritan party in both kingdoms and to + fasten episcopacy upon Scotland. In pursuing this policy he took no heed + of English national sentiment, but was quite ready to defy and insult it, + even to the point of making—before children who remembered the + Armada had yet reached middle age—an alliance with the hated + Spaniard. In such wise James succeeded in arraying against the monarchical + principle the strongest forces of English life,—the sentiment of + nationality, the sentiment of personal freedom, and the uncompromising + religious fervour of Calvinism; and out of this invincible combination of + forces has been wrought the nobler and happier state of society in which + we live to-day. [[Sidenote: James Stuart and Andrew Melville] + </p> + <p> + Scarcely ten months had James been king of England when he invited the + leading Puritan clergymen to meet himself and the bishops in a conference + at Hampton Court, as he wished to learn what changes they would like to + make in the government and ritual of the church. In the course of the + discussion he lost his temper and stormed, as was his wont. [[Sidenote: + King James's view of the political situation] + </p> + <p> + The mention of the word "presbytery" lashed him into fury. "A Scottish + presbytery," he cried, "agreeth as well with a monarchy as God and the + Devil. Then Jack and Tom and Will and Dick shall meet, and at their + pleasures censure me and my council and all our proceedings .... Stay, I + pray you, for one seven years, before you demand that from me, and if then + you find me pursy and fat, and my windpipes stuffed, I will perhaps + hearken to you .... Until you find that I grow lazy, let that alone." One + of the bishops declared that in this significant tirade his Majesty spoke + by special inspiration from Heaven! The Puritans saw that their only hope + lay in resistance. If any doubt remained, it was dispelled by the vicious + threat with which the king broke up the conference. "I will <i>make</i> + them conform," said he, "or I will harry them out of the land." + </p> + <p> + These words made a profound sensation in England, as well they might, for + they heralded the struggle which within half a century was to deliver up + James's son to the executioner. The Parliament of 1604 met in angrier mood + than any Parliament which had assembled at Westminster since the + dethronement of Richard II. Among the churches non-conformity began more + decidedly to assume the form of secession. The key-note of the conflict + was struck at Scrooby. Staunch Puritan as he was, Brewster had not + hitherto favoured the extreme measures of the Separatists. Now he withdrew + from the church, and gathered together a company of men and women who met + on Sundays for divine service in his own drawing-room at Scrooby Manor. In + organizing this independent Congregationalist society, Brewster was + powerfully aided by John Robinson, a native of Lincolnshire. Robinson was + then thirty years of age, and had taken his master's degree at Cambridge + in 1600. He was a man of great learning and rare sweetness of temper, and + was moreover distinguished for a broad and tolerant habit of mind too + seldom found among the Puritans of that day. Friendly and unfriendly + writers alike bear witness to his spirit of Christian charity and the + comparatively slight value which he attached to orthodoxy in points of + doctrine; and we can hardly be wrong in supposing that the comparatively + tolerant behaviour of the Plymouth colonists, whereby they were contrasted + with the settlers of Massachusetts, was in some measure due to the abiding + influence of the teachings of this admirable man. Another important member + of the Scrooby congregation was William Bradford, of the neighbouring + village of Austerfield, then a lad of seventeen years, but already + remarkable for maturity of intelligence and weight of character. Afterward + governor of Plymouth for nearly thirty years, he became the historian of + his colony; and to his picturesque chronicle, written in pure and vigorous + English, we are indebted for most that we know of the migration that + started from Scrooby and ended in Plymouth. [[Sidenote: The congregation + of Separatists at Scrooby] + </p> + <p> + It was in 1606—two years after King James's truculent threat—that + this independent church of Scrooby was organized. Another year had not + elapsed before its members had suffered so much at the hands of officers + of the law, that they began to think of following the example of former + heretics and escaping to Holland. After an unsuccessful attempt in the + autumn of 1607, they at length succeeded a few months later in + accomplishing their flight to Amsterdam, where they hoped to find a home. + But here they found the English exiles who had preceded them so fiercely + involved in doctrinal controversies, that they decided to go further in + search of peace and quiet. This decision, which we may ascribe to + Robinson's wise counsels, served to keep the society of Pilgrims from + getting divided and scattered. They reached Leyden in 1609, just as the + Spanish government had sullenly abandoned the hopeless task of conquering + the Dutch, and had granted to Holland the Twelve Years Truce. During + eleven of these twelve years the Pilgrims remained in Leyden, supporting + themselves by various occupations, while their numbers increased from 300 + to more than 1000. Brewster opened a publishing house, devoted mainly to + the issue of theological books. Robinson accepted a professorship in the + university, and engaged in the defence of Calvinism against the attacks of + Episcopius, the successor of Arminius. The youthful Bradford devoted + himself to the study of languages,—Dutch, French, Latin, Greek, and + finally Hebrew; wishing, as he said, to "see with his own eyes the ancient + oracles of God in all their native beauty." During their sojourn in Leyden + the Pilgrims were introduced to a strange and novel spectacle,—the + systematic legal toleration of all persons, whether Catholic or + Protestant, who called themselves followers of Christ. Not that there was + not plenty of intolerance in spirit, but the policy inaugurated by the + idolized William the Silent held it in check by law. All persons who came + to Holland, and led decorous lives there, were protected in their opinions + and customs. By contemporary writers in other countries this eccentric + behaviour of the Dutch government was treated with unspeakable scorn. "All + strange religions flock thither," says one; it is "a common harbour of all + heresies," a "cage of unclean birds," says another; "the great mingle + mangle of religion," says a third. <a href="#linknote-4" + name="linknoteref-4" id="linknoteref-4"><small>4</small></a> In spite of + the relief from persecution, however, the Pilgrims were not fully + satisfied with their new home. The expiration of the truce with Spain + might prove that this relief was only temporary; and at any rate, complete + toleration did not fill the measure of their wants. Had they come to + Holland as scattered bands of refugees, they might have been absorbed into + the Dutch population, as Huguenot refugees have been absorbed in Germany, + England, and America. But they had come as an organized community, and + absorption into a foreign nation was something to be dreaded. They wished + to preserve their English speech and English traditions, keep up their + organization, and find some favoured spot where they might lay the + corner-stone of a great Christian state. The spirit of nationality was + strong in them; the spirit of self-government was strong in them; and the + only thing which could satisfy these feelings was such a migration as had + not been seen since ancient times, a migration like that of Phokaians to + Massilia or Tyrians to Carthage. [[Sidenote: The flight to Holland] + [[Sidenote: Why the Pilgrims did not stay there] + </p> + <p> + It was too late in the world's history to carry out such a scheme upon + European soil. Every acre of territory there was appropriated. The only + favourable outlook was upon the Atlantic coast of America, where English + cruisers had now successfully disputed the pretensions of Spain, and where + after forty years of disappointment and disaster a flourishing colony had + at length been founded in Virginia. The colonization of the North American + coast had now become part of the avowed policy of the British government. + In 1606 a great joint-stock company was formed for the establishment of + two colonies in America. The branch which was to take charge of the + proposed southern colony had its headquarters in London; the management of + the northern branch was at Plymouth in Devonshire. Hence the two branches + are commonly spoken of as the London and Plymouth companies. The former + was also called the Virginia Company, and the latter the North Virginia + Company, as the name of Virginia was then loosely applied to the entire + Atlantic coast north of Florida. The London Company had jurisdiction from + 34 degrees to 38 degrees north latitude; the Plymouth Company had + jurisdiction from 45 degrees down to 41 degrees; the intervening + territory, between 38 degrees and 41 degrees was to go to whichever + company should first plant a self-supporting colony. The local government + of each colony was to be entrusted to a council resident in America and + nominated by the king; while general supervision over both colonies was to + be exercised by a council resident in England. [[Sidenote: The London and + Plymouth companies] + </p> + <p> + In pursuance of this general plan, though with some variations in detail, + the settlement of Jamestown had been begun in 1607, and its success was + now beginning to seem assured. On the other hand all the attempts which + had been made to the north of the fortieth parallel had failed miserably. + As early as 1602 Bartholomew Gosnold, with 32 men, had landed on the + headland which they named Cape Cod from the fish found thereabouts in + great numbers. This was the first English name given to any spot in that + part of America, and so far as known these were the first Englishmen that + ever set foot there. They went on and gave names to Martha's Vineyard and + the Elizabeth Islands in Buzzard's Bay; and on Cuttyhunk they built some + huts with the intention of remaining, but after a month's experience they + changed their mind and went back to England. Gosnold's story interested + other captains, and on Easter Sunday, 1605, George Weymouth set sail for + North Virginia, as it was called. He found Cape Cod and coasted northward + as far as the Kennebec river, up which he sailed for many miles. Weymouth + kidnapped five Indians and carried them to England, that they might learn + the language and acquire a wholesome respect for the arts of civilization + and the resistless power of white men. His glowing accounts of the + spacious harbours, the abundance of fish and game, the noble trees, the + luxuriant herbage, and the balmy climate, aroused general interest in + England, and doubtless had some influence upon the formation, in the + following year, of the great joint-stock company just described. The + leading spirit of the Plymouth Company was Sir John Popham, chief-justice + of England, and he was not disposed to let his friends of the southern + branch excel him in promptness. Within three months after the founding of + Jamestown, a party of 120 colonists, led by the judge's kinsman George + Popham, landed at the mouth of the Kennebec, and proceeded to build a rude + village of some fifty cabins, with storehouse, chapel, and block-house. + When they landed in August they doubtless shared Weymouth's opinion of the + climate. These Englishmen had heard of warm countries like Italy and cold + countries like Russia; harsh experience soon taught them that there are + climates in which the summer of Naples may alternate with the winter of + Moscow. The president and many others fell sick and died. News came of the + death of Sir John Popham in England, and presently the weary and + disappointed settlers abandoned their enterprise and returned to their old + homes. Their failure spread abroad in England the opinion that North + Virginia was uninhabitable by reason of the cold, and no further attempts + were made upon that coast until in 1614 it was visited by Captain John + Smith. [[Sidenote: First exploration of the New England coast] + </p> + <p> + The romantic career of this gallant and garrulous hero did not end with + his departure from the infant colony at Jamestown. By a curious destiny + his fame is associated with the beginnings of both the southern and the + northern portions of the United States. To Virginia Smith may be said to + have given its very existence as a commonwealth; to New England he gave + its name. In 1614 he came over with two ships to North Virginia, explored + its coast minutely from the Penobscot river to Cape Cod, and thinking it a + country of such extent and importance as to deserve a name of its own, + rechristened it New England. On returning home he made a very good map of + the coast and dotted it with English names suggested by Prince Charles. Of + these names Cape Elizabeth, Cape Ann, Charles River, and Plymouth still + remain where Smith placed them. In 1615 Smith again set sail for the New + World, this time with a view to planting a colony under the auspices of + the Plymouth Company, but his talent for strange adventures had not + deserted him. He was taken prisoner by a French fleet, carried hither and + thither on a long cruise, and finally set ashore at Rochelle, whence, + without a penny in his pocket, he contrived to make his way back to + England. Perhaps Smith's life of hardship may have made him prematurely + old. After all his wild and varied experience he was now only in his + thirty-seventh year, but he does not seem to have gone on any more + voyages. The remaining sixteen years of his life were spent quietly in + England in writing books, publishing maps, and otherwise stimulating the + public interest in the colonization of the New World. But as for the rocky + coast of New England, which he had explored and named, he declared that he + was not so simple as to suppose that any other motive than riches would + "ever erect there a commonwealth or draw company from their ease and + humours at home, to stay in New England." [[Sidenote: John Smith] + </p> + <p> + In this opinion, however, the bold explorer was mistaken. Of all + migrations of peoples the settlement of New England is preeminently the + one in which the almighty dollar played the smallest part, however + important it may since have become as a motive power. It was left for + religious enthusiasm to achieve what commercial enterprise had failed to + accomplish. By the summer of 1617 the Pilgrim society at Leyden had + decided to send a detachment of its most vigorous members to lay the + foundations of a Puritan state in America. There had been much discussion + as to the fittest site for such a colony. Many were in favour of Guiana, + which Sir Walter Raleigh had described in such glowing colours; but it was + thought that the tropical climate would be ill-suited to northern men of + industrious and thrifty habit, and the situation, moreover, was + dangerously exposed to the Spaniards. Half a century had scarcely elapsed + since the wholesale massacre of Huguenots in Florida. Virginia was then + talked of, but Episcopal ideas had already taken root there. New England, + on the other hand, was considered too cold. Popham's experience was not + encouraging. But the country about the Delaware river afforded an + opportunity for erecting an independent colony under the jurisdiction of + the London Company, and this seemed the best course to pursue. Sir Edwin + Sandys, the leading spirit in the London Company, was favourably inclined + toward Puritans, and through him negotiations were begun. Capital to the + amount of £7000 was furnished by seventy merchant adventurers in England, + and the earnings of the settlers were to be thrown into a common stock + until these subscribers should have been remunerated. A grant of land was + obtained from the London Company, and the king was asked to protect the + emigrants by a charter, but this was refused. James, however, made no + objections to their going, herein showing himself less of a bigot than + Louis XIV. in later days, who would not suffer a Huguenot to set foot in + Canada, though France was teeming with Huguenots who would have been glad + enough to go. When James inquired how the colonists expected to support + themselves, some one answered, most likely by fishing. "Very good," quoth + the king, "it was the Apostles' own calling." He declared that no one + should molest them so long as they behaved themselves properly. From this + unwonted urbanity it would appear that James anticipated no trouble from + the new colony. A few Puritans in America could not do much to annoy him, + and there was of course a fair chance of their perishing, as so many other + colonizers had perished. [[Sidenote: The Pilgrims at Leyden decide to make + a settlement near the Delaware river] + </p> + <p> + The congregation at Leyden did not think it wise to cut loose from Holland + until they should have secured a foothold in America. It was but an + advance guard that started out from Delft haven late in July, 1620, in the + rickety ship Speedwell, with Brewster and Bradford, and sturdy Miles + Standish, a trained soldier whose aid was welcome, though he does not seem + to have belonged to the congregation. Robinson remained at Leyden, and + never came to America. After a brief stop at Southampton, where they met + the Mayflower with friends from London, the Pilgrims again set sail in the + two ships. The Speedwell sprang a leak, and they stopped at Dartmouth for + repairs. Again they started, and had put three hundred miles of salt water + between themselves and Land's End, when the Speedwell leaked so badly that + they were forced to return. When they dropped anchor at Plymouth in + Devonshire, about twenty were left on shore, and the remainder, exactly + one hundred in number, crowded into the Mayflower and on the 6th of + September started once more to cross the Atlantic. The capacity of the + little ship was 180 tons, and her strength was but slight. In a fierce + storm in mid-ocean a mainbeam amidships was wrenched and cracked, and but + for a huge iron screw which one of the passengers had brought from Delft, + they might have gone to the bottom. The foul weather prevented any + accurate calculation of latitude and longitude, and they were so far out + in their reckoning that when they caught sight of land on the 9th of + November, it was to Cape Cod that they had come. Their patent gave them no + authority to settle here, as it was beyond the jurisdiction of the London + Company. They turned their prow southward, but encountering perilous + shoals and a stiff headwind they desisted and sought shelter in Cape Cod + bay. On the 11th they decided to find some place of abode in this + neighbourhood, anticipating no difficulty in getting a patent from the + Plymouth Company, which was anxious to obtain settlers. For five weeks + they stayed in the ship while little parties were exploring the coast and + deciding upon the best site for a town. It was purely a coincidence that + the spot which they chose had already received from John Smith the name of + Plymouth, the beautiful port in Devonshire from which the Mayflower had + sailed. [[Sidenote: Founding of Plymouth] + </p> + <p> + There was not much to remind them of home in the snow-covered coast on + which they landed. They had hoped to get their rude houses built before + the winter should set in, but the many delays and mishaps had served to + bring them ashore in the coldest season. When the long winter came to an + end, fifty-one of the hundred Pilgrims had died,—a mortality even + greater than that before which the Popham colony had succumbed. But + Brewster spoke truth when he said, "It is not with us as with men whom + small things can discourage or small discontentments cause to wish + themselves at home again." At one time the living were scarcely able to + bury the dead; only Brewster, Standish, and five other hardy ones were + well enough to get about. At first they were crowded under a single roof, + and as glimpses were caught of dusky savages skulking among the trees, a + platform was built on the nearest hill and a few cannon were placed there + in such wise as to command the neighbouring valleys and plains. By the end + of the first summer the platform had grown to a fortress, down from which + to the harbour led a village street with seven houses finished and others + going up. Twenty-six acres had been cleared, and a plentiful harvest + gathered in; venison, wild fowl, and fish were easy to obtain. When + provisions and fuel had been laid in for the ensuing winter, Governor + Bradford appointed a day of Thanksgiving. Town-meetings had already been + held, and a few laws passed. The history of New England had begun. + </p> + <p> + This had evidently been a busy summer for the forty-nine survivors. On the + 9th of November, the anniversary of the day on which they had sighted + land, a ship was descried in the offing. She was the Fortune, bringing + some fifty more of the Leyden company. It was a welcome reinforcement, but + it diminished the rations of food that could be served during the winter, + for the Fortune was not well supplied. When she set sail for England, she + carried a little cargo of beaver-skins and choice wood for wainscoting to + the value of L500 sterling, as a first instalment of the sum due to the + merchant adventurers. But this cargo never reached England, for the + Fortune was overhauled by a French cruiser and robbed of everything worth + carrying away. + </p> + <p> + For two years more it was an anxious and difficult time for the new + colony. By 1624 its success may be said to have become assured. That the + Indians in the neighbourhood had not taken advantage of the distress of + the settlers in that first winter, and massacred every one of them, was + due to a remarkable circumstance. Early in 1617 a frightful pestilence had + swept over New England and slain, it is thought, more than half the Indian + population between the Penobscot river and Narragansett bay. Many of the + Indians were inclined to attribute this calamity to the murder of two or + three white fishermen the year before. They had not got over the + superstitious dread with which the first sight of white men had inspired + them, and now they believed that the strangers held the demon of the + plague at their disposal and had let him loose upon the red men in revenge + for the murders they had committed. This wholesome delusion kept their + tomahawks quiet for a while. When they saw the Englishmen establishing + themselves at Plymouth, they at first held a powwow in the forest, at + which the new-comers were cursed with all the elaborate ingenuity that the + sorcery of the medicine-men could summon for so momentous an occasion; but + it was deemed best to refrain from merely human methods of attack. It was + not until the end of the first winter that any of them mustered courage to + visit the palefaces. Then an Indian named Samoset, who had learned a + little English from fishermen and for his own part was inclined to be + friendly, came one day into the village with words of welcome. He was so + kindly treated that presently Massasoit, principal sachem of the + Wampanoags, who dwelt between Narragansett and Cape Cod bays, came with a + score of painted and feathered warriors and squatting on a green rug and + cushions in the governor's log-house smoked the pipe of peace, while + Standish with half-a-dozen musketeers stood quietly by. An offensive and + defensive alliance was then and there made between King Massasoit and King + James, and the treaty was faithfully kept for half a century. Some time + afterward, when Massasoit had fallen sick and lay at death's door, his + life was saved by Edward Winslow, who came to his wigwam and skilfully + nursed him. Henceforth the Wampanoag thought well of the Pilgrim. The + powerful Narragansetts, who dwelt on the farther side of the bay, felt + differently, and thought it worth while to try the effect of a threat. A + little while after the Fortune had brought its reinforcement, the + Narragansett sachem Canonicus sent a messenger to Plymouth with a bundle + of newly-made arrows wrapped in a snake-skin. The messenger threw it in at + the governor's door and made off with unseemly haste. Bradford understood + this as a challenge, and in this he was confirmed by a friendly Wampanoag. + The Narragansetts could muster 2000 warriors, for whom forty or fifty + Englishmen, even with firearms, were hardly a fair match; but it would not + do to show fear. Bradford stuffed the snake-skin with powder and bullets, + and sent it back to Canonicus, telling him that if he wanted war he might + come whenever he liked and get his fill of it. When the sachem saw what + the skin contained, he was afraid to touch it or have it about, and + medicine-men, handling it no doubt gingerly enough, carried it out of his + territory. [[Sidenote: Why the colony was not attacked by the Indians] + </p> + <p> + It was a fortunate miscalculation that brought the Pilgrims to New + England. Had they ventured upon the lands between the Hudson and the + Delaware, they would probably have fared worse. They would soon have come + into collision with the Dutch, and not far from that neighbourhood dwelt + the Susquehannocks, at that time one of the most powerful and ferocious + tribes on the continent. For the present the new-comers were less likely + to be molested in the Wampanoag country than anywhere else. In the course + of the year 1621 they obtained their grant from the Plymouth Company. This + grant was not made to them directly but to the joint-stock company of + merchant adventurers with whom they were associated. But the alliance + between the Pilgrims and these London merchants was not altogether + comfortable; there was too much divergence between their aims. In 1627 the + settlers, wishing to be entirely independent, bought up all the stock and + paid for it by instalments from the fruits of their labour. By 1633 they + had paid every penny, and become the undisputed owners of the country they + had occupied. + </p> + <p> + Such was the humble beginning of that great Puritan exodus from England to + America which had so much to do with founding and peopling the United + States. These Pilgrims of the Mayflower were but the pioneers of a mighty + host. Historically their enterprise is interesting not so much for what it + achieved as for what it suggested. Of itself the Plymouth colony could + hardly have become a wealthy and powerful state. Its growth was extremely + slow. After ten years its numbers were but three hundred. In 1643, when + the exodus had come to an end, and the New England Confederacy was formed, + the population of Plymouth was but three thousand. In an established + community, indeed, such a rate of increase would be rapid, but it was not + sufficient to raise in New England a power which could overcome Indians + and Dutchmen and Frenchmen, and assert its will in opposition to the + crown. It is when we view the founding of Plymouth in relation to what + came afterward, that it assumes the importance which belongs to the + beginning of a new era. + </p> + <p> + We have thus seen how it was that the political aspirations of James I. + toward absolute sovereignty resulted in the beginnings of the Puritan + exodus to America. In the next chapter we shall see how the still more + arbitrary policy of his ill-fated son all at once gave new dimensions to + that exodus and resulted in the speedy planting of a high-spirited and + powerful New England. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0003" id="link2HCH0003"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER III. — THE PLANTING OF NEW ENGLAND. + </h2> + <p> + When Captain George Weymouth in the summer of 1605 sailed into the harbour + of Plymouth in Devonshire, with his five kidnapped savages and his glowing + accounts of the country since known as New England, the garrison of that + fortified seaport was commanded by Sir Ferdinando Gorges. The Christian + name of this person now strikes us as rather odd, but in those days it was + not so uncommon in England, and it does not necessarily indicate a Spanish + or Italian ancestry for its bearer. Gorges was a man of considerable + ability, but not of high character. On the downfall of his old patron the + Earl of Essex he had contrived to save his own fortunes by a course of + treachery and ingratitude. He had served in the Dutch war against Spain, + and since 1596 had been military governor of Plymouth. The sight of + Weymouth's Indians and the recital of his explorations awakened the + interest of Gorges in the colonization of North America. He became one of + the most active members of the Plymouth, or North Virginia, Company + established in the following year. It was he who took the leading part in + fitting out the two ships with which John Smith started on his + unsuccessful expedition in 1615. In the following years he continued to + send out voyages of exploration, became largely interested in the + fisheries, and at length in 1620 succeeded in obtaining a new patent for + the Plymouth Company, by which it was made independent of the London + Company, its old yoke-fellow and rival. This new document created a + corporation of forty patentees who, sitting in council as directors of + their enterprise, were known as the Council for New England. The president + of this council was King James's unpopular favourite the Duke of + Buckingham, and its most prominent members were the earls of Pembroke and + Lenox, Sir Ferdinando Gorges, and Shakespeare's friend the Earl of + Southampton. This council was empowered to legislate for its American + territory, to exercise martial law there and expel all intruders, and to + exercise a monopoly of trade within the limits of the patent. Such + extensive powers, entrusted to a company of which Buckingham was the head, + excited popular indignation, and in the great struggle against monopolies + which was then going on, the Plymouth Company did not fail to serve as a + target for attacks. It started, however, with too little capital to enter + upon schemes involving immediate outlay, and began almost from the first + to seek to increase its income by letting or selling portions of its + territory, which extended from the latitude of Philadelphia to that of + Quebec, thus encroaching upon regions where Holland and France were + already gaining a foothold. It was from this company that the merchant + adventurers associated with the Mayflower Pilgrims obtained their new + patent in the summer of 1621, and for the next fifteen years all settlers + in New England based their claims to the soil upon territorial rights + conveyed to them by the Plymouth Company. The grants, however, were often + ignorantly and sometimes unscrupulously made, and their limits were so + ill-defined that much quarrelling ensued. [[Sidenote: Sir Ferdinando + Gorges, and the Council for New England] + </p> + <p> + During the years immediately following the voyage of the Mayflower, + several attempts at settlement were made about the shores of Massachusetts + bay. One of the merchant adventurers, Thomas Weston, took it into his head + in 1622 to separate from his partners and send out a colony of seventy men + on his own account. These men made a settlement at Wessagusset, some + twenty-five miles north of Plymouth. They were a disorderly, thriftless + rabble, picked up from the London streets, and soon got into trouble with + the Indians; after a year they were glad to get back to England as best + they could, and in this the Plymouth settlers willingly aided them. In + June of that same year 1622 there arrived on the scene a picturesque but + ill understood personage, Thomas Morton, "of Clifford's Inn, Gent.," as he + tells on the title-page of his quaint and delightful book, the "New + English Canaan." Bradford disparagingly says that he "had been a kind of + petie-fogger of Furnifell's Inn"; but the churchman Samuel Maverick + declares that he was a "gentleman of good qualitie." He was an agent of + Sir Ferdinando Gorges, and came with some thirty followers to make the + beginnings of a royalist and Episcopal settlement in the Massachusetts + bay. He was naturally regarded with ill favour by the Pilgrims as well as + by the later Puritan settlers, and their accounts of him will probably + bear taking with a grain or two of salt. [[Sidenote: Wessagusset and + Merrymount] + </p> + <p> + In 1625 there came one Captain Wollaston, with a gang of indented white + servants, and established himself on the site of the present town of + Quincy. Finding this system of industry ill suited to northern + agriculture, he carried most of his men off to Virginia, where he sold + them. Morton took possession of the site of the settlement, which he + called Merrymount. There, according to Bradford, he set up a "schoole of + athisme," and his men did quaff strong waters and comport themselves "as + if they had anew revived and celebrated the feasts of ye Roman Goddes + Flora, or the beastly practices of ye madd Bachanalians." Charges of + atheism have been freely hurled about in all ages. In Morton's case the + accusation seems to have been based upon the fact that he used the Book of + Common Prayer. His men so far maintained the ancient customs of merry + England as to plant a Maypole eighty feet high, about which they frolicked + with the redskins, while furthermore they taught them the use of firearms + and sold them muskets and rum. This was positively dangerous, and in the + summer of 1628 the settlers at Merrymount were dispersed by Miles + Standish. Morton was sent to England, but returned the next year, and + presently again repaired to Merrymount. + </p> + <p> + By this time other settlements were dotted about the coast. There were a + few scattered cottages or cabins at Nantasket and at the mouth of the + Piscataqua, while Samuel Maverick had fortified himself on Noddle's + Island, and William Blackstone already lived upon the Shawmut peninsula, + since called Boston. These two gentlemen were no friends to the Puritans; + they were churchmen and representatives of Sir Ferdinando Gorges. + </p> + <p> + The case was very different with another of these earliest settlements, + which deserves especial mention as coming directly in the line of + causation which led to the founding of Massachusetts by Puritans. For some + years past the Dorchester adventurers—a small company of merchants + in the shire town of Dorset—had been sending vessels to catch fish + off the New England coast. In 1623 these men conceived the idea of + planting a small village as a fishing station, and setting up a church and + preacher therein, for the spiritual solace of the fishermen and sailors. + In pursuance of this scheme a small party occupied Cape Ann, where after + two years they got into trouble with the men of Plymouth. Several grants + and assignments had made it doubtful where the ownership lay, and although + this place was not near their own town, the men of Plymouth claimed it. + The dispute was amicably arranged by Roger Conant, an independent settler + who had withdrawn from Plymouth because he did not fully sympathize with + the Separatist views of the people there. The next step was for the + Dorchester adventurers to appoint Conant as their manager, and the next + was for them to abandon their enterprise, dissolve their partnership, and + leave the remnant of the little colony to shift for itself. The settlers + retained their tools and cattle, and Conant found for them a new and safer + situation at Naumkeag, on the site of the present Salem. So far little + seemed to have been accomplished; one more seemed added to the list of + failures. + </p> + <p> + But the excellent John White, the Puritan rector of Trinity Church in + Dorchester, had meditated carefully about these things. He saw that many + attempts at colonization had failed because they made use of unfit + instruments, "a multitude of rude ungovernable persons, the very scum of + the land." So Virginia had failed in its first years, and only succeeded + when settled by worthy and industrious people under a strong government. + The example of Plymouth, as contrasted with Wessagusset, taught a similar + lesson. We desire, said White, "to raise a bulwark against the kingdom of + Antichrist." Learn wisdom, my countrymen, from the ruin which has befallen + the Protestants at Rochelle and in the Palatinate; learn "to avoid the + plague while it is foreseen, and not to tarry as they did till it overtook + them." The Puritan party in England was numerous and powerful, but the day + of strife was not far off and none might foretell its issue. Clearly it + was well to establish a strong and secure retreat in the New World, in + case of disaster in the Old. What had been done at Plymouth by a few men + of humble means might be done on a much greater scale by an association of + leading Puritans, including men of wealth and wide social influence. Such + arguments were urged in timely pamphlets, of one of which White is + supposed to have been the author. The matter was discussed in London, and + inquiry was made whether fit men could be found "to engage their persons + in the voyage." "It fell out that among others they lighted at last on + Master Endicott, a man well known to divers persons of good note, who + manifested much willingness to accept of the offer as soon as it was + tendered." All were thereby much encouraged, the schemes of White took + definite shape, and on the 19th of March, 1628, a tract of land was + obtained from the Council for New England, consisting of all the territory + included between three miles north of the Merrimack and three miles south + of the Charles in one direction, and the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans in + the other. [[Sidenote: John White and his noble scheme] + </p> + <p> + This liberal grant was made at a time when people still supposed the + Pacific coast to be not far west of Henry Hudson's river. The territory + was granted to an association of six gentlemen, only one of whom—John + Endicott—figures conspicuously in the history of New England. The + grant was made in the usual reckless style, and conflicted with various + patents which had been issued before. In 1622 Gorges and John Mason had + obtained a grant of all the land between the rivers Kennebec and + Merrimack, and the new grant encroached somewhat upon this. The difficulty + seems to have been temporarily adjusted by some sort of compromise which + restricted the new grant to the Merrimack, for in 1629 we find Mason's + title confirmed to the region between that river and the Piscataqua, while + later on Gorges appears as proprietor of the territory between the + Piscataqua and the Kennebec. A more serious difficulty was the claim of + Robert Gorges, son of Sir Ferdinando. That young man had in 1623 obtained + a grant of some 300 square miles in Massachusetts, and had gone to look + after it, but had soon returned discouraged to England and shortly + afterward died. But his claim devolved upon his surviving brother, John + Gorges, and Sir Ferdinando, in consenting to the grant to Endicott and his + friends, expressly reserved the rights of his sons. No such reservation, + however, was mentioned in the Massachusetts charter, and the colonists + never paid the slightest heed to it. In these conflicting claims were sown + seeds of trouble which bore fruit for more than half a century. In such + cases actual possession is apt to make nine points in the law, and + accordingly Endicott was sent over, as soon as possible, with sixty + persons, to reinforce the party at Naumkeag and supersede Conant as its + leader. On Endicott's arrival in September, 1628, the settlers were at + first inclined to dispute his authority, but they were soon conciliated, + and in token of this amicable adjustment the place was called by the + Hebrew name of Salem, or "peace." [[Sidenote: Conflicting grants sow seeds + of trouble] [[Sidenote: John Endicot and the founding of Salem] + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile Mr. White and the partners in England were pushing things + vigorously. Their scheme took a wider scope. They were determined to + establish something more than a trading company. From Charles I. it was + sometimes easy to get promises because he felt himself under no obligation + to keep them. In March, 1629, a royal charter was granted, creating a + corporation, under the legal style of the Governor and Company of + Massachusetts Bay in New England. The affairs of this corporate body were + to be managed by a governor, deputy-governor, and a council of eighteen + assistants, to be elected annually by the company. They were empowered to + make such laws as they liked for their settlers, provided they did not + contravene the laws of England,—a proviso susceptible of much + latitude of interpretation. The place where the company was to hold its + meetings was not mentioned in the charter. The law-officers of the crown + at first tried to insert a condition that the government must reside in + England, but the grantees with skilful argument succeeding in preventing + this. Nothing was said in the charter about religious liberty, for a + twofold reason: the crown would not have granted it, and it was not what + the grantees wanted; such a provision would have been liable to hamper + them seriously in carrying out their scheme. They preferred to keep in + their own hands the question as to how much or how little religious + liberty they should claim or allow. Six small ships were presently fitted + out, and upon them were embarked 300 men, 80 women, and 26 children, with + 140 head of cattle, 40 goats, and abundance of arms, ammunition, and + tools. The principal leader of this company was Francis Higginson, of St. + John's College, Cambridge, rector of a church in Leicestershire, who had + been deprived of his living for non-conformity. With him were associated + two other ministers, also graduates of Cambridge. All three were members + of the council. By the arrival of this company at Salem, Endicott now + became governor of a colony larger than any yet started in New England,—larger + than Plymouth after its growth of nearly nine years. [[Sidenote: The + Company of Massachusetts Bay] + </p> + <p> + The time was at length ripe for that great Puritan exodus of which the + voyage of the Mayflower had been the premonitory symptom. The grand crisis + for the Puritans had come, the moment when decisive action could no longer + be deferred. It was not by accident that the rapid development of John + White's enterprise into the Company of Massachusetts Bay coincided exactly + with the first four years of the reign of Charles I. They were years well + fitted to bring such a scheme to quick maturity. The character of Charles + was such as to exacerbate the evils of his father's reign. James could + leave some things alone in the comfortable hope that all would by and by + come out right, but Charles was not satisfied without meddling everywhere. + Both father and son cherished some good intentions; both were sincere + believers in their narrow theory of kingcraft. For wrong-headed obstinacy, + utter want of tact, and bottomless perfidy, there was little to choose + between them. The humorous epitaph of the grandson "whose word no man + relies on" might have served for them all. But of this unhappy family + Charles I. was eminently the dreamer. He lived in a world of his own, and + was slow in rendering thought into action; and this made him rely upon the + quick-witted but unwise and unscrupulous Buckingham, <a href="#linknote-5" + name="linknoteref-5" id="linknoteref-5"><small>5</small></a> who was silly + enough to make feeble attempts at unpopular warfare without consulting + Parliament. During each of Charles's first four years there was an angry + session of Parliament, in which, through the unwillingness of the popular + leaders to resort to violence, the king's policy seemed able to hold its + ground. Despite all protest the king persisted in levying strange taxes + and was to some extent able to collect them. Men who refused to pay + enforced loans were thrown into jail and the writ of <i>habeas corpus</i> + was denied them. Meanwhile the treatment of Puritans became more and more + vexatious. It was clear enough that Charles meant to become an absolute + monarch, like Louis XIII., but Parliament began by throwing all the blame + upon the unpopular minister and seeking to impeach him. + </p> + <p> + On the 5th of June, 1628, the House of Commons presented the most + extraordinary spectacle, perhaps in all its history. The famous Petition + of Right had been Passed by both Houses, and the royal answer had just + been received. Its tone was that of gracious assent, but it omitted the + necessary legal formalities, and the Commons well knew what this meant. + They were to be tricked with sweet words, and the petition was not to + acquire the force of a statute. How was it possible to deal with such a + slippery creature? There was but one way of saving the dignity of the + throne without sacrificing the liberty of the people, and that was to hold + the king's ministers responsible to Parliament, in anticipation of modern + methods. It was accordingly proposed to impeach the Duke of Buckingham + before the House of Lords. The Speaker now "brought an imperious message + from the king, ... warning them ... that he would not tolerate any + aspersion upon his ministers." Nothing daunted by this, Sir John Eliot + arose to lead the debate, when the Speaker called him to order in view of + the king's message. "Amid a deadly stillness" Eliot sat down and burst + into tears. For a moment the House was overcome with despair. Deprived of + all constitutional methods of redress, they suddenly saw yawning before + them the direful alternative—slavery or civil war. Since the day of + Bosworth a hundred and fifty years had passed without fighting worthy of + mention on English soil, such an era of peace as had hardly ever before + been seen on the earth; now half the nation was to be pitted against the + other half, families were to be divided against themselves, as in the + dreadful days of the Roses, and with what consequences no one could + foresee. "Let us sit in silence," quoth Sir Dudley Digges, "we are + miserable, we know not what to do!" Nay, cried Sir Nathaniel Rich, "we <i>must</i> + now speak, or forever hold our peace." Then did grim Mr. Prynne and Sir + Edward Coke mingle their words with sobs, while there were few dry eyes in + the House. Presently they found their voices, and used them in a way that + wrung from the startled king his formal assent to the Petition of Right. + [[Sidenote: Remarkable scene in the House of Commons] + </p> + <p> + There is something strangely pathetic and historically significant <a + href="#linknote-6" name="linknoteref-6" id="linknoteref-6"><small>6</small></a> + in the emotion of these stern, fearless men. The scene was no less + striking on the 2d of the following March, when, "amid the cries and + entreaties of the Speaker held down in his chair by force," while the + Usher of the Black Rod was knocking loudly at the bolted door, and the + tramp of the king's soldiers was heard in the courtyard, Eliot's clear + voice rang out the defiance that whoever advised the levy of tonnage and + poundage without a grant from Parliament, or whoever voluntarily paid + those duties, was to be counted an enemy to the kingdom and a betrayer of + its liberties. As shouts of "Aye, aye," resounded on every side, "the + doors were flung open, and the members poured forth in a throng." The + noble Eliot went to end his days in the Tower, and for eleven years no + Parliament sat again in England. <a href="#linknote-7" name="linknoteref-7" + id="linknoteref-7"><small>7</small></a> + </p> + <p> + It was in one and the same week that Charles I. thus began his experiment + of governing without a Parliament, and that he granted a charter to the + Company of Massachusetts Bay. He was very far, as we shall see, from + realizing the import of what he was doing. To the Puritan leaders it was + evident that a great struggle was at hand. Affairs at home might well seem + desperate, and the news from abroad was not encouraging. It was only four + months since the surrender of Rochelle had ended the existence of the + Huguenots as an armed political party. They had now sunk into the + melancholy condition of a tolerated sect which may at any moment cease to + be tolerated. In Germany the terrible Thirty Years War had just reached + the darkest moment for the Protestants. Fifteen months were yet to pass + before the immortal Gustavus was to cross the Baltic and give to the + sorely harassed cause of liberty a fresh lease of life. The news of the + cruel Edict of Restitution in this same fateful month of March, 1629, + could not but give the English Puritans great concern. Everywhere in + Europe the champions of human freedom seemed worsted. They might well + think that never had the prospect looked so dismal; and never before, as + never since, did the venture of a wholesale migration to the New World so + strongly recommend itself as the only feasible escape from a situation + that was fast becoming intolerable. Such were the anxious thoughts of the + leading Puritans in the spring of 1629, and in face of so grave a problem + different minds came naturally to different conclusions. Some were for + staying in England to fight it out to the bitter end; some were for + crossing the ocean to create a new England in the wilderness. Either task + was arduous enough, and not to be achieved without steadfast and sober + heroism. [[Sidenote: Desperate nature of the crisis] + </p> + <p> + On the 26th of August twelve gentlemen, among the most eminent in the + Puritan party, held a meeting at Cambridge, and resolved to lead a + migration to New England, provided the charter of the Massachusetts Bay + Company and the government established under it could be transferred to + that country. On examination it appeared that no legal obstacle stood in + the way. Accordingly such of the old officers as did not wish to take part + in the emigration resigned their places, which were forthwith filled by + these new leaders. For governor the choice fell upon John Winthrop, a + wealthy gentleman from Groton in Suffolk, who was henceforth to occupy the + foremost place among the founders of New England. Winthrop was at this + time forty-one years of age, having been born in the memorable year of the + Armada. He was a man of remarkable strength and beauty of character, grave + and modest, intelligent and scholarlike, intensely religious and endowed + with a moral sensitiveness that was almost morbid, yet liberal withal in + his opinions and charitable in disposition. When his life shall have been + adequately written, as it never has been, he will be recognized as one of + the very noblest figures in American history. From early youth he had that + same power of winning confidence and commanding respect for which + Washington was so remarkable; and when he was selected as the Moses of the + great Puritan exodus, there was a wide-spread feeling that extraordinary + results were likely to come of such an enterprise. + </p> + <p> + In marked contrast to Winthrop stands the figure of the man associated + with him as deputy-governor. Thomas Dudley came of an ancient family, the + history of which, alike in the old and in the new England, has not been + altogether creditable. He represented the elder branch of that Norman + family, to the younger branch of which belonged the unfortunate husband of + Lady Jane Grey and the unscrupulous husband of Amy Robsart. There was, + however, very little likeness to Elizabeth's gay lover in grim Thomas + Dudley. His Puritanism was bleak and stern, and for Christian charity he + was not eminent. He had a foible for making verses, and at his death there + was found in his pocket a poem of his, containing a quatrain wherein the + intolerance of that age is neatly summed up:— + </p> + <p> + "Let men of God in courts and churches watch O'er such as do a Toleration + hatch, Lest that ill egg bring forth a cockatrice To poison all with + heresy and vice." + </p> + <p> + Such was the spirit of most of the Puritans of that day, but in the + manifestation of it there were great differences, and here was the strong + contrast between Dudley and Winthrop,—a contrast which shows itself + in their portraits. In that of Dudley we see the typical narrow-minded, + strait-laced Calvinist for whom it is so much easier to entertain respect + than affection. In that of Winthrop we see a face expressive of what was + finest in the age of Elizabeth,—the face of a spiritual brother of + Raleigh and Bacon. + </p> + <p> + The accession of two men so important as Winthrop and Dudley served to + bring matters speedily to a crisis. Their embarkation in April, 1630, was + the signal for a general movement on the part of the English Puritans. + Before Christmas of that year seventeen ships had come to New England, + bringing more than 1000 passengers. This huge wave of immigration quite + overwhelmed and bore away the few links of possession by which Gorges had + thus far kept his hold upon the country. In January, 1629, John Gorges had + tried to assert the validity of his late brother's claim by executing + conveyances covering portions of it. One of these was to John Oldham, a + man who had been harshly treated at Plymouth, and might be supposed very + ready to defend his rights against settlers of the Puritan company. Gorges + further maintained that he retained possession of the country through the + presence of his brother's tenants, Blackstone, Maverick, Walford, and + others on the shores of the bay. In June, 1629, Endicott had responded by + sending forward some fifty persons from Salem to begin the settlement of + Charlestown. Shortly before Winthrop's departure from England, Gorges had + sent that singular personage Sir Christopher Gardiner to look after his + interests in the New World, and there he was presently found established + near the mouth of the Neponset river, in company with "a comly yonge woman + whom he caled his cousin." But these few claimants were now at once lost + in the human tide which poured over Charlestown, Boston, Newtown, + Watertown, Roxbury, and Dorchester. The settlement at Merrymount was again + dispersed, and Morton sent back to London; Gardiner fled to the coast of + Maine and thence sailed for England in 1632. The Puritans had indeed + occupied the country in force. + </p> + <p> + Here on the very threshold we are confronted by facts which show that not + a mere colonial plantation, but a definite and organized state was in + process of formation. The emigration was not like that of Jamestown or of + Plymouth. It sufficed at once to make the beginnings of half a dozen + towns, and the question as to self-government immediately sprang up. Early + in 1631 a tax of £60 was assessed upon the settlements, in order to pay + for building frontier fortifications at Newtown. This incident was in + itself of small dimensions, as incidents in newly founded states are apt + to be. But in its historic import it may serve to connect the England of + John Hampden with the New England of Samuel Adams. The inhabitants of + Watertown at first declined to pay this tax, which was assessed by the + Board of Assistants, on the ground that English freemen cannot rightfully + be taxed save by their own consent. This protest led to a change in the + constitution of the infant colony, and here, at once, we are introduced to + the beginnings of American constitutional history. At first it was thought + that public business could be transacted by a primary assembly of all the + freemen in the colony meeting four times in the year; but the number of + freemen increased so fast that this was almost at once (in October, 1630) + found to be impracticable. The right of choosing the governor and making + the laws was then left to the Board of Assistants; and in May, 1631, it + was further decided that the assistants need not be chosen afresh every + year, but might keep their seats during good behaviour or until ousted by + special vote of the freemen. If the settlers of Massachusetts had been + ancient Greeks or Romans, this would have been about as far as they could + go in the matter; the choice would have been between a primary assembly + and an assembly of notables. It is curious to see Englishmen passing from + one of these alternatives to the other. But it was only for a moment. The + protest of the Watertown men came in time to check these proceedings, + which began to have a decidedly oligarchical look. To settle the immediate + question of the tax, two deputies were sent from each settlement to advise + with the Board of Assistants; while the power of choosing each year the + governor and assistants was resumed by the freemen. Two years later, in + order to reserve to the freemen the power of making laws without + interfering too much with the ordinary business of life, the colonists + fell back upon the old English rural plan of electing deputies or + representatives to a general court. [[Sidenote: The question as to + self-government raised at Watertown] + </p> + <p> + At first the deputies sat in the same chamber with the assistants, but at + length in 1644 they were formed into a second chamber with increased + powers, and the way in which this important constitutional change came + about is worth remembering, as an illustration of the smallness of the + state which so soon was to play a great part in history. As Winthrop puts + it, "there fell out a great business upon a very small occasion." To a + certain Captain Keayne, of Boston, a rich man deemed to be hard and + overbearing toward the poor, there was brought a stray pig, whereof he + gave due public notice through the town-crier, yet none came to claim it + till after he had killed a pig of his own which he kept in the same stye + with the stray. A year having passed by, a poor woman named Sherman came + to see the stray and to decide if it were one that she had lost. Not + recognizing it as hers, she forthwith laid claim to the slaughtered pig. + The case was brought before the elders of the church of Boston, who + decided that the woman was mistaken. Mrs. Sherman then accused the captain + of theft, and brought the case before a jury, which exonerated the + defendant with £3 costs. The captain then sued Mrs. Sherman for defamation + of character and got a verdict for £40 damages, a round sum indeed to + assess upon the poor woman. But long before this it had appeared that she + had many partisans and supporters; it had become a political question, in + which the popular protest against aristocracy was implicated. Not yet + browbeaten, the warlike Mrs. Sherman appealed to the General Court. The + length of the hearing shows the importance which was attached to the case. + After seven days of discussion, the vote was taken. Seven assistants and + eight deputies approved the former decisions, two assistants and fifteen + deputies condemned them, while seven deputies refrained from voting. In + other words, Captain Keayne has a decided majority among the more + aristocratic assistants, while Mrs. Sherman seemed to prevail with the + more democratic deputies. Regarding the result as the vote of a single + body, the woman had a plurality of two; regarding it as the vote of a + double body, her cause had prevailed in the lower house, but was lost by + the veto of the upper. No decision was reached at the time, but after a + year of discussion the legislature was permanently separated into two + houses, each with a veto power upon the other; and this was felt to be a + victory for the assistants. As for the ecclesiastical polity of the new + colony, it had begun to take shape immediately upon the arrival of + Endicott's party at Salem. The clergymen, Samuel Skelton and Francis + Higginson, consecrated each other, and a church covenant and confession of + faith were drawn up by Higginson. Thirty persons joining in this covenant + constituted the first church in the colony; and several brethren appointed + by this church proceeded formally to ordain the two ministers by the + laying on of hands. In such simple wise was the first Congregational + church in Massachusetts founded. The simple fact of removal from England + converted all the Puritan emigrants into Separatists, as Robinson had + already predicted. Some, however, were not yet quite prepared for so + radical a measure. These proceedings gave umbrage to two of the Salem + party, who attempted forthwith to set up a separate church in conformity + with episcopal models. A very important question was thus raised at once, + but it was not allowed to disturb the peace of the colony. Endicott was a + man of summary methods. He immediately sent the two malcontents back to + England; and thus the colonial church not only seceded from the national + establishment, but the principle was virtually laid down that the + Episcopal form of worship would not be tolerated in the colony. For the + present such a step was to be regarded as a measure of self-defence on the + part of the colonists. Episcopacy to them meant actual and practical + tyranny—the very thing they had crossed the ocean expressly to get + away from—and it was hardly to be supposed that they would encourage + the growth of it in their new home. One or two surpliced priests, + conducting worship in accordance with the Book of Common Prayer, might in + themselves be excellent members of society; but behind the surpliced + priest the colonist saw the intolerance of Laud and the despotism of the + Court of High Commission. In 1631 a still more searching measure of + self-protection was adopted. It was decided that "no man shall be admitted + to the freedom of this body politic, but such as are members of some of + the churches within the limits of the same." Into the merits of this + measure as illustrating the theocratic ideal of society which the Puritans + sought to realize in New England, we shall inquire hereafter. At present + we must note that, as a measure of self-protection, this decree was + intended to keep out of the new community all emissaries of Strafford and + Laud, as well as such persons as Morton and Gardiner and other agents of + Sir Ferdinando Gorges. + </p> + <p> + By the year 1634 the scheme of the Massachusetts Company had so far + prospered that nearly 4000 Englishmen had come over, and some twenty + villages on or near the shores of the bay had been founded. The building + of permanent houses, roads, fences, and bridges had begun to go on quite + briskly; farms were beginning to yield a return for the labour of the + husbandman; lumber, furs, and salted fish were beginning to be sent to + England in exchange for manufactured articles; 4000 goats and 1500 head of + cattle grazed in the pastures, and swine innumerable rooted in the + clearings and helped to make ready the land for the ploughman. Political + meetings were held, justice was administered by magistrates after old + English precedents, and church services were performed by a score of + clergymen, nearly all graduates of Cambridge, though one or two had their + degrees from Oxford, and nearly all of whom had held livings in the Church + of England. The most distinguished of these clergymen, John Cotton, in his + younger days a Fellow and Tutor of Emmanuel College, had for more than + twenty years been rector of St. Botolph's, when he left the most + magnificent parish church in England to hold service in the first rude + meeting-house of the new Boston. From Emmanuel College came also Thomas + Hooker and John Harvard. Besides these clergymen, so many of the leading + persons concerned in the emigration were university men that it was not + long before a university began to seem indispensable to the colony. In + 1636 the General Court appropriated £400 toward the establishment of a + college at Newtown. In 1638 John Harvard, dying childless, bequeathed his + library and the half of his estate to the new college, which the Court + forthwith ordered to be called by his name; while in honour of the mother + university the name of the town was changed to Cambridge. + </p> + <p> + It has been said that the assembly which decreed the establishment of + Harvard College was "the first body in which the people, by their + representatives, ever gave their own money to found a place of education." + <a href="#linknote-8" name="linknoteref-8" id="linknoteref-8"><small>8</small></a> + The act was a memorable one if we have regard to all the circumstances of + the year in which it was done. On every side danger was in the air. + Threatened at once with an Indian war, with the enmity of the home + government, and with grave dissensions among themselves, the year 1636 was + a trying one indeed for the little community of Puritans, and their + founding a college by public taxation just at this time is a striking + illustration of their unalterable purpose to realize, in this new home, + their ideal of an educated Christian society. [[Sidenote: Threefold danger + in the year 1636] + </p> + <p> + That the government of Charles I. should view with a hostile eye the + growth of a Puritan state in New England is not at all surprising. (1. + From the king, who prepares to attack the infant colony but is fueled by + dissensions at home.) The only fit ground for wonder would seem to be that + Charles should have been willing at the outset to grant a charter to the + able and influential Puritans who organized the Company of Massachusetts + Bay. Probably, however, the king thought at first that it would relieve + him at home if a few dozen of the Puritan leaders could be allowed to + concentrate their minds upon a project of colonization in America. It + might divert attention for a moment from his own despotic schemes. Very + likely the scheme would prove a failure and the Massachusetts colony incur + a fate like that of Roanoke Island; and at all events the wealth of the + Puritans might better be sunk in a remote and perilous enterprise than + employed at home in organizing resistance to the crown. Such, very likely, + may have been the king's motive in granting the Massachusetts charter two + days after turning his Parliament out of doors. But the events of the last + half-dozen years had come to present the case in a new light. The young + colony was not languishing. It was full of sturdy life; it had wrought + mischief to the schemes of Gorges; and what was more, it had begun to take + unheard-of liberties with things ecclesiastical and political. Its example + was getting to be a dangerous one. It was evidently worth while to put a + strong curb upon Massachusetts. Any promise made to his subjects Charles + regarded as a promise made under duress which he was quite justified in + breaking whenever it suited his purpose to do so. Enemies of Massachusetts + were busy in England. Schismatics from Salem and revellers from Merrymount + were ready with their tales of woe, and now Gorges and Mason were + vigorously pressing their territorial claims. They bargained with the + king. In February, 1635, the moribund Council for New England surrendered + its charter and all its corporate rights in America, on condition that the + king should disregard all the various grants by which these rights had + from time to time been alienated, and should divide up the territory of + New England in severalty among the members of the Council. In pursuance of + this scheme Gorges and Mason, together with half a dozen noblemen, were + allowed to parcel out New England among themselves as they should see fit. + In this way the influence of the Marquis of Hamilton, with the Earls of + Arundel, Surrey, Carlisle, and Stirling, might be actively enlisted + against the Massachusetts Company. A writ of <i>quo warranto</i> was + brought against it; and it was proposed to send Sir Ferdinando to govern + New England with viceregal powers like those afterward exercised by + Andros. + </p> + <p> + For a moment the danger seemed alarming; but, as Winthrop says, "the Lord + frustrated their design." It was noted as a special providence that the + ship in which Gorges was to sail was hardly off the stocks when it fell to + pieces. Then the most indefatigable enemy of the colony, John Mason, + suddenly died. The king issued his famous writ of ship-money and set all + England by the ears; and, to crown all, the attempt to read the Episcopal + liturgy at St. Giles's church in Edinburgh led straight to the Solemn + League and Covenant. Amid the first mutterings of the Great Rebellion the + proceedings against Massachusetts were dropped, and the unheeded colony + went on thriving in its independent course. Possibly too some locks at + Whitehall may have been turned with golden keys, <a href="#linknote-9" + name="linknoteref-9" id="linknoteref-9"><small>9</small></a> for the + company was rich, and the king was ever open to such arguments. But when + the news of his evil designs had first reached Boston the people of the + infant colony showed no readiness to yield to intimidation. In their + measures there was a decided smack of what was to be realized a hundred + and forty years later. Orders were immediately issued for fortifying + Castle Island in the harbour and the heights at Charlestown and + Dorchester. Militia companies were put in training, and a beacon was set + up on the highest hill in Boston, to give prompt notice to all the + surrounding country of any approaching enemy. + </p> + <p> + While the ill will of the home government thus kept the colonists in a + state of alarm, there were causes of strife at work at their very doors, + of which they were fain to rid themselves as soon as possible. Among all + the Puritans who came to New England there is no more interesting figure + than the learned, quick-witted pugnacious Welshman, Roger Williams. He was + over-fond of logical subtleties and delighted in controversy. There was + scarcely any subject about which he did not wrangle, from the sinfulness + of persecution to the propriety of women wearing veils in church. Yet, + with all this love of controversy, there has perhaps never lived a more + gentle and kindly soul. Within five years from the settlement of + Massachusetts this young preacher had announced the true principles of + religious liberty with a clearness of insight quite remarkable in that + age. Roger Williams had been aided in securing an education by the great + lawyer Sir Edward Coke, and had lately taken his degree at Pembroke + College, Cambridge; but the boldness with which he declared his opinions + had aroused the hostility of Laud, and in 1631 he had come over to + Plymouth, whence he removed two years later to Salem, and became pastor of + the church there. The views of Williams, if logically carried out, + involved the entire separation of church from state, the equal protection + of all forms of religious faith, the repeal of all laws compelling + attendance on public worship, the abolition of tithes and of all forced + contributions to the support of religion. Such views are to-day quite + generally adopted by the more civilized portions of the Protestant world; + but it is needless to say that they were not the views of the seventeenth + century, in Massachusetts or elsewhere. For declaring such opinions as + these on the continent of Europe, anywhere except in Holland, a man like + Williams would in that age have run great risk of being burned at the + stake. In England, under the energetic misgovernment of Laud, he would + very likely have had to stand in the pillory with his ears cropped, or + perhaps, like Bunyan and Baxter, would have been sent to jail. In + Massachusetts such views were naturally enough regarded as anarchical, but + in Williams's case they were further complicated by grave political + imprudence. He wrote a pamphlet in which he denied the right of the + colonists to the lands which they held in New England under the king's + grant. He held that the soil belonged to the Indians, that the settlers + could only obtain a valid title to it by purchase from them, and that the + acceptance of a patent from a mere intruder, like the king, was a sin + requiring public repentance. This doctrine was sure to be regarded in + England as an attack upon the king's supremacy over Massachusetts, and at + the same time an incident occurred in Salem which made it all the more + unfortunate. The royal colours under which the little companies of militia + marched were emblazoned with the red cross of St. George. The + uncompromising Endicott loathed this emblem as tainted with Popery, and + one day he publicly defaced the flag of the Salem company by cutting out + the cross. The enemies of Massachusetts misinterpreted this act as a + defiance aimed at the royal authority, and they attributed it to the + teachings of Williams. In view of the king's unfriendliness these were + dangerous proceedings. Endicott was summoned before the General Court at + Boston, where he was publicly reprimanded and declared incapable of + holding office for a year. A few months afterward, in January, 1636, + Williams was ordered by the General Court to come to Boston and embark in + a ship that was about to set sail for England. But he escaped into the + forest, and made his way through the snow to the wigwam of Massasoit. He + was a rare linguist, and had learned to talk fluently in the language of + the Indians, and now he passed the winter in trying to instill into their + ferocious hearts something of the gentleness of Christianity. In the + spring he was privately notified by Winthrop that if he were to steer his + course to Narragansett bay he would be secure from molestation; and such + was the beginning of the settlement of Providence. [[Sidenote: From + religious dissensions; Roger Williams] + </p> + <p> + Shortly before the departure of Williams, there came to Boston one of the + greatest Puritan statesmen of that heroic age, the younger Henry Vane. It + is pleasant to remember that the man and Anne who did so much to overthrow + the tyranny of Strafford, who brought the military strength of Scotland to + the aid of the hard-pressed Parliament, who administered the navy with + which Blake won his astonishing victories, who dared even withstand + Cromwell at the height of his power when his measures became too violent,—it + is pleasant to remember that this admirable man was once the chief + magistrate of an American commonwealth. It is pleasant for a Harvard man + to remember that as such he presided over the assembly that founded our + first university. Thorough republican and enthusiastic lover of liberty, + he was spiritually akin to Jefferson and to Samuel Adams. Like Williams he + was a friend to toleration, and like Williams he found Massachusetts an + uncomfortable home. In 1636 he was only twenty-four years of age, "young + in years," and perhaps not yet "in sage counsel old." He was chosen + governor for that year, and his administration was stormy. Among those + persons who had followed Mr. Cotton from Lincolnshire was Mrs. Anne + Hutchinson, a very bright and capable lady, if perhaps somewhat impulsive + and indiscreet. She had brought over with her, says Winthrop, "two + dangerous errors: first, that the person of the Holy Ghost dwells in a + justified person; second, that no sanctification can help to evidence to + us our justification." Into the merits of such abstruse doctrines it is + not necessary for the historian to enter. One can hardly repress a smile + as one reflects how early in the history of Boston some of its + characteristic social features were developed. It is curious to read of + lectures there in 1636, lectures by a lady, and transcendentalist lectures + withal! Never did lectures in Boston arouse greater excitement than Mrs. + Hutchinson's. Many of her hearers forsook the teachings of the regular + ministers, to follow her. [[Sidenote: Henry Vane and Anne Hutchinson] + </p> + <p> + She was very effectively supported by her brother-in-law, Mr. Wheelwright, + an eloquent preacher, and for a while she seemed to be carrying everything + before her. She won her old minister Mr. Cotton, she won the stout soldier + Captain Underhill, she won Governor Vane himself; while she incurred the + deadly hatred of such men as Dudley and Cotton's associate John Wilson. + The church at Boston was divided into two hostile camps. The sensible + Winthrop marvelled at hearing men distinguished "by being under a covenant + of grace or a covenant of works, as in other countries between Protestants + and Papists," and he ventured to doubt whether any man could really tell + what the difference was. The theological strife went on until it + threatened to breed civil disaffection among the followers of Mrs. + Hutchinson. A peculiar bitterness was given to the affair, from the fact + that she professed to be endowed with the spirit of prophecy and taught + her partisans that it was their duty to follow the biddings of a + supernatural light; and there was nothing which the orthodox Puritan so + steadfastly abhorred as the anarchical pretence of living by the aid of a + supernatural light. In a strong and complex society the teachings of Mrs. + Hutchinson would have awakened but a languid speculative interest, or + perhaps would have passed by unheeded. In the simple society of + Massachusetts in 1636, physically weak and as yet struggling for very + existence, the practical effect of such teachings may well have been + deemed politically dangerous. When things came to such a pass that the + forces of the colony were mustered for an Indian campaign and the men of + Boston were ready to shirk the service because they suspected their + chaplain to be "under a covenant of works," it was naturally thought to be + high time to put Mrs. Hutchinson down. In the spring of 1637 Winthrop was + elected governor, and in August Vane returned to England. His father had + at that moment more influence with the king than any other person except + Strafford, and the young man had indiscreetly hinted at an appeal to the + home government for the protection of the Antinomians, as Mrs. + Hutchinson's followers were called. But an appeal from America to England + was something which Massachusetts would no more tolerate in the days of + Winthrop than in the days of Hancock and Adams. Soon after Vane's + departure, Mrs. Hutchinson and her friends were ordered to leave the + colony. It was doubtless an odious act of persecution, yet of all such + acts which stain the history of Massachusetts in the seventeenth century, + it is just the one for which the plea of political necessity may really be + to some extent accepted. + </p> + <p> + We now begin to see how the spreading of the New England colonization, and + the founding of distinct communities, was hastened by these differences of + opinion on theological questions or on questions concerning the relations + between church and state. Of Mrs. Hutchinson's friends and adherents, some + went northward, and founded the towns of Exeter and Hampton. Some time + before Portsmouth and Dover had been settled by followers of Mason and + Gorges. In 1641 these towns were added to the domain of Massachusetts, and + so the matter stood until 1679, when we shall see Charles II. marking them + off as a separate province, under a royal government. Such were the + beginnings of New Hampshire. Mrs. Hutchinson herself, however, with the + rest of her adherents, bought the island of Aquedneck from the Indians, + and settlements were made at Portsmouth and Newport. After a quarter of a + century of turbulence, these settlements coalesced with Williams's colony + at Providence, and thus was formed the state of Rhode Island. After her + husband's death in 1642, Mrs. Hutchinson left Aquedneck and settled upon + some land to the west of Stamford and supposed to be within the territory + of the New Netherlands. There in the following year she was cruelly + murdered by Indians, together with nearly all her children and servants, + sixteen victims in all. One of her descendants was the illustrious Thomas + Hutchinson, the first great American historian, and last royal governor of + Massachusetts. + </p> + <p> + To the dangers arising from the ill-will of the crown, and from these + theological quarrels, there was added the danger of a general attack by + the savages. Down to this time, since the landing of the Pilgrims at + Plymouth, the settlers of New England had been in no way molested by the + natives. Massasoit's treaty with the Pilgrims was scrupulously observed on + both sides, and kept the Wampanoags quiet for fifty-four years. The + somewhat smaller tribe which took its name from the <i>Massawachusett</i>, + or Great Hill, of Milton, kept on friendly terms with the settlers about + Boston, because these red men coveted the powerful aid of the white + strangers in case of war with their hereditary foes the Tarratines, who + dwelt in the Piscataqua country. It was only when the English began to + leave these coast regions and press into the interior that trouble arose. + The western shores of Narragansett bay were possessed by the numerous and + warlike tribe of that name, which held in partial subjection the Nyantics + near Point Judith. To the west of these, and about the Thames river, dwelt + the still more formidable Pequots, a tribe which for bravery and ferocity + asserted a preeminence in New England not unlike that which the Iroquois + league of the Mohawk valley was fast winning over all North America east + of the Mississippi. North of the Pequots, the squalid villages of the + Nipmucks were scattered over the beautiful highlands that stretch in long + ridges from Quinsigamond to Nichewaug, and beyond toward blue Monadnock. + Westward, in the lower Connecticut valley, lived the Mohegans, a small but + valiant tribe, now for some time held tributary to their Pequot cousins, + and very restive under the yoke. The thickly wooded mountain ranges + between the Connecticut and the Hudson had few human inhabitants. These + hundred miles of crag and forest were a bulwark none too wide or strong + against the incursions of the terrible Mohawks, whose name sent a shiver + of fear throughout savage New England, and whose forbearance the Nipmucks + and Mohegans were fain to ensure by a yearly payment of blackmail. Each + summer there came two Mohawk elders, secure in the dread that Iroquois + prowess had everywhere inspired; and up and down the Connecticut valley + they seized the tribute of weapons and wampum, and proclaimed the last + harsh edict issued from the savage council at Onondaga. The scowls that + greeted their unwelcome visits were doubtless nowhere fiercer than among + the Mohegans, thus ground down between Mohawk and Pequot as between the + upper and the nether millstone. [[Sidenote: From the Indians: the Pequot + supremacy] + </p> + <p> + Among the various points in which civilized man surpasses the savage none + is more conspicuous than the military brute force which in the highest + civilization is always latent though comparatively seldom exerted. The + sudden intrusion of English warfare into the Indian world of the + seventeenth century may well have seemed to the red men a supernatural + visitation, like the hurricane or the earthquake. The uncompromising + vigour with which the founders of Massachusetts carried on their work was + viewed in some quarters with a dissatisfaction which soon thrust the + English migration into the very heart of the Indian country. + </p> + <p> + The first movement, however, was directed against the encroachments of the + New Netherlands. In October, 1634, some men of Plymouth, led by William + Holmes, sailed up the Connecticut river, and, after bandying threats with + a party of Dutch who had built a rude fort on the site of Hartford, passed + on and fortified themselves on the site of Windsor. Next year Governor Van + Twiller sent a company of seventy men to drive away these intruders, but + after reconnoitring the situation the Dutchmen thought it best not to make + an attack. Their little stronghold at Hartford remained unmolested by the + English, and, in order to secure the communication between this advanced + outpost and New Amsterdam, Van Twiller decided to build another fort at + the mouth of the river, but this time the English were beforehand. Rumours + of Dutch designs may have reached the ears of Lord Say and Sele and Lord + Brooke—"fanatic Brooke," as Scott calls him in "Marmion"—who + had obtained from the Council for New England a grant of territory on the + shores of the Sound. These noblemen chose as their agent the younger John + Winthrop, son of the Massachusetts governor, and this new-comer arrived + upon the scene just in time to drive away Van Twiller's vessel and build + an English fort which in honour of his two patrons he called "Say-Brooke." + </p> + <p> + Had it not been for seeds of discontent already sown in Massachusetts, the + English hold upon the Connecticut valley might perhaps have been for a few + years confined to these two military outposts at Windsor and Saybrook. But + there were people in Massachusetts who did not look with favour upon the + aristocratic and theocratic features in its polity. The provision that + none but church-members should vote or hold office was by no means + unanimously approved. We see it in the course of another generation + putting altogether too much temporal power into the hands of the clergy, + and we can trace the growth of the opposition to it until in the reign of + Charles II. it becomes a dangerous source of weakness to Massachusetts. At + the outset the opposition seems to have been strongest in Dorchester, + Newtown, and Watertown. When the Board of Assistants undertook to secure + for themselves permanency of tenure, together with the power of choosing + the governor and making the laws, these three towns sent deputies to + Boston to inspect the charter and see if it authorized any such stretch of + power. They were foremost in insisting that representatives chosen by the + towns must have a share in the general government. Men who held such + opinions were naturally unwilling to increase the political weight of the + clergy, who, during these early disputes and indeed until the downfall of + the charter, were inclined to take aristocratic views and to sympathize + with the Board of Assistants. Cotton declared that democracy was no fit + government either for church or for commonwealth, and the majority of the + ministers agreed with him. Chief among those who did not was the learned + and eloquent Thomas Hooker, pastor of the church at Newtown. When + Winthrop, in a letter to Hooker, defended the restriction of the suffrage + on the ground that "the best part is always the least, and of that best + part the wiser part is always the lesser;" Hooker replied that "in matters + which concern the common good, a general council, chosen by all, to + transact businesses which concern all, I conceive most suitable to rule + and most safe for relief of the whole." It is interesting to meet, on the + very threshold of American history, with such a lucid statement of the + strongly contrasted views which a hundred and fifty years later were to be + represented on a national scale by Hamilton and Jefferson. There were many + in Newtown who took Hooker's view of the matter; and there, as also in + Watertown and Dorchester, which in 1633 took the initiative in framing + town governments with selectmen, a strong disposition was shown to evade + the restrictions upon the suffrage. + </p> + <p> + While such things were talked about in the summer of 1633 the adventurous + John Oldham was making his way through the forest and over the mountains + into the Connecticut valley, and when he returned to the coast his glowing + accounts set some people to thinking. Two years afterward a few pioneers + from Dorchester pushed through the wilderness as far as the Plymouth men's + fort at Windsor, while a party from Watertown went farther and came to a + halt upon the site of Wethersfield. A larger party, bringing cattle and + such goods as they could carry, set out in the autumn and succeeded in + reaching Windsor. Their winter supplies were sent around by water to meet + them, but early in November the ships had barely passed the Saybrook fort + when they found the river blocked with ice and were obliged to return to + Boston. The sufferings of the pioneers, thus cut off from the world, were + dreadful. Their cattle perished, and they were reduced to a diet of acorns + and ground-nuts. Some seventy of them, walking on the frozen river to + Saybrook, were so fortunate as to find a crazy little sloop jammed in the + ice. They succeeded in cutting her adrift, and steered themselves back to + Boston. Others surmounted greater obstacles in struggling back through the + snow over the region which the Pullman car now traverses, regardless of + seasons, in three hours. A few grim heroes, the nameless founders of a + noble commonwealth, stayed on the spot and defied starvation. In the next + June, 1636, the Newtown congregation, a hundred or more in number, led by + their sturdy pastor, and bringing with them 160 head of cattle, made the + pilgrimage to the Connecticut valley. Women and children took part in this + pleasant summer journey; Mrs. Hooker, the pastor's wife, being too ill to + walk, was carried on a litter. Thus, in the memorable year in which our + great university was born, did Cambridge become, in the true Greek sense + of a much-abused word, the <i>metropolis</i> or "mother town" of Hartford. + The migration at once became strong in numbers. During the past + twelvemonth a score of ships had brought from England to Massachusetts + more than 3000 souls, and so great an accession made further movement + easy. Hooker's pilgrims were soon followed by the Dorchester and Watertown + congregations, and by the next May 800 people were living in Windsor, + Hartford, and Wethersfield. As we read of these movements, not of + individuals, but of organic communities, united in allegiance to a church + and its pastor, and fervid with the instinct of self-government, we seem + to see Greek history renewed, but with centuries of added political + training. For one year a board of commissioners from Massachusetts + governed the new towns, but at the end of that time the towns chose + representatives and held a General Court at Hartford, and thus the + separate existence of Connecticut was begun. As for Springfield, which was + settled about the same time by a party from Roxbury, it remained for some + years doubtful to which state it belonged. At the opening session of the + General Court, May 31,1638, Mr. Hooker preached a sermon of wonderful + power, in which he maintained that "the foundation of authority is laid in + the free consent of the people," "that the choice of public magistrates + belongs unto the people by God's own allowance," and that "they who have + power to appoint officers and magistrates have the right also to set the + bounds and limitations of the power and place unto which they call them." + On the 14th of January, 1639, all the freemen of the three towns assembled + at Hartford and adopted a written constitution in which the hand of the + great preacher is clearly discernible. It is worthy of note that this + document contains none of the conventional references to a "dread + sovereign" or a "gracious king," nor the slightest allusion to the British + or any other government outside of Connecticut itself, nor does it + prescribe any condition of church-membership for the right of suffrage. It + was the first written constitution known to history, that created a + government, <a href="#linknote-10" name="linknoteref-10" + id="linknoteref-10"><small>10</small></a> and it marked the beginnings of + American democracy, of which Thomas Hooker deserves more than any other + man to be called the father. The government of the United States today is + in lineal descent more nearly related to that of Connecticut than to that + of any of the other thirteen colonies. The most noteworthy feature of the + Connecticut republic was that it was a federation of independent towns, + and that all attributes of sovereignty not expressly granted to the + General Court remained, as of original right, in the towns. Moreover, + while the governor and council were chosen by a majority vote of the whole + people, and by a suffrage that was almost universal, there was for each + township an equality of representation in the assembly. <a + href="#linknote-11" name="linknoteref-11" id="linknoteref-11"><small>11</small></a> + This little federal republic was allowed to develop peacefully and + normally; its constitution was not violently wrenched out of shape like + that of Massachusetts at the end of the seventeenth century. It silently + grew till it became the strongest political structure on the continent, as + was illustrated in the remarkable military energy and the unshaken + financial credit of Connecticut during the Revolutionary War; and in the + chief crisis of the Federal Convention of 1787 Connecticut, with her + compromise which secured equal state representation in one branch of the + national government and popular representation in the other, played the + controlling part. [[Sidenote: Connecticut Pioneers] [[Sidenote: The first + written constitution] + </p> + <p> + Before the little federation of towns had framed its government, it had + its Indian question to dispose of. Three years before the migration led by + Hooker, a crew of eight traders, while making their way up the river to + the Dutch station on the site of Hartford, had been murdered by a party of + Indians subject to Sassacus, chief sachem of the Pequots. Negotiations + concerning this outrage had gone on between Sassacus and the government at + Boston, and the Pequots had promised to deliver up the murderers, but had + neglected to do so. In the summer of 1636 some Indians on Block Island + subject to the Narragansetts murdered the pioneer John Oldham, who was + sailing on the Sound, and captured his little vessel. At this, says + Underhill, "God stirred up the hearts" of Governor Vane and the rest of + the magistrates. They were determined to make an end of the Indian + question and show the savages that such things would not be endured. First + an embassy was sent to Canonicus and his nephew Miantonomo, chief sachems + of the Narragansetts, who hastened to disclaim all responsibility for the + murder, and to throw the blame entirely upon the Indians of the island. + Vane then sent out three vessels under command of Endicott, who ravaged + Block Island, burning wigwams, sinking canoes, and slaying dogs, for the + men had taken to the woods. Endicott then crossed to the mainland to + reckon with the Pequots. He demanded the surrender of the murderers, with + a thousand fathoms of wampum for damages; and not getting a satisfactory + answer, he attacked the Indians, killed a score of them, seized their ripe + corn, and burned and spoiled what he could. But such reprisals served only + to enrage the red men. Lyon Gardiner, commander of the Saybrook fort, + complained to Endicott: "You come hither to raise these wasps about my + ears; then you will take wing and flee away." The immediate effect was to + incite Sassacus to do his utmost to compass the ruin of the English. The + superstitious awe with which the white men were at first regarded had been + somewhat lessened by familiar contact with them, as in Aesop's fable of + the fox and the lion. The resources of Indian diplomacy were exhausted in + the attempt to unite the Narragansett warriors with the Pequots in a grand + crusade against the white men. Such a combination could hardly have been + as formidable as that which was effected forty years afterward in King + Philip's war; for the savages had not as yet become accustomed to + firearms, and the English settlements did not present so many points + exposed to attack; but there is no doubt that it might have wrought + fearful havoc. We can, at any rate, find no difficulty in comprehending + the manifold perplexity of the Massachusetts men at this time, threatened + as they were at once by an Indian crusade, by the machinations of a + faithless king, and by a bitter theological quarrel at home, in this + eventful year when they laid aside part of their incomes to establish + Harvard College. [[Sidenote: Origin of the Pequot War] + </p> + <p> + The schemes of Sassacus were unsuccessful. The hereditary enmity of the + Narragansetts toward their Pequot rivals was too strong to be lightly + overcome. Roger Williams, taking advantage of this feeling, so worked upon + the minds of the Narragansett chiefs that in the autumn of 1636 they sent + an embassy to Boston and made a treaty of alliance with the English. The + Pequots were thus left to fight out their own quarrel; and had they still + been separated from the English by the distance between Boston and the + Thames river, the feud might very likely have smouldered until the drift + of events had given a different shape to it. But as the English had in + this very year thrown out their advanced posts into the lower Connecticut + valley, there was clearly no issue from the situation save in deadly war. + All through the winter of 1636-37 the Connecticut towns were kept in a + state of alarm by the savages. Men going to their work were killed and + horribly mangled. A Wethersfield man was kidnapped and roasted alive. + Emboldened by the success of this feat, the Pequots attacked Wethersfield, + massacred ten people, and carried away two girls. [[Sidenote: Sassacus is + foiled by Roger Williams] [[Sidenote: The Pequots take the warpath alone] + </p> + <p> + Wrought up to desperation by these atrocities, the Connecticut men + appealed to Massachusetts and Plymouth for aid, and put into service + ninety of their own number, under command of John Mason, an excellent and + sturdy officer who had won golden opinions from Sir Thomas Fairfax, under + whom he had served in the Netherlands. It took time to get men from + Boston, and all that Massachusetts contributed to the enterprise at its + beginning was that eccentric daredevil John Underhill, with a force of + twenty men. Seventy friendly Mohegans, under their chief Uncas, eager to + see vengeance wrought upon their Pequot oppressors, accompanied the + expedition. From the fort at Saybrook this little company set sail on the + twentieth of May, 1637, and landed in brilliant moonlight near Point + Judith, where they were reinforced by four hundred Narragansetts and + Nyantics. From this point they turned westward toward the stronghold of + the Pequots, near the place where the town of Stonington now stands. As + they approached the dreaded spot the courage of the Indian allies gave + out, and they slunk behind, declaring that Sassacus was a god whom it was + useless to think of attacking. The force with which Mason and Underhill + advanced to the fray consisted of just seventy-seven Englishmen. Their + task was to assault and carry an entrenched fort or walled village + containing seven hundred Pequots. The fort was a circle of two or three + acres in area, girdled by a palisade of sturdy sapling-trunks, set firm + and deep into the ground, the narrow interstices between them serving as + loopholes wherefrom to reconnoitre any one passing by and to shoot at + assailants. At opposite sides of this stronghold were two openings barely + large enough to let any one go through. Within this enclosure were the + crowded wigwams. The attack was skilfully managed, and was a complete + surprise. A little before daybreak Mason, with sixteen men, occupied one + of the doors, while Underhill made sure of the other. The Indians in panic + sought first one outlet and then the other, and were ruthlessly shot down, + whichever way they turned. A few succeeded in breaking loose, but these + were caught and tomahawked by the Indian allies, who, though afraid to + take the risks of the fight, were ready enough to help slay the fugitives. + The English threw firebrands among the wigwams, and soon the whole village + was in a light blaze, and most of the savages suffered the horrible death + which they were so fond of inflicting upon their captives. Of the seven + hundred Pequots in the stronghold, but five got away with their lives. All + this bloody work had been done in less than an hour, and of the English + there had been two killed and sixteen wounded. It was the end of the + Pequot nation. Of the remnant which had not been included in this + wholesale slaughter, most were soon afterwards destroyed piecemeal in a + running fight which extended as far westward as the site of Fairfield. + Sassacus fled across the Hudson river to the Mohawks, who slew him and + sent his scalp to Boston, as a peace-offering to the English. The few + survivors were divided between the Mohegans and Narragansetts and adopted + into those tribes. Truly the work was done with Cromwellian thoroughness. + The tribe which had lorded it so fiercely over the New England forests was + all at once wiped out of existence. So terrible a vengeance the Indians + had never heard of. If the name of Pequot had hitherto been a name of + terror, so now did the Englishmen win the inheritance of that deadly + prestige. Not for eight-and-thirty years after the destruction of the + Pequots, not until a generation of red men had grown up that knew not + Underhill and Mason, did the Indian of New England dare again to lift his + hand against the white man. [[Sidenote: And are exterminated] + </p> + <p> + Such scenes of wholesale slaughter are not pleasant reading in this milder + age. But our forefathers felt that the wars of Canaan afforded a sound + precedent for such cases; and, indeed, if we remember what the soldiers of + Tilly and Wallenstein were doing at this very time in Germany, we shall + realize that the work of Mason and Underhill would not have been felt by + any one in that age to merit censure or stand in need of excuses. As a + matter of practical policy the annihilation of the Pequots can be + condemned only by those who read history so incorrectly as to suppose that + savages, whose business is to torture and slay, can always be dealt with + according to the methods in use between civilized peoples. A mighty + nation, like the United States, is in honour bound to treat the red man + with scrupulous justice and refrain from cruelty in punishing his + delinquencies. But if the founders of Connecticut, in confronting a danger + which threatened their very existence, struck with savage fierceness, we + cannot blame them. The world is so made that it is only in that way that + the higher races have been able to preserve themselves and carry on their + progressive work. + </p> + <p> + The overthrow of the Pequots was a cardinal event in the planting of New + England. It removed the chief obstacle to the colonization of the + Connecticut coast, and brought the inland settlements into such unimpeded + communication with those on tide-water as to prepare the way for the + formation of the New England confederacy. Its first fruits were seen in + the direction taken by the next wave of migration, which ended the Puritan + exodus from England to America. About a month after the storming of the + palisaded village there arrived in Boston a company of wealthy London + merchants, with their families. The most prominent among them, Theophilus + Eaton, was a member of the Company of Massachusetts Bay. Their pastor, + John Davenport, was an eloquent preacher and a man of power. He was a + graduate of Oxford, and in 1624 had been chosen vicar of St. Stephen's + parish, in Coleman street, London. When he heard that Cotton and Hooker + were about to sail for America, he sought earnestly to turn them from what + he deemed the error of their ways, but instead he became converted himself + and soon incurred the especial enmity of Laud, so that it became necessary + for him to flee to Amsterdam. In 1636 he returned to England, and in + concert with Eaton organized a scheme of emigration that included men from + Yorkshire, Hertfordshire, and Kent. The leaders arrived in Boston in the + midst of the Antinomian disputes, and although Davenport won admiration + for his skill in battling with heresy, he may perhaps have deemed it + preferable to lead his flock to some new spot in the wilderness where such + warfare might not be required. The merchants desired a fine harbour and + good commercial situation, and the reports of the men who returned from + hunting the Pequots told them of just such a spot at Quinnipiack on Long + Island Sound. Here they could carry out their plan of putting into + practice a theocratic ideal even more rigid than that which obtained in + Massachusetts, and arrange their civil as well as ecclesiastical affairs + in accordance with rules to be obtained from a minute study of the + Scriptures. [[Sidenote: The colony of New Haven] + </p> + <p> + In the spring of 1638 the town of New Haven was accordingly founded. The + next year a swarm from this new town settled Milford, while another party, + freshly arrived from England, made the beginnings of Guilford. In 1640 + Stamford was added to the group, and in 1643 the four towns were united + into the republic of New Haven, to which Southold, on Long Island, and + Branford were afterwards added. As being a confederation of independent + towns, New Haven resembled Connecticut. In other respects the differences + between the two reflected the differences between Davenport and Hooker; + the latter was what would now be called more radical than Winthrop or + Cotton, the former was more conservative. In the New Haven colony none but + church-members could vote, and this measure at the outset disfranchised + more than half the settlers in New Haven town, nearly half in Guilford, + and less than one fifth in Milford. This result was practically less + democratic than in Massachusetts where it was some time before the + disfranchisement attained such dimensions. The power of the clergy reached + its extreme point in New Haven, where each of the towns was governed by + seven ecclesiastical officers known as "pillars of the church." These + magistrates served as judges, and trial by jury was dispensed with, + because no authority could be found for it in the laws of Moses. The + legislation was quaint enough, though the famous "Blue Laws" of New Haven, + which have been made the theme of so many jests at the expense of our + forefathers, never really existed. The story of the Blue Laws was first + published in 1781 by the Rev. Samuel Peters, a Tory refugee in London, who + took delight in horrifying our British cousins with tales of wholesale + tarring and feathering done by the patriots of the Revolution. In point of + strict veracity Dr. Peters reminds one of Baron Munchausen; he declares + that the river at Bellows Falls flows so fast as to float iron crowbars, + and he gravely describes sundry animals who were evidently cousins to the + Jabberwok. The most famous passage of his pretended code is that which + enacts that "no woman shall kiss her child on the Sabbath," and that "no + one shall play on any instrument of music except the drum, trumpet, or + jewsharp." [[Sidenote: Legend of the "Blue Laws"] + </p> + <p> + When the Long Parliament met in 1640, the Puritan exodus to New England + came to an end. During the twenty years which had elapsed since the voyage + of the Mayflower, the population had grown to 26,000 souls. Of this number + scarcely 500 had arrived before 1629. It is a striking fact, since it + expresses a causal relation and not a mere coincidence, that the eleven + years, 1629-1640, during which Charles I. governed England without a + parliament, were the same eleven years that witnessed the planting of New + England. For more than a century after this there was no considerable + migration to this part of North America. Puritan England now found + employment for all its energies and all its enthusiasm at home. The + struggle with the king and the efforts toward reorganization under + Cromwell were to occupy it for another score of years, and then, by the + time of the Restoration the youthful creative energy of Puritanism had + spent itself. The influence of this great movement was indeed destined to + grow wider and deeper with the progress of civilization, but after 1660 + its creative work began to run in new channels and assume different forms. + [[Sidenote: End of the Puritan exodus] + </p> + <p> + It is curious to reflect what might have been the result, to America and + to the world, had things in England gone differently between 1620 and + 1660. Had the policy of James and Charles been less formidable, the + Puritan exodus might never have occurred, and the Virginian type of + society, varied perhaps by a strong Dutch infusion, might have become + supreme in America. The western continent would have lost in richness and + variety of life, and it is not likely that Europe would have made a + corresponding gain, for the moral effect of the challenge, the struggle, + and the overthrow of monarchy in England was a stimulus sorely needed by + neighbouring peoples. It is not always by avoiding the evil, it is rather + by grappling with it and conquering it that character is strengthened and + life enriched, and there is no better example of this than the history of + England in the seventeenth century. + </p> + <p> + On the other hand, if the Stuart despotism had triumphed in England, the + Puritan exodus would doubtless have been swelled to huge dimensions. New + England would have gained strength so quickly that much less irritation + than she actually suffered between 1664 and 1689 would probably have + goaded her into rebellion. The war of independence might have been waged a + century sooner than it was. It is not easy to point to any especial + advantage that could have come to America from this; one is rather + inclined to think of the peculiarly valuable political training of the + eighteenth century that would have been lost. Such surmises are for the + most part idle. But as concerns Europe, it is plain to be seen, for + reasons stated in my first chapter, that the decisive victory of Charles + I. would have been a calamity of the first magnitude. It would have been + like the Greeks losing Marathon or the Saracens winning Tours, supposing + the worst consequences ever imagined in those hypothetical cases to have + been realized. Or taking a more contracted view, we can see how England, + robbed of her Puritan element, might still have waxed in strength, as + France has done in spite of losing the Huguenots; but she could not have + taken the proud position that she has come to occupy as mother of nations. + Her preeminence since Cromwell's time has been chiefly due to her + unrivalled power of planting self-supporting colonies, and that power has + had its roots in English self-government. It is the vitality of the + English Idea that is making the language of Cromwell and Washington + dominant in the world. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0004" id="link2HCH0004"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER IV. — THE NEW ENGLAND CONFEDERACY. + </h2> + <p> + The Puritan exodus to New England, which came to an end about 1640, was + purely and exclusively English. There was nothing in it that came from the + continent of Europe, nothing that was either Irish or Scotch, very little + that was Welsh. As Palfrey says, the population of 26,000 that had been + planted in New England by 1640 "thenceforward continued to multiply on its + own soil for a century and a half, in remarkable seclusion from other + communities." During the whole of this period New England received but few + immigrants; and it was not until after the Revolutionary War that its + people had fairly started on their westward march into the state of New + York and beyond, until now, after yet another century, we find some of + their descendants dwelling in a homelike Salem and a Portland of charming + beauty on the Pacific coast. Three times between the meeting of the Long + Parliament and the meeting of the Continental Congress did the New England + colonies receive a slight infusion of non-English blood. In 1652, after + his victories at Dunbar and Worcester, Cromwell sent 270 of his Scottish + prisoners to Boston, where the descendants of some of them still dwell. + After the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, 150 families of + Huguenots came to Massachusetts. And finally in 1719, 120 Presbyterian + families came over from the north of Ireland, and settled at Londonderry + in New Hampshire, and elsewhere. In view of these facts it may be said + that there is not a county in England of which the population is more + purely English than the population of New England at the end of the + eighteenth century. From long and careful research, Mr. Savage, the + highest authority on this subject, concludes that more than 98 in 100 of + the New England people at that time could trace their origin to England in + the narrowest sense, excluding even Wales. As already observed, every + English shire contributed something to the emigration, but there was a + marked preponderance of people from the East Anglian counties. [[Sidenote: + The exodus was purely English] + </p> + <p> + The population of New England was nearly as homogeneous in social + condition as it was in blood. The emigration was preeminent for its + respectability. Like the best part of the emigration to Virginia, it + consisted largely of country squires and yeomen. The men who followed + Winthrop were thrifty and prosperous in their old homes from which their + devotion to an idea made them voluntary exiles. They attached so much + importance to regular industry and decorous behaviour that for a long time + the needy and shiftless people who usually make trouble in new colonies + were not tolerated among them. Hence the early history of New England is + remarkably free from those scenes of violence and disorder which have so + often made hideous the first years of new communities. Of negro slaves + there were very few, and these were employed wholly in domestic service; + there were not enough of them to affect the industrial life of New England + or to be worth mentioning as a class. Neither were there many of the + wretched people, kidnapped from the jails and slums of English sea-ports, + such as in those early days when negro labour was scarce, were sent by + ship-loads to Virginia, to become the progenitors of the "white trash." + There were a few indented white servants, usually of the class known as + "redemptioners," or immigrants who voluntarily bound themselves to service + for a stated time in order to defray the cost of their voyage from Europe. + At a later time there were many of these "redemptioners" in the middle + colonies, but in New England they were very few; and as no stigma of + servitude was attached to manual labour, they were apt at the end of their + terms of service to become independent farmers; thus they ceased to be + recognizable as a distinct class of society. Nevertheless the common + statement that no traces of the "mean white" are to be found in New + England is perhaps somewhat too sweeping. Interspersed among those + respectable and tidy mountain villages, once full of such vigorous life, + one sometimes comes upon little isolated groups of wretched hovels whose + local reputation is sufficiently indicated by such terse epithets as + "Hardscrabble" or "Hell-huddle." Their denizens may in many instances be + the degenerate offspring of a sound New England stock, but they sometimes + show strong points of resemblance to that "white trash" which has come to + be a recognizable strain of the English race; and one cannot help + suspecting that while the New England colonies made every effort to keep + out such riff raff, it may nevertheless have now and then crept in. + However this may be, it cannot be said that this element ever formed a + noticeable feature in the life of colonial New England. As regards their + social derivation, the settlers of New England were homogeneous in + character to a remarkable degree, and they were drawn from the sturdiest + part of the English stock. In all history there has been no other instance + of colonization so exclusively effected by picked and chosen men. The + colonists knew this, and were proud of it, as well they might be. It was + the simple truth that was spoken by William Stoughton when he said, in his + election sermon of 1688: "God sifted a whole nation, that He might send + choice grain into the wilderness." [[Sidenote: Respectable character of + the emigration] + </p> + <p> + This matter comes to have more than a local interest, when we reflect that + the 26,000 New Englanders of 1640 have in two hundred and fifty years + increased to something like 15,000,000. From these men have come at least + one-fourth of the present population of the United States. Striking as + this fact may seem, it is perhaps less striking than the fact of the + original migration when duly considered. In these times, when great + steamers sail every day from European ports, bringing immigrants to a + country not less advanced in material civilization than the country which + they leave, the daily arrival of a thousand new citizens has come to be a + commonplace event. But in the seventeenth century the transfer of more + than twenty thousand well-to-do people within twenty years from their + comfortable homes in England to the American wilderness was by no means a + commonplace event. It reminds one of the migrations of ancient peoples, + and in the quaint thought of our forefathers it was aptly likened to the + exodus of Israel from the Egyptian house of bondage. + </p> + <p> + In this migration a principle of selection was at work which insured an + extraordinary uniformity of character and of purpose among the settlers. + To this uniformity of purpose, combined with complete homogeneity of race, + is due the preponderance early acquired by New England in the history of + the American people. In view of this, it is worth while to inquire what + were the real aims of the settlers of New England. What was the common + purpose which brought these men together in their resolve to create for + themselves new homes in the wilderness? + </p> + <p> + This is a point concerning which there has been a great deal of popular + misapprehension, and there has been no end of nonsense talked about it. It + has been customary first to assume that the Puritan migration was + undertaken in the interests of religious liberty, and then to upbraid the + Puritans for forgetting all about religious liberty as soon as people came + among them who disagreed with their opinions. But this view of the case is + not supported by history. It is quite true that the Puritans were + chargeable with gross intolerance; but it is not true that in this they + were guilty of inconsistency. The notion that they came to New England for + the purpose of establishing religious liberty, in any sense in which we + should understand such a phrase, is entirely incorrect. It is neither more + nor less than a bit of popular legend. If we mean by the phrase "religious + liberty" a state of things in which opposite or contradictory opinions on + questions of religion shall exist side by side in the same community, and + in which everybody shall decide for himself how far he will conform to the + customary religious observances, nothing could have been further from + their thoughts. There is nothing they would have regarded with more + genuine abhorrence. If they could have been forewarned by a prophetic + voice of the general freedom—or, as they would have termed it, + license—of thought and behaviour which prevails in this country + to-day, they would very likely have abandoned their enterprise in despair. + <a href="#linknote-12" name="linknoteref-12" id="linknoteref-12"><small>12</small></a> + The philosophic student of history often has occasion to see how God is + wiser than man. In other words, he is often brought to realize how + fortunate it is that the leaders in great historic events cannot foresee + the remote results of the labours to which they have zealously consecrated + their lives. It is part of the irony of human destiny that the end we + really accomplish by striving with might and main is apt to be something + quite different from the end we dreamed of as we started on our arduous + labour. So it was with the Puritan settlers of New England. The religious + liberty that we enjoy to-day is largely the consequence of their work; but + it is a consequence that was unforeseen, while the direct and conscious + aim of their labours was something that has never been realized, and + probably never will be. [[Sidenote: The migration was not intended to + promote what we call religious liberty] + </p> + <p> + The aim of Winthrop and his friends in coming to Massachusetts was the + construction of a theocratic state which should be to Christians, under + the New Testament dispensation, all that the theocracy of Moses and Joshua + and Samuel had been to the Jews in Old Testament days. They should be to + all intents and purposes freed from the jurisdiction of the Stuart king, + and so far as possible the text of the Holy Scriptures should be their + guide both in weighty matters of general legislation and in the shaping of + the smallest details of daily life. In such a scheme there was no room for + religious liberty as we understand it. No doubt the text of the Scriptures + may be interpreted in many ways, but among these men there was a + substantial agreement as to the important points, and nothing could have + been further from their thoughts than to found a colony which should + afford a field for new experiments in the art of right living. The state + they were to found was to consist of a united body of believers; + citizenship itself was to be co-extensive with church-membership; and in + such a state there was apparently no more room for heretics than there was + in Rome or Madrid. This was the idea which drew Winthrop and his followers + from England at a time when—as events were soon to show—they + might have stayed there and defied persecution with less trouble than it + cost them to cross the ocean and found a new state. [[Sidenote: Theocratic + ideal of the Puritans] + </p> + <p> + Such an ideal as this, considered by itself and apart from the concrete + acts in which it was historically manifested, may seem like the merest + fanaticism. But we cannot dismiss in this summary way a movement which has + been at the source of so much that is great in American history: mere + fanaticism has never produced such substantial results. Mere fanaticism is + sure to aim at changing the constitution of human society in some + essential point, to undo the work of evolution, and offer in some + indistinctly apprehended fashion to remodel human life. But in these + respects the Puritans were intensely conservative. The impulse by which + they were animated was a profoundly ethical impulse—the desire to + lead godly lives, and to drive out sin from the community—the same + ethical impulse which animates the glowing pages of Hebrew poets and + prophets, and which has given to the history and literature of Israel + their commanding influence in the world. The Greek, says Matthew Arnold, + held that the perfection of happiness was to have one's thoughts hit the + mark; but the Hebrew held that it was to serve the Lord day and night. It + was a touch of this inspiration that the Puritan caught from his earnest + and reverent study of the sacred text, and that served to justify and + intensify his yearning for a better life, and to give it the character of + a grand and holy ideal. Yet with all this religious enthusiasm, the + Puritan was in every fibre a practical Englishman with his full share of + plain common-sense. He avoided the error of mediaeval anchorites and + mystics in setting an exaggerated value upon otherworldliness. In his + desire to win a crown of glory hereafter he did not forget that the + present life has its simple duties, in the exact performance of which the + welfare of society mainly consists. He likewise avoided the error of + modern radicals who would remodel the fundamental institutions of property + and of the family, and thus disturb the very groundwork of our ethical + ideals. The Puritan's ethical conception of society was simply that which + has grown up in the natural course of historical evolution, and which in + its essential points is therefore intelligible to all men, and approved by + the common-sense of men, however various may be the terminology—whether + theological or scientific—in which it is expounded. For these + reasons there was nothing essentially fanatical or impracticable in the + Puritan scheme: in substance it was something that great bodies of men + could at once put into practice, while its quaint and peculiar form was + something that could be easily and naturally outgrown and set aside. + [[Sidenote: The impulse which sought to realize itself in the Puritan + ideal was an ethical impulse] + </p> + <p> + Yet another point in which the Puritan scheme of a theocratic society was + rational and not fanatical was its method of interpreting the Scriptures. + That method was essentially rationalistic in two ways. First, the Puritan + laid no claim to the possession of any peculiar inspiration or divine + light whereby he might be aided in ascertaining the meaning of the sacred + text; but he used his reason just as he would in any matter of business, + and he sought to convince, and expected to be convinced, by rational + argument, and by nothing else. Secondly, it followed from this denial of + any peculiar inspiration that there was no room in the Puritan + commonwealth for anything like a priestly class, and that every individual + must hold his own opinions at his own personal risk. The consequences of + this rationalistic spirit have been very far-reaching. In the conviction + that religious opinion must be consonant with reason, and that religious + truth must be brought home to each individual by rational argument, we may + find one of the chief causes of that peculiarly conservative yet flexible + intelligence which has enabled the Puritan countries to take the lead in + the civilized world of today. Free discussion of theological questions, + when conducted with earnestness and reverence, and within certain + generally acknowledged limits, was never discountenanced in New England. + On the contrary, there has never been a society in the world in which + theological problems have been so seriously and persistently discussed as + in New England in the colonial period. The long sermons of the clergymen + were usually learned and elaborate arguments of doctrinal points, + bristling with quotations from the Bible, or from famous books of + controversial divinity, and in the long winter evenings the questions thus + raised afforded the occasion for lively debate in every household. The + clergy were, as a rule, men of learning, able to read both Old and New + Testaments in the original languages, and familiar with the best that had + been talked and written, among Protestants at least, on theological + subjects. They were also, for the most part, men of lofty character, and + they were held in high social esteem on account of their character and + scholarship, as well as on account of their clerical position. But in + spite of the reverence in which they were commonly held, it would have + been a thing quite unheard of for one of these pastors to urge an opinion + from the pulpit on the sole ground of his personal authority or his + superior knowledge of Scriptural exegesis. The hearers, too, were quick to + detect novelties or variations in doctrine; and while there was perhaps no + more than the ordinary human unwillingness to listen to a new thought + merely because of its newness, it was above all things needful that the + orthodox soundness of every new suggestion should be thoroughly and + severely tested. This intense interest in doctrinal theology was part and + parcel of the whole theory of New England life; because, as I have said, + it was taken for granted that each individual must hold his own opinions + at his own personal risk in the world to come. Such perpetual discussion, + conducted, under such a stimulus, afforded in itself no mean school of + intellectual training. Viewed in relation to the subsequent mental + activity of New England, it may be said to have occupied a position + somewhat similar to that which the polemics of the medieval schoolmen + occupied in relation to the European thought of the Renaissance, and of + the age of Hobbes and Descartes. At the same time the Puritan theory of + life lay at the bottom of the whole system of popular education in New + England. According to that theory, it was absolutely essential that every + one should be taught from early childhood how to read and understand the + Bible. So much instruction as this was assumed to be a sacred duty which + the community owed to every child born within its jurisdiction. In + ignorance, the Puritans maintained, lay the principal strength of popery + in religion as well as of despotism in politics; and so, to the best of + their lights, they cultivated knowledge with might and main. But in this + energetic diffusion of knowledge they were unwittingly preparing the + complete and irreparable destruction of the theocratic ideal of society + which they had sought to realize by crossing the ocean and settling in New + England. This universal education, and this perpetual discussion of + theological questions, were no more compatible with rigid adherence to the + Calvinistic system than with submission to the absolute rule of Rome. The + inevitable result was the liberal and enlightened Protestantism which is + characteristic of the best American society at the present day, and which + is continually growing more liberal as it grows more enlightened—a + Protestantism which, in the natural course of development, is coming to + realize the noble ideal of Roger Williams, but from the very thought of + which such men as Winthrop and Cotton and Endicott would have shrunk with + dismay. [[Sidenote: In interpreting Scripture, the Puritan appealed to his + reason] [[Sidenote: Value of theological discussion] + </p> + <p> + In this connection it is interesting to note the similarity between the + experience of the Puritans in New England and in Scotland with respect to + the influence of their religious theory of life upon general education. + Nowhere has Puritanism, with its keen intelligence and its iron tenacity + of purpose, played a greater part than it has played in the history of + Scotland. And one need not fear contradiction in saying that no other + people in modern times, in proportion to their numbers, have achieved so + much in all departments of human activity as the people of Scotland have + achieved. It would be superfluous to mention the preeminence of Scotland + in the industrial arts since the days of James Watt, or to recount the + glorious names in philosophy, in history, in poetry and romance, and in + every department of science, which since the middle of the eighteenth + century have made the country of Burns and Scott, of Hume and Adam Smith, + of Black and Hunter and Hutton and Lyell, illustrious for all future time. + Now this period of magnificent intellectual fruition in Scotland was + preceded by a period of Calvinistic orthodoxy quite as rigorous as that of + New England. The ministers of the Scotch Kirk in the seventeenth century + cherished a theocratic ideal of society not unlike that which the + colonists of New England aimed at realizing. There was the same austerity, + the same intolerance, the same narrowness of interests, in Scotland that + there was in New England. Mr. Buckle, in the book which thirty years ago + seemed so great and stimulating, gave us a graphic picture of this state + of society, and the only thing which he could find to say about it, as the + result of his elaborate survey, was that the spirit of the Scotch Kirk was + as thoroughly hostile to human progress as the spirit of the Spanish + Inquisition! If this were really so, it would be difficult indeed to + account for the period of brilliant mental activity which immediately + followed. But in reality the Puritan theory of life led to general + education in Scotland as it did in New England, and for precisely the same + reasons, while the effects of theological discussion in breaking down the + old Calvinistic exclusiveness have been illustrated in the history of + Edinburgh as well as in the history of Boston. [[Sidenote: Comparison with + the case of Scotland] + </p> + <p> + It is well for us to bear in mind the foregoing considerations as we deal + with the history of the short-lived New England Confederacy. The story is + full of instances of an intolerant and domineering spirit, especially on + the part of Massachusetts, and now and then this spirit breaks forth in + ugly acts of persecution. In considering these facts, it is well to + remember that we are observing the workings of a system which contained + within itself a curative principle; and it is further interesting to + observe how political circumstances contributed to modify the Puritan + ideal, gradually breaking down the old theocratic exclusiveness and + strengthening the spirit of religious liberty. + </p> + <p> + Scarcely had the first New England colonies been established when it was + found desirable to unite them into some kind of a confederation. It is + worthy of note that the separate existence of so many colonies was at the + outset largely the result of religious differences. The uniformity of + purpose, great as it was, fell far short of completeness. [[Sidenote: + Existence of so many colonies due to slight religious differences] + </p> + <p> + Could all have agreed, or had there been religious toleration in the + modern sense, there was still room enough for all in Massachusetts; and a + compact settlement would have been in much less danger from the Indians. + But in the founding of Connecticut the theocratic idea had less weight, + and in the founding of New Haven it had more weight, than in + Massachusetts. The existence of Rhode Island was based upon that principle + of full toleration which the three colonies just mentioned alike abhorred, + and its first settlers were people banished from Massachusetts. With + regard to toleration Plymouth occupied a middle ground; without admitting + the principles of Williams, the people of that colony were still fairly + tolerant in practice. Of the four towns of New Hampshire, two had been + founded by Antinomians driven from Boston, and two by Episcopal friends of + Mason and Gorges. It was impossible that neighbouring communities, + characterized by such differences of opinion, but otherwise homogeneous in + race and in social condition, should fail to react upon one another and to + liberalize one another. Still more was this true when they attempted to + enter into a political union. When, for example, Massachusetts in 1641-43 + annexed the New Hampshire townships, she was of necessity obliged to relax + in their case her policy of insisting upon religious conformity as a test + of citizenship. So in forming the New England Confederacy, there were some + matters of dispute that had to be passed over by mutual consent or + connivance. [[Sidenote: It led to a notable attempt at federation] + </p> + <p> + The same causes which had spread the English settlements over so wide a + territory now led, as an indirect result, to their partial union into a + confederacy. The immediate consequence of the westward movement had been + an Indian war. Several savage tribes were now interspersed between the + settlements, so that it became desirable that the military force should be + brought, as far as possible, under one management. The colony of New + Netherlands, moreover, had begun to assume importance, and the settlements + west of the Connecticut river had already occasioned hard words between + Dutch and English, which might at any moment be followed by blows. In the + French colonies at the north, with their extensive Indian alliances under + Jesuit guidance, the Puritans saw a rival power which was likely in course + of time to prove troublesome. With a view to more efficient self-defence, + therefore, in 1643 the four colonies of Massachusetts, Plymouth, + Connecticut, and New Haven formed themselves into a league, under the + style of "The United Colonies of New England." These four little states + now contained thirty-nine towns, with an aggregate population of 24,000. + To the northeast of Massachusetts, which now extended to the Piscataqua, a + small colony had at length been constituted under a proprietary charter + somewhat similar to that held by the Calverts in Maryland. Of this new + province or palatinate of Maine the aged Sir Ferdinando Gorges was Lord + Proprietary, and he had undertaken not only to establish the Church of + England there, but also to introduce usages of feudal jurisdiction like + those remaining in the old country. Such a community was not likely to + join the Confederacy; apart from other reasons, its proprietary + constitution and the feud between the Puritans and Gorges would have been + sufficient obstacles. + </p> + <p> + As for Rhode Island, on the other hand, it was regarded with strong + dislike by the other colonies. It was a curious and noteworthy consequence + of the circumstances under which this little state was founded that for a + long time it became the refuge of all the fanatical and turbulent people + who could not submit to the strict and orderly governments of Connecticut + or Massachusetts. All extremes met on Narragansett bay. There were not + only sensible advocates of religious liberty, but theocrats as well who + saw flaws in the theocracy of other Puritans. The English world was then + in a state of theological fermentation. People who fancied themselves + favoured with direct revelations from Heaven; people who thought it right + to keep the seventh day of the week as a Sabbath instead of the first day; + people who cherished a special predilection for the Apocalypse and the + Book of Daniel; people with queer views about property and government; + people who advocated either too little marriage or too much marriage; all + such eccentric characters as are apt to come to the surface in periods of + religious excitement found in Rhode Island a favoured spot where they + could prophesy without let or hindrance. But the immediate practical + result of so much discordance in opinion was the impossibility of founding + a strong and well-ordered government. The early history of Rhode Island + was marked by enough of turbulence to suggest the question whether, after + all, at the bottom of the Puritan's refusal to recognize the doctrine of + private inspiration, or to tolerate indiscriminately all sorts of + opinions, there may not have been a grain of shrewd political sense not + ill adapted to the social condition of the seventeenth century. In 1644 + and again in 1648 the Narragansett settlers asked leave to join the + Confederacy; but the request was refused on the ground that they had no + stable government of their own. They were offered the alternative of + voluntary annexation either to Massachusetts or to Plymouth, or of staying + out in the cold; and they chose the latter course. Early in 1643 they had + sent Roger Williams over to England to obtain a charter for Rhode Island. + In that year Parliament created a Board of Commissioners, with the Earl of + Warwick at its head, for the superintendence of colonial affairs; and + nothing could better illustrate the loose and reckless manner in which + American questions were treated in England than the first proceedings of + this board. It gave an early instance of British carelessness in matters + of American geography. In December, 1643, it granted to Massachusetts all + the territory on the mainland of Narragansett bay; and in the following + March it incorporated the townships of Newport and Portsmouth, which stood + on the island, together with Providence, which stood on the mainland, into + an independent colony empowered to frame a government and make laws for + itself. With this second document Williams returned to Providence in the + autumn of 1644. Just how far it was intended to cancel the first one, + nobody could tell, but it plainly afforded an occasion for a conflict of + claims. [[Sidenote: Turbulence of dissent in Rhode Island] [[Sidenote: The + Earl of Warwick and his Board of Commissioners] + </p> + <p> + The league of the four colonies is interesting as the first American + experiment in federation. By the articles it was agreed that each colony + should retain full independence so far as concerned the management of its + internal affairs, but that the confederate government should have entire + control over all dealings with the Indians or with foreign powers. The + administration of the league was put into the hands of a board of eight + Federal Commissioners, two from each colony. The commissioners were + required to be church-members in good standing. They could choose for + themselves a president or chairman out of their own number, but such a + president was to have no more power than the other members of the Board. + If any measure were to come up concerning which the commissioners could + not agree, it was to be referred for consideration to the legislatures or + general courts of the four colonies. Expenses for war were to be charged + to each colony in proportion to the number of males in each between + sixteen years of age and sixty. A meeting of the Board might be summoned + by any two magistrates whenever the public safety might seem to require + it; but a regular meeting was to be held once every year. + </p> + <p> + In this scheme of confederacy all power of taxation was expressly left to + the several colonies. The scheme provided for a mere league, not for a + federal union. The government of the Commissioners acted only upon the + local governments, not upon individuals. The Board had thus but little + executive power, and was hardly more than a consulting body. Another + source of weakness in the confederacy was the overwhelming preponderance + of Massachusetts. Of the 24,000 people in the confederation, 15,000 + belonged to Massachusetts, while the other three colonies had only about + 3,000 each. Massachusetts accordingly had to carry the heaviest burden, + both in the furnishing of soldiers and in the payment of war expenses, + while in the direction of affairs she had no more authority than one of + the small colonies. As a natural consequence, Massachusetts tried to exert + more authority than she was entitled to by the articles of confederation; + and such conduct was not unnaturally resented by the small colonies, as + betokening an unfair and domineering spirit. In spite of these drawbacks, + however, the league was of great value to New England. On many occasions + it worked well as a high court of jurisdiction, and it made the military + strength of the colonies more available than it would otherwise have been. + But for the interference of the British government, which brought it to an + untimely end, the Confederacy might have been gradually amended so as to + become enduring. After its downfall it was pleasantly remembered by the + people of New England; in times of trouble their thoughts reverted to it; + and the historian must in fairness assign it some share in preparing men's + minds for the greater work of federation which was achieved before the end + of the following century. [[Sidenote: It was only a league, not a federal + union] + </p> + <p> + The formation of such a confederacy certainly involved something very like + a tacit assumption of sovereignty on the part of the four colonies. It is + worthy of note that they did not take the trouble to ask the permission of + the home government in advance. They did as they pleased, and then + defended their action afterward. In England the act of confederation was + regarded with jealousy and distrust. But Edward Winslow, who was sent over + to London to defend the colonies, pithily said: "If we in America should + forbear to unite for offence and defence against a common enemy till we + have leave from England, our throats might be all cut before the messenger + would be half seas through." Whether such considerations would have had + weight with Charles I. or not was now of little consequence. His power of + making mischief soon came to an end, and from the liberal and sagacious + policy of Cromwell the Confederacy had not much to fear. Nevertheless the + fall of Charles I. brought up for the first time that question which a + century later was to acquire surpassing interest,—the question as to + the supremacy of Parliament over the colonies. + </p> + <p> + Down to this time the supreme control over colonial affairs had been in + the hands of the king and his privy council, and the Parliament had not + disputed it. In 1624 they had grumbled at James I.'s high-handed + suppression of the Virginia Company, but they had not gone so far as to + call in question the king's supreme authority over the colonies. In 1628, + in a petition to Charles I. relating to the Bermudas, they had fully + admitted this royal authority. But the fall of Charles I. for the moment + changed all this. Among the royal powers devolved upon Parliament was the + prerogative of superintending the affairs of the colonies. Such, at least, + was the theory held in England, and it is not easy to see how any other + theory could logically have been held; but the Americans never formally + admitted it, and in practice they continued to behave toward Parliament + very much as they had behaved toward the crown, yielding just as little + obedience as possible. When the Earl of Warwick's commissioners in 1644 + seized upon a royalist vessel in Boston harbour, the legislature of + Massachusetts debated the question whether it was compatible with the + dignity of the colony to permit such an act of sovereignty on the part of + Parliament. It was decided to wink at the proceeding, on account of the + strong sympathy between Massachusetts and the Parliament which was + overthrowing the king. At the same time the legislature sent over to + London a skilfully worded protest against any like exercise of power in + future. In 1651 Parliament ordered Massachusetts to surrender the charter + obtained from Charles I. and take out a new one from Parliament, in which + the relations of the colony to the home government should be made the + subject of fresh and more precise definition. To this request the colony + for more than a year vouchsafed no answer; and finally, when it became + necessary to do something, instead of sending back the charter, the + legislature sent back a memorial, setting forth that the people of + Massachusetts were quite contented with their form of government, and + hoped that no change would be made in it. War between England and Holland, + and the difficult political problems which beset the brief rule of + Cromwell, prevented the question from coming to an issue, and + Massachusetts was enabled to preserve her independent and somewhat haughty + attitude. [[Sidenote: Fall of Charles I. brings up the question as to + supremacy of Parliament over the colonies] + </p> + <p> + During the whole period of the Confederacy, however, disputes kept coming + up which through endless crooked ramifications were apt to end in an + appeal to the home government, and thus raise again and again the question + as to the extent of its imperial supremacy. For our present purpose, it is + enough to mention three of these cases: 1, the adventures of Samuel + Gorton; 2, the Presbyterian cabal; 3, the persecution of the Quakers. + Other cases in point are those of John Clarke and the Baptists, and the + relations of Massachusetts to the northeastern settlements; but as it is + not my purpose here to make a complete outline of New England history, the + three cases enumerated will suffice. + </p> + <p> + The first case shows, in a curious and instructive way, how religious + dissensions were apt to be complicated with threats of an Indian war on + the one hand and peril from Great Britain on the other; and as we come to + realize the triple danger, we can perhaps make some allowances for the + high-handed measures with which the Puritan governments sometimes sought + to avert it. [Genesis of the persecuting spirit] + </p> + <p> + As I have elsewhere tried to show, the genesis of the persecuting spirit + is to be found in the conditions of primitive society, where "above all + things the prime social and political necessity is social cohesion within + the tribal limits, for unless such social cohesion be maintained, the very + existence of the tribe is likely to be extinguished in bloodshed." The + persecuting spirit "began to pass away after men had become organized into + great nations, covering a vast extent of territory, and secured by their + concentrated military strength against the gravest dangers of barbaric + attack." <a href="#linknote-13" name="linknoteref-13" id="linknoteref-13"><small>13</small></a> + </p> + <p> + Now as regards these considerations, the Puritan communities in the New + England wilderness were to some slight extent influenced by such + conditions as used to prevail in primitive society; and this will help us + to understand the treatment of the Antinomians and such cases as that with + which we have now to deal. + </p> + <p> + Among the supporters of Mrs. Hutchinson, after her arrival at Aquedneck, + was a sincere and courageous, but incoherent and crotchetty man named + Samuel Gorton. [[Sidenote: Samuel Gorton] + </p> + <p> + In the denunciatory language of that day he was called a "proud and + pestilent seducer," or, as the modern newspaper would say, a "crank." It + is well to make due allowances for the prejudice so conspicuous in the + accounts given by his enemies, who felt obliged to justify their harsh + treatment of him. But we have also his own writings from which to form an + opinion as to his character and views. Lucidity, indeed, was not one of + his strong points as a writer, and the drift of his argument is not always + easy to decipher; but he seems to have had some points of contact with the + Familists, a sect established in the sixteenth century in Holland. The + Familists held that the essence of religion consists not in adherence to + any particular creed or ritual, but in cherishing the spirit of divine + love. The general adoption of this point of view was to inaugurate a third + dispensation, superior to those of Moses and Christ, the dispensation of + the Holy Ghost. The value of the Bible lay not so much in the literal + truth of its texts as in their spiritual import; and by the union of + believers with Christ they came to share in the ineffable perfection of + the Godhead. There is much that is modern and enlightened in such views, + which Gorton seems to some extent to have shared. He certainly set little + store by ritual observances and maintained the equal right of laymen with + clergymen to preach the gospel. Himself a London clothier, and thanking + God that he had not been brought up in "the schools of human learning," he + set up as a preacher without ordination, and styled himself "professor of + the mysteries of Christ." He seems to have cherished that doctrine of + private inspiration which the Puritans especially abhorred. It is not + likely that he had any distinct comprehension of his own views, for + distinctness was just what they lacked. <a href="#linknote-14" + name="linknoteref-14" id="linknoteref-14"><small>14</small></a> But they + were such as in the seventeenth century could not fail to arouse fierce + antagonism, and if it was true that wherever there was a government Gorton + was against it, perhaps that only shows that wherever there was a + government it was sure to be against him. + </p> + <p> + In the case of such men as Gorton, however,—and the type is by no + means an uncommon one,—their temperament usually has much more to do + with getting them into trouble than their opinions. Gorton's temperament + was such as to keep him always in an atmosphere of strife. Other + heresiarchs suffered persecution in Massachusetts, but Gorton was in hot + water everywhere. His arrival in any community was the signal for an + immediate disturbance of the peace. His troubles began in Plymouth, where + the wife of the pastor preferred his teachings to those of her husband. In + 1638 he fled to Aquedneck, where his first achievement was a schism among + Mrs. Hutchinson's followers, which ended in some staying to found the town + of Portsmouth while others went away to found Newport. Presently + Portsmouth found him intolerable, flogged and banished him, and after his + departure was able to make up its quarrel with Newport. He next made his + way with a few followers to Pawtuxet, within the jurisdiction of + Providence, and now it is the broad-minded and gentle Roger Williams who + complains of his "bewitching and madding poor Providence." The question is + here suggested what could it have been in Gorton's teaching that enabled + him thus to "bewitch" these little communities? We may be sure that it + could not have been the element of modern liberalism suggested in the + Familistic doctrines above cited. That was the feature then least likely + to appeal to the minds of common people, and most likely to appeal to + Williams. More probably such success as Gorton had in winning followers + was due to some of the mystical rubbish which abounds in his pages and + finds in a modern mind no doorway through which to enter. [[Sidenote: He + flees to Aquedneck and is banished thence] + </p> + <p> + Williams disapproved of Gorton, but was true to his principles of + toleration and would not take part in any attempt to silence him. But in + 1641 we find thirteen leading citizens of Providence, headed by William + Arnold, <a href="#linknote-15" name="linknoteref-15" id="linknoteref-15"><small>15</small></a> + sending a memorial to Boston, asking for assistance and counsel in regard + to this disturber of the peace. How was Massachusetts to treat such an + appeal? She could not presume to meddle with the affair unless she could + have permanent jurisdiction over Pawtuxet; otherwise she was a mere + intruder. How strong a side-light does this little incident throw upon the + history of the Roman republic, and of all relatively strong communities + when confronted with the problem of preserving order in neighbouring + states that are too weak to preserve it for themselves! Arnold's argument, + in his appeal to Massachusetts, was precisely the same as that by which + the latter colony excused herself for banishing the Antinomians. He simply + says that Gorton and his company "are not fit persons to be received, and + made members of a body in so weak a state as our town is in at present;" + and he adds, "There is no state but in the first place will seek to + preserve its own safety and peace." Whatever might be the abstract merits + of Gorton's opinions, his conduct was politically dangerous; and + accordingly the jurisdiction over Pawtuxet was formally conceded to + Massachusetts. Thereupon that colony, assuming jurisdiction, summoned + Gorton and his men to Boston, to prove their title to the lands they + occupied. They of course regarded the summons as a flagrant usurpation of + authority, and instead of obeying it they withdrew to Shawomet, on the + western shore of Narragansett bay, where they bought a tract of land from + the principal sachem of the Narragansetts, Miantonomo. The immediate rule + over this land belonged to two inferior chiefs, who ratified the sale at + the time, but six months afterward disavowed the ratification, on the + ground that it had been given under duress from their overlord Miantonomo. + Here was a state of things which might easily bring on an Indian war. The + two chiefs appealed to Massachusetts for protection, and were accordingly + summoned, along with Miantonomo, to a hearing at Boston. Here we see how a + kind of English protectorate over the native tribes had begun to grow up + so soon after the destruction of the Pequots. Such a result was + inevitable. After hearing the arguments, the legislature decided to defend + the two chiefs, provided they would put themselves under the jurisdiction + of Massachusetts. This was done, while further complaints against Gorton + came from the citizens of Providence. Gorton and his men were now + peremptorily summoned to Boston to show cause why they should not + surrender their land at Shawomet and to answer the charges against them. + On receiving from Gorton a defiant reply, couched in terms which some + thought blasphemous, the government of Massachusetts prepared to use + force. [[Sidenote: Providence protests against him] [[Sidenote: He flees + to Shawomet, where he buys land of the Indians] + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile the unfortunate Miantonomo had rushed upon his doom. The + annihilation of the Pequots had left the Mohegans and Narragansetts + contending for the foremost place among the native tribes. Between the + rival sachems, Uncas and Miantonomo, the hatred was deep and deadly. As + soon as the Mohegan perceived that trouble was brewing between Miantonomo + and the government at Boston, he improved the occasion by gathering a few + Narragansett scalps. Miantonomo now took the war-path and was totally + defeated by Uncas in a battle on the Great Plain in the present township + of Norwich. Encumbered with a coat of mail which his friend Gorton had + given him, Miantonomo was overtaken and captured. By ordinary Indian usage + he would have been put to death with fiendish torments, as soon as due + preparations could be made and a fit company assembled to gloat over his + agony; but Gorton sent a messenger to Uncas, threatening dire vengeance if + harm were done to his ally. This message puzzled the Mohegan chief. The + appearance of a schism in the English counsels was more than he could + quite fathom. When the affair had somewhat more fully developed itself, + some of the Indians spoke of the white men as divided into two rival + tribes, the Gortonoges and Wattaconoges. <a href="#linknote-16" + name="linknoteref-16" id="linknoteref-16"><small>16</small></a> Roger + Williams tells us that the latter term, applied to the men of Boston, + meant coat-wearers. Whether it is to be inferred that the Gortonoges went + about in what in modern parlance would be called their "shirt-sleeves," + the reader must decide. [[Sidenote: Miantonomo and Uncas] + </p> + <p> + In his perplexity Uncas took his prisoner to Hartford, and afterward, upon + the advice of the governor and council, sent him to Boston, that his fate + might be determined by the Federal Commissioners who were there holding + their first regular meeting. It was now the turn of the commissioners to + be perplexed. According to English law there was no good reason for + putting Miantonomo to death. The question was whether they should + interfere with the Indian custom by which his life was already forfeit to + his captor. The magistrates already suspected the Narragansetts of + cherishing hostile designs. To set their sachem at liberty, especially + while the Gorton affair remained unsettled, might be dangerous; and it + would be likely to alienate Uncas from the English. In their embarrassment + the commissioners sought spiritual guidance. A synod of forty or fifty + clergymen, from all parts of New England, was in session at Boston, and + the question was referred to a committee of five of their number. The + decision was prompt that Miantonomo must die. He was sent back to Hartford + to be slain by Uncas, but two messengers accompanied him, to see that no + tortures were inflicted. A select band of Mohegan warriors journeyed + through the forest with the prisoner and the two Englishmen, until they + came to the plain where the battle had been fought. Then at a signal from + Uncas, the warrior walking behind Miantonomo silently lifted his tomahawk + and sank it into the brain of the victim who fell dead without a groan. + Uncas cut a warm slice from the shoulder and greedily devoured it, + declaring that the flesh of his enemy was the sweetest of meat and gave + strength to his heart. Miantonomo was buried there on the scene of his + defeat, which has ever since been known as the Sachem's Plain. This was in + September, 1643, and for years afterward, in that month, parties of + Narragansetts used to visit the spot and with frantic gestures and hideous + yells lament their fallen leader. A heap of stones was raised over the + grave, and no Narragansett came near it without adding to the pile. After + many a summer had passed and the red men had disappeared from the land, a + Yankee farmer, with whom thrift prevailed over sentiment, cleared away the + mound and used the stones for the foundation of his new barn. <a + href="#linknote-17" name="linknoteref-17" id="linknoteref-17"><small>17</small></a> + [[Sidenote: Death of Miantonomo] + </p> + <p> + One cannot regard this affair as altogether creditable to the Federal + Commissioners and their clerical advisers. One of the clearest-headed and + most impartial students of our history observes that "if the English were + to meddle in the matter at all, it was their clear duty to enforce as far + as might be the principles recognized by civilized men. When they accepted + the appeal made by Uncas they shifted the responsibility from the Mohegan + chief to themselves." <a href="#linknote-18" name="linknoteref-18" + id="linknoteref-18"><small>18</small></a> The decision was doubtless based + purely upon grounds of policy. Miantonomo was put out of the way because + he was believed to be dangerous. In the thirst for revenge that was + aroused among the Narragansetts there was an alternative source of danger, + to which I shall hereafter refer. <a href="#linknote-19" + name="linknoteref-19" id="linknoteref-19"><small>19</small></a> It is + difficult now to decide, as a mere question of safe policy, what the + English ought to have done. The chance of being dragged into an Indian + war, through the feud between Narragansetts and Mohegans, was always + imminent. The policy which condemned Miantonomo was one of timidity, and + fear is merciless. + </p> + <p> + The Federal Commissioners heartily approved the conduct of Massachusetts + toward Gorton, and adopted it in the name of the United Colonies. After a + formal warning, which passed unheeded, a company of forty men, under + Edward Johnson of Woburn and two other officers, was sent to Shawomet. + Some worthy citizens of Providence essayed to play the part of mediators, + and after some parley the Gortonites offered to submit to arbitration. The + proposal was conveyed to Boston, and the clergy were again consulted. They + declared it beneath the dignity of Massachusetts to negotiate "with a few + fugitives living without law or government," and they would no more + compound with Gorton's "blasphemous revilings" than they would bargain + with the Evil One. The community must be "purged" of such wickedness, + either by repentance or by punishment. The ministers felt that God would + hold the community responsible for Gorton and visit calamities upon them + unless he were silenced. <a href="#linknote-20" name="linknoteref-20" + id="linknoteref-20"><small>20</small></a> The arbitration was refused, + Gorton's blockhouse was besieged and captured, and the agitator was + carried with nine of his followers to Boston, where they were speedily + convicted of heresy and sedition. Before passing judgment the General + Court as usual consulted with the clergy who recommended a sentence of + death. Their advice was adopted by the assistants, but the deputies were + more merciful, and the heretics were sentenced to imprisonment at the + pleasure of the court. In this difference between the assistants and the + deputies, we observe an early symptom of that popular revolt against the + ascendancy of the clergy which was by and by to become so much more + conspicuous and effective in the affair of the Quakers. Another symptom + might be seen in the circumstance that so much sympathy was expressed for + the Gortonites, especially by women, that after some months of + imprisonment and abuse the heretics were banished under penalty of death. + [[Sidenote: Trial and sentence of the heretics] + </p> + <p> + Gorton now went to England and laid his tale of woe before the + parliamentary Board of Commissioners. The Earl of Warwick behaved with + moderation. He declined to commit himself to an opinion as to the merits + of the quarrel, but Gorton's title to Shawomet was confirmed. He returned + to Boston with an order to the government to allow him to pass unmolested + through Massachusetts, and hereafter to protect him in the possession of + Shawomet. If this little commonwealth of 15,000 inhabitants had been a + nation as powerful as France, she could not have treated the message more + haughtily. By a majority of one vote it was decided not to refuse so + trifling a favour as a passage through the country for just this once; but + as for protecting the new town of Warwick which the Gortonites proceeded + to found at Shawomet, although it was several times threatened by the + Indians, and the settlers appealed to the parliamentary order, that order + Massachusetts flatly and doggedly refused to obey. <a href="#linknote-21" + name="linknoteref-21" id="linknoteref-21"><small>21</small></a> + [[Sidenote: Gorton appeals to Parliament] + </p> + <p> + In the discussions of which these years were so full, "King Winthrop," as + his enemy Morton called him, used some very significant language. By a + curious legal fiction of the Massachusetts charter the colonists were + supposed to hold their land as in the manor of East Greenwich near London, + and it was argued that they were represented in Parliament by the members + of the county or borough which contained that manor, and were accordingly + subject to the jurisdiction of Parliament. It was further argued that + since the king had no absolute sovereignty independent of Parliament he + could not by charter impart any such independent sovereignty to others. + Winthrop did not dispute these points, but observed that the safety of the + commonwealth was the supreme law, and if in the interests of that safety + it should be found necessary to renounce the authority of Parliament, the + colonists would be justified in doing so. [[Sidenote: Winthrop's prophetic + opinion] <a href="#linknote-22" name="linknoteref-22" id="linknoteref-22"><small>22</small></a> + This was essentially the same doctrine as was set forth ninety-nine years + later by young Samuel Adams in his Commencement Oration at Harvard. + </p> + <p> + The case of the Presbyterian cabal admits of briefer treatment than that + of Gorton. There had now come to be many persons in Massachusetts who + disapproved of the provision which restricted the suffrage to members of + the Independent or Congregational churches of New England, and in 1646 the + views of these people were presented in a petition to the General Court. + The petitioners asked "that their civil disabilities might be removed, and + that all members of the churches of England and Scotland might be admitted + to communion with the New England churches. If this could not be granted + they prayed to be released from all civil burdens. Should the court refuse + to entertain their complaint, they would be obliged to bring their case + before Parliament." <a href="#linknote-23" name="linknoteref-23" + id="linknoteref-23"><small>23</small></a> The leading signers of this + menacing petition were William Vassall, Samuel Maverick, and The + Presbyterian cabal. Dr. Robert Child. Maverick we have already met. From + the day when the ships of the first Puritan settlers had sailed past his + log fortress on Noddle's Island, he had been their enemy; "a man of loving + and curteous behaviour," says Johnson, "very ready to entertaine + strangers, yet an enemy to the reformation in hand, being strong for the + lordly prelatical power." Vassall was not a denizen of Massachusetts, but + lived in Scituate, in the colony of Plymouth, where there were no such + restrictions upon the suffrage. Child was a learned physician who after a + good deal of roaming about the world had lately taken it into his head to + come and see what sort of a place Massachusetts was. Although these names + were therefore not such as to lend weight to such a petition, their + request would seem at first sight reasonable enough. At a superficial + glance it seems conceived in a modern spirit of liberalism. In reality it + was nothing of the sort. In England it was just the critical moment of the + struggle between Presbyterians and Independents which had come in to + complicate the issues of the great civil war. Vassall, Child, and Maverick + seem to have been the leading spirits in a cabal for the establishment of + Presbyterianism in New England, and in their petition they simply took + advantage of the discontent of the disfranchised citizens in Massachusetts + in order to put in an entering wedge. This was thoroughly understood by + the legislature of Massachusetts, and accordingly the petition was + dismissed and the petitioners were roundly fined. Just as Child was about + to start for England with his grievances, the magistrates overhauled his + papers and discovered a petition to the parliamentary Board of + Commissioners, suggesting that Presbyterianism should be established in + New England, and that a viceroy or governor-general should be appointed to + rule there. To the men of Massachusetts this last suggestion was a + crowning horror. It seemed scarcely less than treason. The signers of this + petition were the same who had signed the petition to the General Court. + They were now fined still more heavily and imprisoned for six months. By + and by they found their way, one after another, to London, while the + colonists sent Edward Winslow, of Plymouth, as an advocate to thwart their + schemes. Winslow was assailed by Child's brother in a spicy pamphlet + entitled "New England's Jonas cast up at London," and replied after the + same sort, entitling his pamphlet "New England's Salamander discovered." + The cabal accomplished nothing because of the decisive defeat of + Presbyterianism in England. "Pride's Purge" settled all that. The petition + of Vassall and his friends was the occasion for the meeting of a synod of + churches at Cambridge, in order to complete the organization of + Congregationalism. In 1648 the work of the synod was embodied in the + famous Cambridge Platform, which adopted the Westminster Confession as its + creed, carefully defined the powers of the clergy, and declared it to be + the duty of magistrates to suppress heresy. In 1649 the General Court laid + this platform before the congregations; in 1651 it was adopted; and this + event may be regarded as completing the theocratic organization of the + Puritan commonwealth in Massachusetts. [[Sidenote: The Cambridge Platform; + deaths of Winthrop and Cotton] + </p> + <p> + It was immediately preceded and followed by the deaths of the two foremost + men in that commonwealth. John Winthrop died in 1649 and John Cotton in + 1652. Both were men of extraordinary power. Of Winthrop it is enough to + say that under his skilful guidance Massachusetts had been able to pursue + the daring policy which had characterized the first twenty years of her + history, and which in weaker hands would almost surely have ended in + disaster. Of Cotton it may be said that he was the most eminent among a + group of clergymen who for learning and dialectical skill have seldom been + surpassed. Neither Winthrop nor Cotton approved of toleration upon + principle. Cotton, in his elaborate controversy with Roger Williams, + frankly asserted that persecution is not wrong in itself; it is wicked for + falsehood to persecute truth, but it is the sacred duty of truth to + persecute falsehood. This was the theologian's view. Winthrop's was that + of a man of affairs. They had come to New England, he said, in order to + make a society after their own model; all who agreed with them might come + and join that society; those who disagreed with them might go elsewhere; + there was room enough on the American continent. But while neither + Winthrop nor Cotton understood the principle of religious liberty, at the + same time neither of them had the temperament which persecutes. Both were + men of genial disposition, sound common-sense, and exquisite tact. Under + their guidance no such tragedy would have been possible as that which was + about to leave its ineffaceable stain upon the annals of Massachusetts. + </p> + <p> + It was most unfortunate that at this moment the places of these two men + should have been taken by two as arrant fanatics as ever drew breath. For + thirteen out of the fifteen years following Winthrop's death, the governor + of Massachusetts was John Endicott, a sturdy pioneer, whose services to + the colony had been great. He was honest and conscientious, but + passionate, domineering, and very deficient in tact. At the same time + Cotton's successor in position and influence was John Norton, a man of + pungent wit, unyielding temper, and melancholy mood. He was possessed by a + morbid fear of Satan, whose hirelings he thought were walking up and down + over the earth in the visible semblance of heretics and schismatics. Under + such leaders the bigotry latent in the Puritan commonwealth might easily + break out in acts of deadly persecution. [[Sidenote: Endicott and Norton + take the lead] [[Sidenote: The Quakers and their views] + </p> + <p> + The occasion was not long in coming. Already the preaching of George Fox + had borne fruit, and the noble sect of Quakers was an object of scorn and + loathing to all such as had not gone so far as they toward learning the + true lesson of Protestantism. Of all Protestant sects the Quakers went + furthest in stripping off from Christianity its non-essential features of + doctrine and ceremonial. Their ideal was not a theocracy but a separation + between church and state. They would abolish all distinction between + clergy and laity, and could not be coaxed or bullied into paying tithes. + They also refused to render military service, or to take the oath of + allegiance. In these ways they came at once into antagonism both with + church and with state. In doctrine their chief peculiarity was the + assertion of an "Inward Light" by which every individual is to be guided + in his conduct of life. They did not believe that men ceased to be + divinely inspired when the apostolic ages came to an end, but held that at + all times and places the human soul may be enlightened by direct communion + with its Heavenly Father. Such views involved the most absolute assertion + of the right of private judgment; and when it is added that in the + exercise of this right many Quakers were found to reject the dogmas of + original sin and the resurrection of the body, to doubt the efficacy of + baptism, and to call in question the propriety of Christians turning the + Lord's Day into a Jewish Sabbath, we see that they had in some respects + gone far on the road toward modern rationalism. It was not to be expected + that such opinions should be treated by the Puritans in any other spirit + than one of extreme abhorrence and dread. The doctrine of the "Inward + Light," or of private inspiration, was something especially hateful to the + Puritan. To the modern rationalist, looking at things in the dry light of + history, it may seem that this doctrine was only the Puritan's own appeal + to individual judgment, stated in different form; but the Puritan could + not so regard it. To such a fanatic as Norton this inward light was but a + reflection from the glare of the bottomless pit, this private inspiration + was the beguiling voice of the Devil. As it led the Quakers to strange and + novel conclusions, this inward light seemed to array itself in hostility + to that final court of appeal for all good Protestants, the sacred text of + the Bible. The Quakers were accordingly regarded as infidels who sought to + deprive Protestantism of its only firm support. They were wrongly accused + of blasphemy in their treatment of the Scriptures. Cotton Mather says that + the Quakers were in the habit of alluding to the Bible as the Word of the + Devil. Such charges, from passionate and uncritical enemies, are worthless + except as they serve to explain the bitter prejudice with which the + Quakers were regarded. They remind one of the silly accusation brought + against Wyclif two centuries earlier, that he taught his disciples that + God ought to obey the Devil; <a href="#linknote-24" name="linknoteref-24" + id="linknoteref-24"><small>24</small></a> and they are not altogether + unlike the assumptions of some modern theologians who take it for granted + that any writer who accepts the Darwinian theory must be a materialist. + [[Sidenote: Endicott and Norton take the lead] [[Sidenote: The Quakers and + their views] + </p> + <p> + But worthless as Mather's statements are, in describing the views of the + Quakers, they are valuable as indicating the temper in which these + disturbers of the Puritan theocracy were regarded. In accusing them of + rejecting the Bible and making a law unto themselves, Mather simply put on + record a general belief which he shared. Nor can it be doubted that the + demeanour of the Quaker enthusiasts was sometimes such as to seem to + warrant the belief that their anarchical doctrines entailed, as a natural + consequence, disorderly and disreputable conduct. In those days all + manifestations of dissent were apt to be violent, and the persecution + which they encountered was likely to call forth strange and unseemly + vagaries. When we remember how the Quakers, in their scorn of earthly + magistrates and princes, would hoot at the governor as he walked up the + street; how they used to rush into church on Sundays and interrupt the + sermon with untimely remarks; how Thomas Newhouse once came into the Old + South Meeting-House with a glass bottle in each hand, and, holding them up + before the astonished congregation, knocked them together and smashed + them, with the remark, "Thus will the Lord break you all in pieces"; how + Lydia Wardwell and Deborah Wilson ran about the streets in the primitive + costume of Eve before the fall, and called their conduct "testifying + before the Lord"; we can hardly wonder that people should have been + reminded of the wretched scenes enacted at Munster by the Anabaptists of + the preceding century. [[Sidenote: Violent manifestations of dissent] + </p> + <p> + Such incidents, however, do not afford the slightest excuse for the cruel + treatment which the Quakers received in Boston, nor do they go far toward + explaining it. Persecution began immediately, before the new-comers had a + chance to behave themselves well or ill. Their mere coming to Boston was + taken as an act of invasion. It was indeed an attack upon the Puritan + theocratic idea. Of all the sectaries of that age of sects, the Quakers + were the most aggressive. There were at one time more than four thousand + of them in English jails; yet when any of them left England, it was less + to escape persecution than to preach their doctrines far and wide over the + earth. Their missionaries found their way to Paris, to Vienna; even to + Rome, where they testified under the very roof of the Vatican. In this + dauntless spirit they came to New England to convert its inhabitants, or + at any rate to establish the principle that in whatever community it might + please them to stay, there they would stay in spite of judge or hangman. + At first they came to Barbadoes, whence two of their number, Anne Austin + and Mary Fisher, sailed for Boston. When they landed, on a May morning in + 1656, Endicott happened to be away from Boston, but the deputy-governor, + Richard Bellingham, was equal to the occasion. He arrested the two women + and locked them up in jail, where, for fear they might proclaim their + heresies to the crowd gathered outside, the windows were boarded up. There + was no law as yet enacted against Quakers, but a council summoned for the + occasion pronounced their doctrines blasphemous and devilish. The books + which the poor women had with them were seized and publicly burned, and + the women themselves were kept in prison half-starved for five weeks until + the ship they had come in was ready to return to Barbadoes. Soon after + their departure Endicott came home. He found fault with Bellingham's + conduct as too gentle; if he had been there he would have had the hussies + flogged. [[Sidenote: Anne Austin and Mary Fisher] + </p> + <p> + Five years afterward Mary Fisher went to Adrianople and tried to convert + the Grand Turk, who treated her with grave courtesy and allowed her to + prophesy unmolested. This is one of the numerous incidents that, on a + superficial view of history, might be cited in support of the opinion that + there has been on the whole more tolerance in the Mussulman than in the + Christian world. Rightly interpreted, however, the fact has no such + implication. In Massachusetts the preaching of Quaker doctrines might (and + did) lead to a revolution; in Turkey it was as harmless as the barking of + dogs. Governor Endicott was afraid of Mary Fisher; Mahomet III. was not. + </p> + <p> + No sooner had the two women been shipped from Boston than eight other + Quakers arrived from London. They were at once arrested. While they were + lying in jail the Federal Commissioners, then in session at Plymouth, + recommended that laws be forthwith enacted to keep these dreaded heretics + out of the land. Next year they stooped so far as to seek the aid of Rhode + Island, the colony which they had refused to admit into their confederacy. + "They sent a letter to the authorities of that colony, signing themselves + their loving friends and neighbours, and beseeching them to preserve the + whole body of colonies against 'such a pest' by banishing and excluding + all Quakers, a measure to which 'the rule of charity did oblige them.'" + Roger Williams was then president of Rhode Island, and in full accord with + his noble spirit was the reply of the assembly. "We have no law amongst us + whereby to punish any for only declaring by words their minds and + understandings concerning the things and ways of God as to salvation and + our eternal condition." As for these Quakers we find that where they are + "most of all suffered to declare themselves freely and only opposed by + arguments in discourse, there they least of all desire to come." Any + breach of the civil law shall be punished, but the "freedom of different + consciences shall be respected." This reply enraged the confederated + colonies, and Massachusetts, as the strongest and most overbearing, + threatened to cut off the trade of Rhode Island, which forthwith appealed + to Cromwell for protection. The language of the appeal is as touching as + its broad Christian spirit is grand. It recognizes that by stopping trade + the men of Massachusetts will injure themselves, yet, it goes on to say, + "for the safeguard of their religion they may seem to neglect themselves + in that respect; for what will not men do for their God?" But whatever + fortune may befall, "let us not be compelled to exercise any civil power + over men's consciences." <a href="#linknote-25" name="linknoteref-25" + id="linknoteref-25"><small>25</small></a> [[Sidenote: Noble conduct of + Rhode Island] + </p> + <p> + There could never, of course, be a doubt as to who drew up this state + paper. During his last visit to England, three years before, Roger + Williams had spent several weeks at Sir Harry Vane's country house in + Lincolnshire, and he had also been intimately associated with Cromwell and + Milton. The views of these great men were the most advanced of that age. + They were coming to understand the true principle upon which toleration + should be based. (See my Excursions of an Evolutionist, pp. 247, 289-293.) + Vane had said in Parliament, "Why should the labours of any be suppressed, + if sober, though never so different? We now profess to seek God, we desire + to see light!" [[Sidenote: Roger Williams appeals to Cromwell] + </p> + <p> + This Williams called a "heavenly speech." The sentiment it expressed was + in accordance with the practical policy of Cromwell, and in the appeal of + the president of Rhode Island to the Lord Protector one hears the tone + with which friend speaks to friend. + </p> + <p> + In thus protecting the Quakers, Williams never for a moment concealed his + antipathy to their doctrines. The author of "George Fox digged out of his + Burrowes," the sturdy controversialist who in his seventy-third year rowed + himself in a boat the whole length of Narragansett bay to engage in a + theological tournament against three Quaker champions, was animated by + nothing less than the broadest liberalism in his bold reply to the Federal + Commissioners in 1657. The event showed that under his guidance the policy + of Rhode Island was not only honourable but wise. The four confederated + colonies all proceeded to pass laws banishing Quakers and making it a + penal offence for shipmasters to bring them to New England. These laws + differed in severity. Those of Connecticut, in which we may trace the + influence of the younger John Winthrop, were the mildest; those of + Massachusetts were the most severe, and as Quakers kept coming all the + more in spite of them, they grew harsher and harsher. At first the Quaker + who persisted in returning was to be flogged and imprisoned at hard + labour, next his ears were to be cut off, and for a third offence his + tongue was to be bored with a hot iron. At length in 1658, the Federal + Commissioners, sitting at Boston with Endicott as chairman, recommended + capital punishment. It must be borne in mind that the general reluctance + toward prescribing or inflicting the death penalty was much weaker then + than now. On the statute-books there were not less than fifteen capital + crimes, including such offences as idolatry, witchcraft, blasphemy, + marriage within the Levitical degrees, "presumptuous sabbath-breaking," + and cursing or smiting one's parents. <a href="#linknote-26" + name="linknoteref-26" id="linknoteref-26"><small>26</small></a> The + infliction of the penalty, however, lay practically very much within the + discretion of the court, and was generally avoided except in cases of + murder or other heinous felony. In some of these ecclesiastical offences + the statute seems to have served the purpose of a threat, and was + therefore perhaps the more easily enacted. Yet none of the colonies except + Massachusetts now adopted the suggestion of the Federal Commissioners and + threatened the Quakers with death. [[Sidenote: Laws passed against the + Quakers] + </p> + <p> + In Massachusetts the opposition was very strong indeed, and its character + shows how wide the divergence in sentiment had already become between the + upper stratum of society and the people in general. This divergence was + one result of the excessive weight given to the clergy by the restriction + of the suffrage to church members. One might almost say that it was not + the people of Massachusetts, after all, that shed the blood of the + Quakers; it was Endicott and the clergy. The bill establishing death as + the penalty for returning after banishment was passed in the upper house + without serious difficulty; but in the lower house it was at first + defeated. Of the twenty-six deputies fifteen were opposed to it, but one + of these fell sick and two were intimidated, so that finally the infamous + measure was passed by a vote of thirteen against twelve. Probably it would + not have passed but for a hopeful feeling that an occasion for putting it + into execution would not be likely to arise. It was hoped that the mere + threat would prove effective. Endicott begged the Quakers to keep away, + saying earnestly that he did not desire their death; but the more resolute + spirits were not deterred by fear of the gallows. In September, 1659, + William Robinson, Marmaduke Stevenson, and Mary Dyer, who had come to + Boston expressly to defy the cruel law, were banished. Mrs. Dyer was a + lady of good family, wife of the secretary of Rhode Island. She had been + an intimate friend of Mrs. Hutchinson. While she went home to her husband, + Stevenson and Robinson went only to Salem and then faced about and came + back to Boston. Mrs. Dyer also returned. All three felt themselves under + divine command to resist and defy the persecutors. On the 27th of October + they were led to the gallows on Boston Common, under escort of a hundred + soldiers. Many people had begun to cry shame on such proceedings, and it + was thought necessary to take precautions against a tumult. The victims + tried to address the crowd, but their voices were drowned by the beating + of drums. While the Rev. John Wilson railed and scoffed at them from the + foot of the gallows the two brave men were hanged. The halter had been + placed upon Mrs. Dyer when her son, who had come in all haste from Rhode + Island, obtained her reprieve on his promise to take her away. The bodies + of the two men were denied Christian burial and thrown uncovered into a + pit. All the efforts of husband and son were unable to keep Mrs. Dyer at + home. In the following spring she returned to Boston and on the first day + of June was again taken to the gallows. At the last moment she was offered + freedom if she would only promise to go away and stay, but she refused. + "In obedience to the will of the Lord I came," said she, "and in his will + I abide faithful unto death." And so she died. [[Sidenote: Executions on + Boston Common] [[Sidenote: Wenlock Christison's defiance and victory] + </p> + <p> + Public sentiment in Boston was now turning so strongly against the + magistrates that they began to weaken in their purpose. But there was one + more victim. In November, 1660, William Leddra returned from banishment. + The case was clear enough, but he was kept in prison four months and every + effort was made to induce him to promise to leave the colony, but in vain. + In the following March he too was put to death. A few days before the + execution, as Leddra was being questioned in court, a memorable scene + occurred. Wenlock Christison was one of those who had been banished under + penalty of death. On his return he made straight for the town-house, + strode into the court-room, and with uplifted finger addressed the judges + in words of authority. "I am come here to warn you," said he, "that ye + shed no more innocent blood." He was instantly seized and dragged off to + jail. After three months he was brought to trial before the Court of + Assistants. The magistrates debated for more than a fortnight as to what + should be done. The air was thick with mutterings of insurrection, and + they had lost all heart for their dreadful work. Not so the savage old man + who presided, frowning gloomily under his black skull cap. Losing his + patience at last, Endicott smote the table with fury, upbraided the judges + for their weakness, and declared himself so disgusted that he was ready to + go back to England. <a href="#linknote-27" name="linknoteref-27" + id="linknoteref-27"><small>27</small></a> "You that will not consent, + record it," he shouted, as the question was again put to vote, "I thank + God I am not afraid to give judgment." Christison was condemned to death, + but the sentence was never executed. In the interval the legislature + assembled, and the law was modified. The martyrs had not died in vain. + Their cause was victorious. A revolution had been effected. The Puritan + ideal of a commonwealth composed of a united body of believers was broken + down, never again to be restored. The principle had been admitted that the + heretic might come to Massachusetts and stay there. + </p> + <p> + It was not in a moment, however, that these results were fully realized. + For some years longer Quakers were fined, imprisoned, and now and then + tied to the cart's tail and whipped from one town to another. But these + acts of persecution came to be more and more discountenanced by public + opinion until at length they ceased. + </p> + <p> + It was on the 25th of May, 1660, just one week before the martyrdom of + Mary Dyer, that Charles II. returned to England to occupy his father's + throne. One of the first papers laid before him was a memorial in behalf + of the oppressed Quakers in New England. In the course of the following + year he sent a letter to Endicott and the other New England governors, + ordering them to suspend proceedings against the Quakers, and if any were + then in prison, to send them to England for trial. Christison's victory + had already been won, but the "King's Missive" was now partially obeyed by + the release of all prisoners. As for sending anybody to England for trial, + that was something that no New England government could ever be made to + allow. + </p> + <p> + Charles's defence of the Quakers was due, neither to liberality of + disposition nor to any sympathy with them, but rather to his inclinations + toward Romanism. Unlike in other respects, Quakers and Catholics were + alike in this, that they were the only sects which the Protestant world in + general agreed in excluding from toleration. Charles wished to secure + toleration for Catholics, and he could not prudently take steps toward + this end without pursuing a policy broad enough to diminish persecution in + other directions, and from these circumstances the Quakers profited. At + times there was something almost like a political alliance between Quaker + and Catholic, as instanced in the relations between William Penn and + Charles's brother, the Duke of York. [[Sidenote: The "King's Missive"] + [[Sidenote: Why Charles II. interfered to protect the Quakers] + </p> + <p> + Besides all this, Charles had good reason to feel that the governments of + New England were assuming too many airs of sovereignty. There were plenty + of people at hand to work upon his mind. The friends of Gorton and Child + and Vassall were loud with their complaints. Samuel Maverick swore that + the people of New England were all rebels, and he could prove it. The king + was assured that the Confederacy was "a war combination, made by the four + colonies when they had a design to throw off their dependence on England, + and for that purpose." The enemies of the New England people, while + dilating upon the rebellious disposition of Massachusetts, could also + remind the king that for several years that colony had been coining and + circulating shillings and sixpences with the name "Massachusetts" and a + tree on one side, and the name "New England" with the date on the other. + There was no recognition of England upon this coinage, which was begun in + 1652 and kept up for more than thirty years. Such pieces of money used to + be called "pine-tree shillings"; but, so far as looks go, the tree might + be anything, and an adroit friend of New England once gravely assured the + king that it was meant for the royal oak in which his majesty hid himself + after the battle of Worcester! + </p> + <p> + Against the colony of New Haven the king had a special grudge. Two of the + regicide judges, who had sat in the tribunal which condemned his father, + escaped to New England in 1660 and were well received there. They were + gentlemen of high position. Edward Whalley was a cousin of Cromwell and + Hampden. He had distinguished himself at Naseby and Dunbar, and had risen + to the rank of lieutenant-general. He had commanded at the capture of + Worcester, where it is interesting to observe that the royalist commander + who surrendered to him was Sir Henry Washington, own cousin to the + grandfather of George Washington. The other regicide, William Goffe, as a + major-general in Cromwell's army, had won such distinction that there were + some who pointed to him as the proper person to succeed the Lord Protector + on the death of the latter. He had married Whalley's daughter. Soon after + the arrival of these gentlemen, a royal order for their arrest was sent to + Boston. If they had been arrested and sent back to England, their severed + heads would soon have been placed over Temple Bar. The king's detectives + hotly pursued them through the woodland paths of New England, and they + would soon have been taken but for the aid they got from the people. Many + are the stories of their hairbreadth escapes. Sometimes they took refuge + in a cave on a mountain near New Haven, sometimes they hid in friendly + cellars; and once, being hard put to it, they skulked under a wooden + bridge, while their pursuers on horseback galloped by overhead. After + lurking about New Haven and Milford for two or three years, on hearing of + the expected arrival of Colonel Nichols and his commission, they sought a + more secluded hiding-place near Hadley, a village lately settled far up + the Connecticut river, within the jurisdiction of Massachusetts. Here the + avengers lost the trail, the pursuit was abandoned, and the weary + regicides were presently forgotten. The people of New Haven had been + especially zealous in shielding the fugitives. Mr. Davenport had not only + harboured them in his own house, but on the Sabbath before their expected + arrival he had preached a very bold sermon, openly advising his people to + aid and comfort them as far as possible. <a href="#linknote-28" + name="linknoteref-28" id="linknoteref-28"><small>28</small></a> The + colony, moreover, did not officially recognize the restoration of Charles + II. to the throne until that event had been commonly known in New England + for more than a year. For these reasons the wrath of the king was + specially roused against New Haven, when circumstances combined to enable + him at once to punish this disloyal colony and deal a blow at the + Confederacy. We have seen that in restricting the suffrage to church + members New Haven had followed the example of Massachusetts, but + Connecticut had not; and at this time there was warm controversy between + the two younger colonies as to the wisdom Of such a policy. As yet none of + the colonies save Massachusetts had obtained a charter, and Connecticut + was naturally anxious to obtain one. Whether through a complaisant spirit + connected with this desire, or through mere accident, Connecticut had been + prompt in acknowledging the restoration of Charles II.; and in August, + 1661, she dispatched the younger Winthrop to England to apply for a + charter. Winthrop was a man of winning address and of wide culture. His + scientific tastes were a passport to the favour of the king at a time when + the Royal Society was being founded, of which Winthrop himself was soon + chosen a fellow. In every way the occasion was an auspicious one. The king + looked upon the rise of the New England Confederacy with unfriendly eyes. + Massachusetts was as yet the only member of the league that was really + troublesome; and there seemed to be no easier way to weaken her than to + raise up a rival power by her side, and extend to it such privileges as + might awaken her jealousy. All the more would such a policy be likely to + succeed if accompanied by measures of which Massachusetts must necessarily + disapprove, and the suppression of New Haven would be such a measure. + [[Sidenote: New Haven annexed to Connecticut] + </p> + <p> + In accordance with these views, a charter of great liberality was at once + granted to Connecticut, and by the same instrument the colony of New Haven + was deprived of its separate existence and annexed to its stronger + neighbour. As if to emphasize the motives which had led to this display of + royal favour toward Connecticut, an equally liberal charter was granted to + Rhode Island. In the summer of 1664 Charles II. sent a couple of + ships-of-war to Boston harbour, with 400 troops under command of Colonel + Richard Nichols, who had been appointed, along with Samuel Maverick and + two others as royal commissioners, to look after the affairs of the New + World. Colonel Nichols took his ships to New Amsterdam, and captured that + important town. After his return the commissioners held meetings at + Boston, and for a time the Massachusetts charter seemed in danger. But the + Puritan magistrates were shrewd, and months were frittered away to no + purpose. Presently the Dutch made war upon England, and the king felt it + to be unwise to irritate the people of Massachusetts beyond endurance. The + turbulent state of English politics which followed still further absorbed + his attention, and New England had another respite of several years. + [[Sidenote: Founding of Newark] + </p> + <p> + In New Haven a party had grown up which was dissatisfied with its extreme + theocratic policy and approved of the union with Connecticut. Davenport + and his followers, the founders of the colony, were beyond measure + disgusted. They spurned "the Christless rule" of the sister colony. Many + of them took advantage of the recent conquest of New Netherland, and a + strong party, led by the Rev. Abraham Pierson, of Branford, migrated to + the banks of the Passaic in June, 1667, and laid the foundations of + Newark. For some years to come the theocratic idea that had given birth to + New Haven continued to live on in New Jersey. As for Mr. Davenport, he + went to Boston and ended his days there. Cotton Mather, writing at a later + date, when the theocratic scheme of the early settlers had been manifestly + outgrown and superseded, says of Davenport: "Yet, after all, the Lord gave + him to see that in this world a Church-State was impossible, whereinto + there enters nothing which defiles." + </p> + <p> + The theocratic policy, alike in New Haven and in Massachusetts, broke down + largely through its inherent weakness. It divided the community, and + created among the people a party adverse to its arrogance and + exclusiveness. This state of things facilitated the suppression of New + Haven by royal edict, and it made possible the victory of Wenlock + Christison in Massachusetts. We can now see the fundamental explanation of + the deadly hostility with which Endicott and his party regarded the + Quakers. The latter aimed a fatal blow at the very root of the idea which + had brought the Puritans to New England. Once admit these heretics as + citizens, or even as tolerated sojourners, and there was an end of the + theocratic state consisting of a united body of believers. It was a + life-and-death struggle, in which no quarter was given; and the Quakers, + aided by popular discontent with the theocracy, even more than by the + intervention of the crown, won a decisive victory. + </p> + <p> + As the work of planting New England took place chiefly in the eleven years + 1629-1640, during which Charles I. contrived to reign without a + parliament, so the prosperous period of the New England Confederacy, + 1643-1664, covers the time of the Civil War and the Commonwealth, and just + laps on to the reign of Charles II. By the summary extinction of the + separate existence of one of its members for the benefit of another, its + vigour was sadly impaired. But its constitution was revised so as to make + it a league of three states instead of four; and the Federal Commissioners + kept on holding their meetings, though less frequently, until the + revocation of the Massachusetts charter in 1684. During this period a + great Indian war occurred, in the course of which this concentration of + the military strength of New England, imperfect as it was, proved itself + very useful. In the history of New England, from the restoration of the + Stuarts until their final expulsion, the two most important facts are the + military struggle of the newly founded states with the Indians, and their + constitutional struggle against the British government. The troubles and + dangers of 1636 were renewed on a much more formidable scale, but the + strength of the people had waxed greatly in the mean time, and the new + perils were boldly overcome or skilfully warded off; not, however, until + the constitution of Massachusetts had been violently wrenched out of shape + in the struggle, and seeds of conflict sown which in the following century + were to bear fruit in the American Revolution. [[Sidenote: Breaking down + of the theocratic policy] [[Sidenote: Weakening of the Confederacy] + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0005" id="link2HCH0005"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER V. — KING PHILIP'S WAR. + </h2> + <p> + For eight-and-thirty years after the destruction of the Pequots, the + intercourse between the English and the Indians was to all outward + appearance friendly. The policy pursued by the settlers was in the main + well considered. While they had shown that they could strike with terrible + force when blows were needed, their treatment of the natives in time of + peace seems to have been generally just and kind. Except in the single + case of the conquered Pequot territory, they scrupulously paid for every + rood of ground on which they settled, and so far as possible they extended + to the Indians the protection of the law. On these points we have the + explicit testimony of Josiah Winslow, governor of Plymouth, in his report + to the Federal Commissioners in May, 1676; and what he says about Plymouth + seems to have been equally true of the other colonies. Says Winslow, "I + think I can clearly say that before these present troubles broke out, the + English did not possess one foot of land in this colony but what was + fairly obtained by honest purchase of the Indian proprietors. Nay, because + some of our people are of a covetous disposition, and the Indians are in + their straits easily prevailed with to part with their lands, we first + made a law that none should purchase or receive of gift any land of the + Indians without the knowledge and allowance of our Court .... And if at + any time they have brought complaints before us, they have had justice + impartial and speedy, so that our own people have frequently complained + that we erred on the other hand in showing them overmuch favour." The + general laws of Massachusetts and Connecticut as well as of Plymouth bear + out what Winslow says, and show us that as a matter of policy the colonial + governments were fully sensible of the importance of avoiding all + occasions for quarrel with their savage neighbours. [[Sidenote: Puritans + and Indians] + </p> + <p> + There can, moreover, be little doubt that the material comfort of the + Indians was for a time considerably improved by their dealings with the + white men. Hitherto their want of foresight and thrift had been wont to + involve them during the long winters in a dreadful struggle with famine. + Now the settlers were ready to pay liberally for the skin of every + fur-covered animal the red men could catch; and where the trade thus + arising did not suffice to keep off famine, instances of generous charity + were frequent. The Algonquin tribes of New England lived chiefly by + hunting, but partly by agriculture. They raised beans and corn, and + succotash was a dish which they contributed to the white man's table. They + could now raise or buy English vegetables, while from dogs and horses, + pigs and poultry, oxen and sheep, little as they could avail themselves of + such useful animals, they nevertheless derived some benefit. <a + href="#linknote-29" name="linknoteref-29" id="linknoteref-29"><small>29</small></a> + Better blankets and better knives were brought within their reach; and in + spite of all the colonial governments could do to prevent it, they were to + some extent enabled to supply themselves with muskets and rum. [[Sidenote: + Trade with the Indians] + </p> + <p> + Besides all this trade, which, except in the article of liquor, tended to + improve the condition of the native tribes, there was on the part of the + earlier settlers an earnest and diligent effort to convert them to + Christianity and give them the rudiments of a civilized education. + Missionary work was begun in 1643 by Thomas Mayhew on the islands of + Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard. The savages at first declared they were + not so silly as to barter thirty-seven tutelar deities for one, but after + much preaching and many pow-wows Mayhew succeeded in persuading them that + the Deity of the white man was mightier than all their <i>manitous.</i> + Whether they ever got much farther than this toward a comprehension of the + white man's religion may be doubted; but they were prevailed upon to let + their children learn to read and write, and even to set up little courts, + in which justice was administered according to some of the simplest rules + of English law, and from which there lay an appeal to the court of + Plymouth. In 1646 Massachusetts enacted that the elders of the churches + should choose two persons each year to go and spread the gospel among the + Indians. In 1649 Parliament established the Society for propagating the + Gospel in New England, and presently from voluntary contributions the + society was able to dispose of an annual income of £2000. Schools were set + up in which agriculture was taught as well as religion. It was even + intended that Indians should go to Harvard College, and a building was + erected for their accommodation, but as none came to occupy it, the + college printing-press was presently set to work there. One solitary + Indian student afterward succeeded in climbing to the bachelor's degree,—Caleb + Cheeshahteaumuck of the class of 1665. It was this one success that was + marvellous, not the failure of the scheme, which vividly shows how + difficult it was for the white man of that day to understand the + limitations of the red man. [[Sidenote: Missionary work: Thomas Mayhew] + </p> + <p> + The greatest measure of success in converting the Indians was attained by + that famous linguist and preacher, the apostle John Eliot. This remarkable + man was a graduate of Jesus College, Cambridge. He had come to + Massachusetts in 1631, and in the following year had been settled as + teacher in the church at Roxbury of which Thomas Welde was pastor. He had + been distinguished at the university for philological scholarship and for + linguistic talent—two things not always found in connection—and + now during fourteen years he devoted such time as he could to acquiring a + complete mastery of the Algonquin dialect spoken by the Indians of + Massachusetts bay. To the modern comparative philologist his work is of + great value. He published not only an excellent Indian grammar, but a + complete translation of the Bible into the Massachusetts language,—a + monument of prodigious labour. It is one of the most instructive documents + in existence for the student of Algonquin speech, though the Massachusetts + tribe and its language have long been extinct, and there are very few + scholars living who can read the book. It has become one of the + curiosities of literature and at auction sales of private libraries + commands an extremely high price. Yet out of this rare book the American + public has somehow or other within the last five or six years contrived to + pick up a word which we shall very likely continue to hear for some time + to come. In Eliot's Bible, the word which means a great chief—such + as Joshua, or Gideon, or Joab—is "mugwump." + </p> + <p> + It was in 1646 that Eliot began his missionary preaching at a small Indian + village near Watertown. President Dunster, of Harvard College, and Mr. + Shepard, the minister at Cambridge, felt a warm interest in the + undertaking. These worthy men seriously believed that the aborigines of + America were the degenerate descendants of the ten lost tribes of Israel, + and from this strange backsliding it was hoped that they might now be + reclaimed. With rare eloquence and skill did Eliot devote himself to the + difficult work of reaching the Indian's scanty intelligence and still + scantier moral sense. His ministrations reached from the sands of Cape Cod + to the rocky hillsides of Brookfield. But he soon found that single-handed + he could achieve but little over so wide an area, and accordingly he + adopted the policy of colonizing his converts in village communities near + the English towns, where they might be sequestered from their heathen + brethren and subjected to none but Christian influences. In these + communities he hoped to train up native missionaries who might thence go + and labour among the wild tribes until the whole lump of barbarism should + be leavened. In pursuance of this scheme a stockaded village was built at + Natick in 1651 Under the direction of an English carpenter the Indians + built log-houses for themselves, and most of them adopted the English + dress. Their simple government was administered by tithing-men, or "rulers + of tens," chosen after methods prescribed in the book of Exodus. Other + such communities were formed in the neighbourhoods of Concord and Grafton. + By 1674 the number of these "praying Indians," as they were called, was + estimated at 4000, of whom about 1500 were in Eliot's villages, as many + more in Martha's Vineyard, 300 in Nantucket, and 700 in the Plymouth + colony. There seems to be no doubt that these Indians were really + benefited both materially and morally by the change in their life. In + theology it is not likely that they reached any higher view than that + expressed by the Connecticut sachem Wequash who "seeing and beholding the + mighty power of God in the English forces, how they fell upon the Pequots, + ... from that time was convinced and persuaded that our God was a most + dreadful God;" accordingly, says the author of "New England's First + Fruits," "he became thoroughly reformed according to his light." Matters + of outward observance, too, the Indians could understand; for we read of + one of them rebuking an Englishman "for profaning the Lord's Day by + felling of a tree." The Indian's notions of religion were probably + confined within this narrow compass; the notions of some people that call + themselves civilized perhaps do not extend much further. [[Sidenote: + Villages of Christian Indians] + </p> + <p> + From such facts as those above cited we may infer that the early relations + of the Puritan settlers to the Algonquin tribes of New England were by no + means like the relations between white men and red men in recent times on + our western plains. During Philip's War, as we shall see, the Puritan + theory of the situation was entirely changed and our forefathers began to + act in accordance with the frontiersman's doctrine that the good Indians + are dead Indians. But down to that time it is clear that his intention was + to deal honourably and gently with his tawny neighbour. We sometimes hear + the justice and kindness of the Quakers in Pennsylvania alleged as an + adequate reason for the success with which they kept clear of an Indian + war. This explanation, however, does not seem to be adequate; it does not + appear that, on the whole, the Puritans were less just and kind than the + Quakers in their treatment of the red men. The true explanation is rather + to be found in the relations between the Indian tribes toward the close of + the seventeenth century. Early in that century the Pennsylvania region had + been in the hands of the ferocious and powerful Susquehannocks, but in + 1672, after a frightful struggle of twenty years, this great tribe was + swept from the face of the earth by the resistless league of the Five + Nations. When the Quakers came to Pennsylvania in 1682, the only Indians + in that neighbourhood were the Delawares, who had just been terribly + beaten by the Five Nations and forced into a treaty by which they + submitted to be called "women," and to surrender their tomahawks. Penn's + famous treaty was made with the Delawares as occupants of the land and + also with the Iroquois league as overlords. <a href="#linknote-30" + name="linknoteref-30" id="linknoteref-30"><small>30</small></a> Now the + great central fact of early American history, so far as the relations + between white men and red men are concerned, is the unshaken friendship of + the Iroquois for the English. This was the natural consequence of the + deadly hostility between the Iroquois and the French which began with + Champlain's defeat of the Mohawks in 1609. During the seventy-three years + which intervened between the founding of Pennsylvania and the defeat of + Braddock there was never a moment when the Delawares could have attacked + the Quakers without incurring the wrath and vengeance of their overlords + the Five Nations. This was the reason why Pennsylvania was left so long in + quiet. No better proof could be desired than the fact that in Pontiac's + war, after the overthrow of the French and when Indian politics had + changed, no state suffered so much as Pennsylvania from the horrors of + Indian warfare. [[Sidenote: Why Pennsylvania was so long unmolested by the + Indians] + </p> + <p> + In New England at the time of Philip's War, the situation was very + different from what it was between the Hudson and the Susquehanna. The + settlers were thrown into immediate relations with several tribes whose + mutual hostility and rivalry was such that it was simply impossible to + keep on good terms with all at once. Such complicated questions as that + which involved the English in responsibility for the fate of Miantonomo + did not arise in Pennsylvania. Since the destruction of the Pequots we + have observed the Narragansetts and Mohegans contending for the foremost + place among New England tribes. Of the two rivals the Mohegans were the + weaker, and therefore courted the friendship of the formidable palefaces. + The English had no desire to take part in these barbarous feuds, but they + could not treat the Mohegans well without incurring the hostility of the + Narragansetts. For thirty years the feeling of the latter tribe toward the + English had been very unfriendly and would doubtless have vented itself in + murder but for their recollection of the fate of the Pequots. After the + loss of their chief Miantonomo their attitude became so sullen and defiant + that the Federal Commissioners, in order to be in readiness for an + outbreak, collected a force of 300 men. At the first news of these + preparations the Narragansetts, overcome with terror, sent a liberal + tribute of wampum to Boston, and were fain to conclude a treaty in which + they promised to behave themselves well in the future. + </p> + <p> + It was impossible that this sort of English protectorate over the native + tribes, which was an inevitable result of the situation, should be other + than irksome and irritating to the Indians. They could not but see that + the white man stood there as master, and even in the utter absence of + provocation, this fact alone must have made them hate him. It is + difficult, moreover, for the civilized man and the savage to understand + each other. As a rule the one does not know what the other is thinking + about. When Mr. Hamilton Gushing a few years ago took some of his Zuni + friends into a hotel in Chicago, they marvelled at his entering such a + mighty palace with so little ceremony, and their wonder was heightened at + the promptness with which "slaves" came running at his beck and call; but + all at once, on seeing an American eagle over one of the doorways, they + felt that the mystery was solved. Evidently this palace was the communal + dwelling of the Eagle Clan of palefaces, and evidently Mr. Gushing was a + great sachem of this clan, and as such entitled to lordly sway there! The + Zunis are not savages, but representatives of a remote and primitive phase + of what Mr. Morgan calls the middle status of barbarism. The gulf between + their thinking and that of white men is wide because there is a wide gulf + between the experience of the two. [[Sidenote: Difficulty of the situation + in New England] [[Sidenote: It is hard for the savage and the civilized + man to understand one another] + </p> + <p> + This illustration may help us to understand an instance in which the + Indians of New England must inevitably have misinterpreted the actions of + the white settlers and read them in the light of their uneasy fears and + prejudices. I refer to the work of the apostle Eliot. His design in + founding his villages of Christian Indians was in the highest degree + benevolent and noble; but the heathen Indians could hardly be expected to + see anything in it but a cunning scheme for destroying them. + </p> + <p> + Eliot's converts were for the most part from the Massachusetts tribe, the + smallest and weakest of all. The Plymouth converts came chiefly from the + tribe next in weakness, the Pokanokets or Wampanoags. The more powerful + tribes—Narragansetts, Nipmucks, and Mohegans—furnished very + few converts. When they saw the white intruders gathering members of the + weakest tribes into villages of English type, and teaching them strange + gods while clothing them in strange garments, they probably supposed that + the pale-faces were simply adopting these Indians into their white tribe + as a means of increasing their military strength. At any rate, such a + proceeding would be perfectly intelligible to the savage mind, whereas the + nature of Eliot's design lay quite beyond its ken. As the Indians + recovered from their supernatural dread of the English, and began to + regard them as using human means to accomplish their ends, they must of + course interpret their conduct in such light as savage experience could + afford. It is one of the commonest things in the world for a savage tribe + to absorb weak neighbours by adoption, and thus increase its force + preparatory to a deadly assault upon other neighbours. When Eliot in 1657 + preached to the little tribe of Podunks near Hartford, and asked them if + they were willing to accept of Jesus Christ as their saviour, their old + men scornfully answered No! they had parted with most of their land, but + they were not going to become the white man's servants. A rebuke + administered to Eliot by Uncas in 1674 has a similar implication. When the + apostle was preaching one evening in a village over which that sachem + claimed jurisdiction, an Indian arose and announced himself as a deputy of + Uncas. Then he said, "Uncas is not well pleased that the English should + pass over Mohegan river to call <i>his</i> Indians to pray to God." <a + href="#linknote-31" name="linknoteref-31" id="linknoteref-31"><small>31</small></a> + </p> + <p> + Thus, no matter how benevolent the white man's intentions, he could not + fail to be dreaded by the Indians as a powerful and ever encroaching + enemy. + </p> + <p> + Even in his efforts to keep the peace and prevent tribes from taking the + warpath without his permission, he was interfering with the red man's + cherished pastime of murder and pillage. The appeals to the court at + Plymouth, the frequent summoning of sachems to Boston, to explain their + affairs and justify themselves against accusers, must have been maddening + in their effects upon the Indian; for there is one sound instinct which + the savage has in common with the most progressive races, and that is the + love of self-government that resents all outside interference. All things + considered, it is remarkable that peace should have been maintained in New + England from 1637 to 1675; and probably nothing short of the consuming + vengeance wrought upon the Pequots could have done it. But with the lapse + of time the wholesome feeling of dread began to fade away, and as the + Indians came to use musket instead of bow and arrow, their fear of the + English grew less, until at length their ferocious temper broke forth in + an epidemic of fire and slaughter that laid waste the land. [[Sidenote: It + is remarkable that peace should have been so long preserved] + </p> + <p> + Massasoit, chief sachem of the Wampanoags and steadfast ally of the + Plymouth colonists, died in 1660, leaving two sons, Wamsutta and Metacom, + or as the English nicknamed them, Alexander and Philip. Alexander + succeeded to his father's position of savage dignity and influence, but + his reign was brief. Rumours came to Plymouth that he was plotting + mischief, and he was accordingly summoned to appear before the General + Court of that colony and explain himself. He seems to have gone + reluctantly, but he succeeded in satisfying the magistrates of his + innocence of any evil designs. Whether he caught cold at Plymouth or drank + rum as only Indians can, we do not know. At any rate, on starting + homeward, before he had got clear of English territory, he was seized by a + violent fever and died. The savage mind knows nothing of pneumonia or + delirium tremens. It knows nothing of what we call natural death. To the + savage all death means murder, for like other men he judges of the unknown + by the known. In the Indian's experience normal death was by tomahawk or + firebrand; abnormal death (such as we call natural) must come either from + poison or from witchcraft. So when the honest chronicler Hubbard tells us + that Philip suspected the Plymouth people of poisoning his brother, we can + easily believe him. It was long, however, before he was ready to taste the + sweets of revenge. He schemed and plotted in the dark. In one respect the + Indian diplomatist is unlike his white brethren; he does not leave + state-papers behind him to reward the diligence and gratify the curiosity + of later generations; and accordingly it is hard to tell how far Philip + was personally responsible for the storm which was presently to burst upon + New England. [[Sidenote: Deaths of Massasoit and Alexander] [[Sidenote: + Philip's designs] + </p> + <p> + Whether his scheme was as comprehensive as that of Pontiac in 1763, + whether or not it amounted to a deliberate combination of all red men + within reach to exterminate the white men, one can hardly say with + confidence. The figure of Philip, in the war which bears his name, does + not stand out so prominently as the figure of Pontiac in the later + struggle. This may be partly because Pontiac's story has been told by such + a magician as Mr. Francis Parkman. But it is partly because the data are + too meagre. In all probability, however, the schemes of Sassacus the + Pequot, of Philip the Wampanoag, and of Pontiac the Ottawa, were + substantially the same. That Philip plotted with the Narragansetts seems + certain, and the early events of the war point clearly to a previous + understanding with the Nipmucks. The Mohegans, on the other hand, gave him + no assistance, but remained faithful to their white allies. + </p> + <p> + For thirteen years had Philip been chief sachem of his tribe before the + crisis came. Rumours of his unfriendly disposition had at intervals found + their way to the ears of the magistrates at Plymouth, but Philip had + succeeded in setting himself right before them. In 1670 the rumours were + renewed, and the Plymouth men felt that it was time to strike, but the + other colonies held them back, and a meeting was arranged between Philip + and three Boston men at Taunton in April, 1671. There the crafty savage + expressed humility and contrition for all past offences, and even + consented to a treaty in which he promised that his tribe should surrender + all their fire-arms. On the part of the English this was an extremely + unwise measure, for while it could not possibly be enforced, and while it + must have greatly increased the irritation of the Indians, it was at the + same time interpretable as a symptom of fear. With ominous scowls and + grunts some seventy muskets were given up, but this was all. Through the + summer there was much uneasiness, and in September Philip was summoned to + Plymouth with five of his under-sachems, and solemnly warned to keep the + peace. The savages again behaved with humility and agreed to pay a yearly + tribute of five wolves' heads and to do no act of war without express + permission. + </p> + <p> + For three years things seemed quiet, until late in 1674 the alarm was + again sounded. Sausamon, a convert from the Massachusetts tribe, had + studied a little at Harvard College, and could speak and write English + with facility. He had at one time been employed by Philip as a sort of + private secretary or messenger, and at other times had preached and taught + school among the Indian converts at Natick. Sausamon now came to Plymouth + and informed Governor Winslow that Philip was certainly engaged in a + conspiracy that boded no good to the English. Somehow or other Philip + contrived to find out what Sausamon had said, and presently coming to + Plymouth loudly asseverated his innocence; but the magistrates warned him + that if they heard any more of this sort of thing his arms would surely be + seized. A few days after Philip had gone home, Sausamon's hat and gun were + seen lying on the frozen surface of Assowamsett Pond, near Middleborough, + and on cutting through the ice his body was found with unmistakable marks + of beating and strangling. After some months the crime was traced to three + Wampanoags, who were forthwith arrested, tried by a mixed jury of Indians + and white men, found guilty, and put to death. On the way to the gallows + one of them confessed that he had stood by while his two friends had + pounded and choked the unfortunate Sausamon. [[Sidenote: Murder of + Sausamon] + </p> + <p> + More alarming reports now came from Swanzey, a pretty village of some + forty houses not far from Philip's headquarters at Mount Hope. On Sunday + June 20, while everybody was at church, a party of Indians had stolen into + the town and set fire to two houses. Messengers were hurried from Plymouth + and from Boston, to demand the culprits under penalty of instant war. As + they approached Swanzey the men from Boston saw a sight that filled them + with horror. The road was strewn with corpses of men, women, and children, + scorched, dismembered, and mangled with that devilish art of which the + American Indian is the most finished master. The savages had sacked the + village the day before, burning the houses and slaying the people. Within + three days a small force of colonial troops had driven Philip from his + position at Mount Hope; but while they were doing this a party of savages + swooped upon Dartmouth, burning thirty houses and committing fearful + atrocities. Some of their victims were flayed alive, or impaled on sharp + stakes, or roasted over slow fires. Similar horrors were wrought at + Middleborough and Taunton; and now the misery spread to Massachusetts, + where on the 14th of July the town of Mendon was attacked by a party of + Nipmucks. [[Sidenote: Massacres at Swanzey and Dartmouth, June, 1675] + </p> + <p> + At that time the beautiful highlands between Lancaster and the Connecticut + river were still an untrodden wilderness. On their southern slope + Worcester and Brookfield were tiny hamlets of a dozen houses each. Up the + Connecticut valley a line of little villages, from Springfield to + Northfield, formed the remotest frontier of the English, and their exposed + position offered tempting opportunities to the Indians. Governor Leverett + saw how great the danger would be if the other tribes should follow the + example set by Philip, and Captain Edward Hutchinson was accordingly sent + to Brookfield to negotiate with the Nipmucks. This officer was eldest son + of the unfortunate lady whose preaching in Boston nearly forty years + before had been the occasion of so much strife. Not only his mother, but + all save one or two of his brothers and sisters —and there were not + less than twelve of them—had been murdered by Indians on the New + Netherland border in 1643; now the same cruel fate overtook the gallant + captain. The savages agreed to hold a parley and appointed a time and + place for the purpose, but instead of keeping tryst they lay in ambush and + slew Hutchinson with eight of his men on their way to the conference. + [[Sidenote: Murder of Captain Hutchinson] + </p> + <p> + Three days afterward Philip, who had found home too hot for him, arrived + in the Nipmuck country, and on the night of August 2, took part in a + fierce assault on Brookfield. Thirty or forty men, with some fifty women + and children—all the inhabitants of the hamlet—took refuge in + a large house, where they were besieged by 300 savages whose bullets + pierced the wooden walls again and again. Arrows tipped with burning rags + were shot into the air in such wise as to fall upon the roof, but they who + crouched in the garret were watchful and well supplied with water, while + from the overhanging windows the volleys of musketry were so brisk and + steady that the screaming savages below could not get near enough to the + house to set it on fire. For three days the fight was kept up, while every + other house in the village was destroyed. By this time the Indians had + contrived to mount some planks on barrels so as to make a kind of rude + cart which they loaded with tow and chips. They were just about setting it + on fire and preparing to push it against the house with long poles, when + they were suddenly foiled by a heavy shower. That noon the gallant Simon + Willard, ancestor of two presidents of Harvard College, a man who had done + so much toward building up Concord and Lancaster that he was known as the + "founder of towns," was on his way from Lancaster to Groton at the head of + forty-seven horsemen, when he was overtaken by a courier with the news + from Brookfield. The distance was thirty miles, the road scarcely fit to + be called a bridle-path, and Willard's years were more than + threescore-and-ten; but by an hour after sunset he had gallopped into + Brookfield and routed the Indians who fled to a swamp ten miles distant. + [[Sidenote: Attack on Brookfield] + </p> + <p> + The scene is now shifted to the Connecticut valley, where on the 25th of + August Captain Lothrop defeated the savages at Hatfield. On the 1st of + September simultaneous attacks were made upon Deerfield and Hadley, and + among the traditions of the latter place is one of the most interesting of + the stories of that early time. The inhabitants were all in church keeping + a fast, when the yells of the Indians resounded. Seizing their guns, the + men rushed out to meet the foe; but seeing the village green swarming on + every side with the horrid savages, for a moment their courage gave way + and a panic was imminent; when all at once a stranger of reverend aspect + and stately form, with white beard flowing on his bosom, appeared among + them and took command with an air of authority which none could gainsay. + He bade them charge on the screeching rabble, and after a short sharp + skirmish the tawny foe was put to flight. When the pursuers came together + again, after the excitement of the rout, their deliverer was not to be + found. In their wonder, as they knew not whence he came or whither he had + gone, many were heard to say that an angel had been sent from heaven for + their deliverance. It was the regicide William Goffe, who from his + hiding-place had seen the savages stealing down the hillside, and sallied + forth to win yet one more victory over the hosts of Midian ere death + should come to claim him in his woodland retreat. Sir Walter Scott has put + this pretty story into the mouth of Major Bridgenorth in "Peveril of the + Peak," and Cooper has made use of it in "The Wept of Wish-ton-wish." Like + many other romantic stories, it rests upon insufficient authority and its + truth has been called in question. <a href="#linknote-32" + name="linknoteref-32" id="linknoteref-32"><small>32</small></a> But there + seems to be nothing intrinsically improbable in the tradition; and a + paramount regard for Goffe's personal safety would quite account for the + studied silence of contemporary writers like Hubbard and Increase Mather. + [[Sidenote: The mysterious stranger of Hadley] + </p> + <p> + This repulse did not check for a moment the activity of the Indians, + though for a long time we hear nothing more of Philip. On the 2d of + September they slew eight men at Northfield and on the 4th they surrounded + and butchered Captain Beers and most of his company of thirty-six marching + to the relief of that village. The next day but one, as Major Robert Treat + came up the road with his 100 Connecticut soldiers, they found long poles + planted by the wayside bearing the heads of their unfortunate comrades. + They in turn were assaulted, but beat off the enemy, and brought away the + people of Northfield. That village was abandoned, and presently Deerfield + shared its fate and the people were crowded into Hadley. Yet worse + remained to be seen. A large quantity of wheat had been left partly + threshed at Deerfield, and on the 11th of September eighteen wagons were + sent up with teamsters and farmers to finish the threshing and bring in + the grain. They were escorted by Captain Lothrop, with his train-band of + ninety picked men, known as the "Flower of Essex," perhaps the best + drilled company in the colony. The threshing was done, the wagons were + loaded, and the party made a night march southward. At seven in the + morning, as they were fording a shallow stream in the shade of overarching + woods, they were suddenly overwhelmed by the deadly fire of 700 ambushed + Nipmucks, and only eight of them escaped to tell the tale. A "black and + fatal" day was this, says the chronicler, "the saddest that ever befell + New England." To this day the memory of the slaughter at Bloody Brook + survives, and the visitor to South Deerfield may read the inscription over + the grave in which Major Treat's men next day buried all the victims + together. The Indians now began to feel their power, and on the 5th of + October they attacked Springfield and burned thirty houses there. + [[Sidenote: Ambuscade at Bloody Brook, September 12] + </p> + <p> + Things were becoming desperate. For ten weeks, from September 9 to + November 19, the Federal Commissioners were in session daily in Boston. + The most eminent of their number, for ability and character, was the + younger John Winthrop, who was still governor of Connecticut. Plymouth was + represented by its governor, Josiah Winslow, with the younger William + Bradford; Massachusetts by William Stoughton, Simon Bradstreet, and Thomas + Danforth. These strong men were confronted with a difficult problem. From + Batten's journal, kept during that disastrous summer, we learn the state + of feeling of excitement in Boston. The Puritans had by no means got rid + of that sense of corporate responsibility which civilized man has + inherited from prehistoric ages, and which has been one of the principal + causes of religious persecution. This sombre feeling has prompted men to + believe that to spare the heretic is to bring down the wrath of God upon + the whole community; and now in Boston many people stoutly maintained that + God had let loose the savages, with firebrand and tomahawk, to punish the + people of New England for ceasing to persecute "false worshippers and + especially idolatrous Quakers." Quaker meetings were accordingly forbidden + under penalty of fine and imprisonment. Some harmless Indians were + murdered. At Marblehead two were assaulted and killed by a crowd of women. + There was a bitter feeling toward the Christian Indians, many of whom had + joined their heathen kinsmen in burning and slaying. Daniel Gookin, + superintendent of the "praying Indians," a gentleman of the highest + character, was told that it would not be safe to show himself in the + streets of Boston. Mrs. Mary Pray, of Providence, wrote a letter + recommending the total extermination of the red men. + </p> + <p> + The measures adopted by the Commissioners certainly went far toward + carrying out Mrs. Pray's suggestion. The demeanour of the Narragansetts + had become very threatening, and their capacity for mischief exceeded that + of all the other tribes together. In July the Commissioners had made a + treaty with them, but in October it became known in Boston that they were + harbouring some of Philip's hostile Indians. When the Commissioners + sharply called them to account for this, their sachem Canonchet, son of + Miantonomo, promised to surrender the fugitives within ten days. But the + ten days passed and nothing was heard from the Narragansetts. The victory + of their brethren at Bloody Brook had worked upon their minds, so that + they no longer thought it worth while to keep faith with the white men. + They had overcome their timidity and were now ready to take part in the + work of massacre. <a href="#linknote-33" name="linknoteref-33" + id="linknoteref-33"><small>33</small></a> The Commissioners soon learned + of their warlike preparations and lost no time in forestalling them. The + Narragansetts were fairly warned that if they did not at once fulfil their + promises they must expect the utmost severities of war. A thousand men + were enlisted for this service and put under command of Governor Winslow, + and in December they marched against the enemy. The redoubtable fighter + and lively chronicler Benjamin Church accompanied the expedition. + </p> + <p> + The Indians had fortified themselves on a piece of rising ground, six + acres in extent, in the middle of a hideous swamp impassable at most + seasons but now in some places frozen hard enough to afford a precarious + footing. They were surrounded by rows of tall palisades which formed a + wall twelve feet in thickness; and the only approach to the single door of + this stronghold was over the trunk of a felled tree some two feet in + diameter and slippery with snow and ice. A stout block-house filled with + sharpshooters guarded this rude bridge, which was raised some five feet + from the ground. Within the palisaded fortress perhaps not less than 2000 + warriors, with many women and children, awaited the onset of the white + men, for here had Canonchet gathered together nearly the whole of his + available force. This was a military mistake. It was cooping up his men + for slaughter. They would have been much safer if scattered about in the + wilderness, and could have given the English much more trouble. But + readily as they acknowledged the power of the white man, they did not yet + understand it. One man's courage is not another's, and the Indian knew + little or nothing of that Gothic fury of self-abandonment which rushes + straight ahead and snatches victory from the jaws of death. His fortress + was a strong one, and it was no longer, as in the time of the Pequots, a + strife in which firearms were pitted against bow and arrow. Many of the + Narragansetts were equipped with muskets and skilled in their use, and + under such circumstances victory for the English was not to be lightly + won. [[Sidenote: Expedition against the Narragansetts] + </p> + <p> + On the night of December 18 their little army slept in an open field at + Pettyquamscott without other blanket than a "moist fleece of snow." Thence + to the Indian fortress, situated in what is now South Kingston, the march + was eighteen miles. The morrow was a Sunday, but Winslow deemed it + imprudent to wait, as food had wellnigh given out. Getting up at five + o'clock, they toiled through deep snow till they came within sight of the + Narragansett stronghold early in the afternoon. First came the 527 men + from Massachusetts, led by Major Appleton, of Ipswich, and next the 158 + from Plymouth, under Major Bradford; while Major Robert Treat, with the + 300 from Connecticut, brought up the rear. There were 985 men in all. As + the Massachusetts men rushed upon the slippery bridge a deadly volley from + the blockhouse slew six of their captains, while of the rank and file + there were many killed or wounded. Nothing daunted they pressed on with + great spirit till they forced their way into the enclosure, but then the + head of their column, overcome by sheer weight of numbers in the + hand-to-hand fight, was pushed and tumbled out into the swamp. Meanwhile + some of the Connecticut men had discovered a path across the partly frozen + swamp leading to a weak spot in the rear, where the palisades were thin + and few, as undue reliance had been placed upon the steep bank crowned + with a thick rampart of bushes that had been reinforced with clods of + turf. In this direction Treat swept along with his men in a spirited + charge. Before they had reached the spot a heavy fire began mowing them + down, but with a furious rush they came up, and climbing on each other's + shoulders, some fought their way over the rampart, while others hacked + sturdily with axes till such a breach was made that all might enter. This + was effected just as the Massachusetts men had recovered themselves and + crossed the treacherous log in a second charge that was successful and + soon brought the entire English force within the enclosure. In the + slaughter which filled the rest of that Sunday afternoon till the sun went + down behind a dull gray cloud, the grim and wrathful Puritan, as he swung + his heavy cutlass, thought of Saul and Agag, and spared not. The Lord had + delivered up to him the heathen as stubble to his sword. As usual the + number of the slain is variously estimated. Of the Indians probably not + less than 1000 perished. Some hundreds, however, with Canonchet their + leader, saved themselves in flight, well screened by the blinding + snow-flakes that began to fall just after sunset. Within the fortified + area had been stored the greater part of the Indians' winter supply of + corn, and the loss of this food was a further deadly blow. Captain Church + advised sparing the wigwams and using them for shelter, but Winslow seems + to have doubted the ability of his men to maintain themselves in a + position so remote from all support. The wigwams with their tubs of corn + were burned, and a retreat was ordered. Through snowdrifts that deepened + every moment the weary soldiers dragged themselves along until two hours + after midnight, when they reached the tiny village of Wickford. Nearly + one-fourth of their number had been killed or wounded, and many of the + latter perished before shelter was reached. Forty of these were buried at + Wickford in the course of the next three days. Of the Connecticut men + eighty were left upon the swamp and in the breach at the rear of the + stronghold. Among the spoils which the victors brought away were a number + of good muskets that had been captured by the Nipmucks in their assault + upon Deerfield. [[Sidenote: Storming of the great swamp fortress, December + 19] + </p> + <p> + This headlong overthrow of the Narragansett power completely changed the + face of things. The question was no longer whether the red men could + possibly succeed in making New England too hot for the white men, but + simply how long it would take for the white men to exterminate the red + men. The shiftless Indian was abandoning his squalid agriculture and + subsisting on the pillage of English farms; but the resources of the + colonies, though severely taxed, were by no means exhausted. The dusky + warriors slaughtered in the great swamp fight could not be replaced; but, + as Roger Williams told the Indians, there were still ten thousand white + men who could carry muskets, and should all these be slain, he added, with + a touch of hyperbole, the Great Father in England could send ten thousand + more. For the moment Williams seems to have cherished a hope that his + great influence with the savages might induce them to submit to terms of + peace while there was yet a remnant to be saved; but they were now as + little inclined to parley as tigers brought to bay, nor was the temper of + the colonists a whit less deadly, though it did not vent itself in + inflicting torture or in merely wanton orgies of cruelty. [[Sidenote: + Effect of the blow] + </p> + <p> + To the modern these scenes of carnage are painful to contemplate. In the + wholesale destruction of the Pequots, and to a less degree in that of the + Narragansetts, the death-dealing power of the white man stands forth so + terrible and relentless that our sympathy is for a moment called out for + his victim. The feeling of tenderness toward the weak, almost unknown + among savages, is one of the finest products of civilization. Where + murderous emotions are frequently excited, it cannot thrive. Such advance + in humanity as we have made within recent times is chiefly due to the fact + that the horrors of war are seldom brought home to everybody's door. + Either war is conducted on some remote frontier, or if armies march + through a densely peopled country the conditions of modern warfare have + made it essential to their efficiency as military instruments that + depredation and riot should be as far as possible checked. Murder and + pillage are comparatively infrequent, massacre is seldom heard of, and + torture is almost or quite as extinct as cannibalism. The mass of citizens + escape physical suffering, the angry emotions are so directed upon + impersonal objects as to acquire a strong ethical value, and the intervals + of strife may find individual soldiers of hostile armies exchanging kindly + services. Members of a complex industrial society, without direct + experience of warfare save in this mitigated form, have their characters + wrought upon in a way that is distinctively modern, as they become more + and more disinclined to violence and cruelty. European historians have + noticed, with words of praise, the freedom from bloodthirstiness which + characterizes the American people. Mr. Lecky has more than once remarked + upon this humane temperament which is so characteristic of our peaceful + civilization, and which sometimes, indeed, shows the defects of its + excellence and tends to weaken society by making it difficult to inflict + due punishment upon the vilest criminals. In respect of this humanity the + American of the nineteenth century has without doubt improved very + considerably upon his forefathers of the seventeenth. The England of + Cromwell and Milton was not, indeed, a land of hard-hearted people as + compared with their contemporaries. The long experience of internal peace + since the War of the Roses had not been without its effect; and while the + Tudor and Stuart periods had atrocities enough, we need only remember what + was going on at the same time in France and Germany in order to realize + how much worse it might have been. In England, as elsewhere, however, it + was, when looked at with our eyes, a rough and brutal time. It was a day + of dungeons, whipping-posts, and thumbscrews, when slight offenders were + maimed and bruised and great offenders cut into pieces by sentence of + court. The pioneers of New England had grown up familiar with such things; + and among the townspeople of Boston and Hartford in 1675 were still many + who in youth had listened to the awful news from Magdeburg or turned pale + over the horrors in Piedmont upon which Milton invoked the wrath of + Heaven. [[Sidenote: Growth of humane sentiment in recent times] + </p> + <p> + When civilized men are removed from the safeguards of civilization and + placed in the wilderness amid the hideous dangers that beset human + existence in a savage state of society, whatever barbarism lies latent in + them is likely to find many opportunities for showing itself. The feelings + that stir the meekest of men, as he stands among the smouldering embers of + his homestead and gazes upon the mangled bodies of wife and children, are + feelings that he shares with the most bloodthirsty savage, and the primary + effect of his higher intelligence and greater sensitiveness is only to + increase their bitterness. The neighbour who hears the dreadful story is + quick to feel likewise, for the same thing may happen to him, and there is + nothing so pitiless as fear. With the Puritan such gloomy and savage + passions seemed to find justification in the sacred text from which he + drew his rules of life. To suppose that one part of the Bible could be + less authoritative than another would have been to him an incomprehensible + heresy; and bound between the same covers that included the Sermon on the + Mount were tales of wholesale massacre perpetrated by God's command. + Evidently the red men were not stray children of Israel, after all, but + rather Philistines, Canaanites, heathen, sons of Belial, firebrands of + hell, demons whom it was no more than right to sweep from the face of the + earth. Writing in this spirit, the chroniclers of the time were completely + callous in their accounts of suffering and ruin inflicted upon Indians, + and, as has elsewhere been known to happen, those who did not risk their + own persons were more truculent in tone than the professional fighters. Of + the narrators of the war, perhaps the fairest toward the Indian is the + doughty Captain Church, while none is more bitter and cynical than the + Ipswich pastor William Hubbard. [[Sidenote: Warfare with savages likely to + be truculent in character] + </p> + <p> + While the overthrow of the Narragansetts changed the face of things, it + was far from putting an end to the war. It showed that when the white man + could find his enemy he could deal crushing blows, but the Indian was not + always so easy to find. Before the end of January Winslow's little army + was partially disbanded for want of food, and its three contingents fell + back upon Stonington, Boston, and Plymouth. Early in February the Federal + Commissioners called for a new levy of 600 men to assemble at Brookfield, + for the Nipmucks were beginning to renew their incursions, and after an + interval of six months the figure of Philip again appears for a moment + upon the scene. What he had been doing, or where he had been, since the + Brookfield fight in August, was never known. When in February, 1676, he + re-appeared it was still in company with his allies the Nipmucks, in their + bloody assault upon Lancaster. On the 10th of that month at sunrise the + Indians came swarming into the lovely village. Danger had already been + apprehended, the pastor, Joseph Rowlandson, the only Harvard graduate of + 1652, had gone to Boston to solicit aid, and Captain Wadsworth's company + was slowly making its way over the difficult roads from Marlborough, but + the Indians were beforehand. Several houses were at once surrounded and + set on fire, and men, women, and children began falling under the + tomahawk. The minister's house was large and strongly built, and more than + forty people found shelter there until at length it took fire and they + were driven out by the flames. Only one escaped, a dozen or more were + slain, and the rest, chiefly women and children, taken captive. The + Indians aimed at plunder as well as destruction; for they were in sore + need of food and blankets, as well as of powder and ball. Presently, as + they saw Wadsworth's armed men approaching, they took to flight and got + away, with many prisoners and a goodly store of provisions. [[Sidenote: + Attack upon Lancaster, February 10, 1676] + </p> + <p> + Among the captives was Mary Rowlandson, the minister's wife, who afterward + wrote the story of her sad experiences. The treatment of the prisoners + varied with the caprice or the cupidity of the captors. Those for whom a + substantial ransom might be expected fared comparatively well; to others + death came as a welcome relief. One poor woman with a child in her arms + was too weak to endure the arduous tramp over the icy hillsides, and + begged to be left behind, till presently the savages lost their patience. + They built a fire, and after a kind of demon dance killed mother and child + with a club and threw the bodies into the flames. Such treatment may seem + exceptionally merciful, but those modern observers who best know the + Indian's habits say that he seldom indulges in torture except when he has + abundance of leisure and a mind quite undisturbed. He is an epicure in + human agony and likes to enjoy it in long slow sips. It is for the end of + the march that the accumulation of horrors is reserved; the victims by the + way are usually despatched quickly; and in the case of Mrs. Rowlandson's + captors their irregular and circuitous march indicates that they were on + the alert. Their movements seem to have covered much of the ground between + Wachusett mountain and the Connecticut river. They knew that the white + squaw of the great medicine man of an English village was worth a heavy + ransom, and so they treated Mrs. Rowlandson unusually well. She had been + captured when escaping from the burning house, carrying in her arms her + little six-year-old daughter. She was stopped by a bullet that grazed her + side and struck the child. The Indian who seized them placed the little + girl upon a horse, and as the dreary march began she kept moaning "I shall + die, mamma." "I went on foot after it," says the mother, "with sorrow that + cannot be expressed. At length I took it off the horse, and carried it in + my arms till my strength failed me, and I fell down with it .... After + this it quickly began to snow, and when night came on they stopped. And + now down I must sit in the snow, by a little fire, and a few boughs behind + me, with my sick child in my lap, and calling much for water, being now, + through the wound, fallen into a violent fever .... Oh, may I see the + wonderful power of God that my spirit did not utterly sink under my + affliction; still the Lord upheld me with his gracious and merciful + spirit." The little girl soon died. For three months the weary and + heartbroken mother was led about the country by these loathsome savages, + of whose habits and manners she gives a vivid description. At first their + omnivorousness astonished her. "Skunks and rattlesnakes, yea the very bark + of trees" they esteemed as delicacies. "They would pick up old bones and + cut them in pieces at the joints, ... then boil them and drink up the + liquor, and then beat the great ends of them in a mortar and so eat them." + After some weeks of starvation Mrs. Rowlandson herself was fain to partake + of such viands. One day, having made a cap for one of Philip's boys, she + was invited to dine with the great sachem. "I went," she says, "and he + gave me a pancake about as big as two fingers. It was made of parched + wheat, beaten, and fried in bear's grease; but I thought I never tasted + pleasanter meat in my life." Early in May she was redeemed for 20 pounds, + and went to find her husband in Boston, where the Old South Church society + hired a house for them. [[Sidenote: Mrs. Rowlandson's narrative] + </p> + <p> + Such was the experience of a captive whose treatment was, according to + Indian notions, hospitable. There were few who came off so well. Almost + every week while she was led hither and thither by the savages. Mrs. + Rowlandson heard ghastly tales of fire and slaughter. It was a busy winter + and spring for these Nipmucks. Before February was over, their exploit at + Lancaster was followed by a shocking massacre at Medfield. They sacked and + destroyed the towns of Worcester, Marlborough, Mendon, and Groton, and + even burned some houses in Weymouth, within a dozen miles of Boston. + Murderous attacks were made upon Sudbury, Chelmsford, Springfield, + Hatfield, Hadley, Northampton, Wrentham, Andover, Bridgewater, Scituate, + and Middleborough. On the 18th of April Captain Wadsworth, with 70 men, + was drawn into an ambush near Sudbury, surrounded by 500 Nipmucks, and + killed with 50 of his men; six unfortunate captives were burned alive over + slow fires. But Wadsworth's party made the enemy pay dearly for his + victory; that afternoon 120 Nipmucks bit the dust. In such wise, by + killing two or three for one, did the English wear out and annihilate + their adversaries. Just one month from that day Captain Turner surprised + and slaughtered 300 of these warriors near the falls of the Connecticut + river which have since borne his name, and this blow at last broke the + strength of the Nipmucks. [[Sidenote: Virtual exterminations of the + Indians, February—August, 1676] + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile the Narragansetts and Wampanoags had burned the towns of Warwick + and Providence. After the wholesale ruin of the great "swamp fight," + Canonchet had still some 600 or 700 warriors left, and with these, on the + 26th of March, in the neighbourhood of Pawtuxet, he surprised a company of + 50 Plymouth men under Captain Pierce and slew them all, but not until he + had lost 140 of his best warriors. Ten days later Captain Denison, with + his Connecticut company, defeated and captured Canonchet, and the proud + son of Miantonomo met the same fate as his father. He was handed over to + the Mohegans and tomahawked. The Narragansett sachem had shown such + bravery that it seemed, says the chronicler Hubbard, as if "some old Roman + ghost had possessed the body of this western pagan." But next moment this + pious clergyman, as if ashamed of the classical eulogy just bestowed upon + the hated redskin, alludes to him as a "damned wretch." [[Sidenote: Death + of Canonchet] + </p> + <p> + The fall of Canonchet marked the beginning of the end. In four sharp + fights in the last week of June, Major Talcott, of Hartford, slew from 300 + to 400 warriors, being nearly all that were left of the Narragansetts; and + during the month of July Captain Church patrolled the country about + Taunton, making prisoners of the Wampanoags. Once more King Philip, shorn + of his prestige, comes upon the scene. We have seen that his agency in + these cruel events had been at the outset a potent one. Whatever else it + may have been, it was at least the agency of the match that explodes the + powder-cask. Under the conditions of that savage society, organized + leadership was not to be looked for. In the irregular and disorderly + series of murdering raids Philip may have been often present, but except + for Mrs. Rowlandson's narrative we should have known nothing of him since + the Brookfield fight. + </p> + <p> + At length in July, 1676, having seen the last of his Nipmuck friends + overwhelmed, the tattered chieftain showed himself near Bridgewater, with + a handful of followers. In these his own hunting-grounds some of his + former friends had become disaffected. The daring and diplomatic Church + had made his way into the wigwam of Ashawonks, the squaw sachem of + Saconet, near Little Compton, and having first convinced her that a flask + of brandy might be tasted without fatal results, followed up his advantage + and persuaded her to make an alliance with the English. Many Indians came + in and voluntarily surrendered themselves, in order to obtain favourable + terms, and some lent their aid in destroying their old sachem. Defeated at + Taunton, the son of Massasoit was hunted by Church to his ancient lair at + Bristol Neck and there besieged. His only escape was over the narrow + isthmus of which the pursuers now took possession, and in this dire + extremity one of Philip's men presumed to advise his chief that the hour + for surrender had come. For his unwelcome counsel the sachem forthwith + lifted his tomahawk and struck him dead at his feet. Then the brother of + the slain man crept away through the bushes to Church's little camp, and + offered to guide the white men to the morass where Philip lay concealed. + At daybreak of August 12 the English stealthily advancing beat up their + prey. The savages in sudden panic rushed from under cover, and as the + sachem showed himself running at the top of his speed, a ball from an + Indian musket pierced his heart, and "he fell upon his face in the mud and + water, with his gun under him." His severed head was sent to Plymouth, + where it was mounted on a pole and exposed aloft upon the village green, + while the meeting-house bell summoned the townspeople to a special service + of thanksgiving. [[Sidenote: Death of Philip, August 12] + </p> + <p> + It may be supposed that in such services at this time a Christian feeling + of charity and forgiveness was not uppermost. Among the captives was a son + of Philip, the little swarthy lad of nine years for whom Mrs. Rowlandson + had made a cap, and the question as to what was to be done with him + occasioned as much debate as if he had been a Jesse Pomeroy <a + href="#linknote-34" name="linknoteref-34" id="linknoteref-34"><small>34</small></a> + or a Chicago anarchist. The opinions of the clergy were, of course, + eagerly sought and freely vouchsafed. One minister somewhat doubtfully + urged that "although a precept in Deuteronomy explicitly forbids killing + the child for the father's sin," yet after all "the children of Saul and + Achan perished with their parents, though too young to have shared their + guilt." Thus curiously did this English reverence for precedent, with a + sort of grim conscientiousness colouring its gloomy wrath, search for + guidance among the ancient records of the children of Israel. Commenting + upon the truculent suggestion, Increase Mather, soon to be president of + Harvard, observed that, "though David had spared the infant Hadad, yet it + might have been better for his people if he had been less merciful." These + bloodthirsty counsels did not prevail, but the course that was adopted did + not lack in harshness. Among the sachems a dozen leading spirits were + hanged or shot, and hundreds of captives were shipped off to the West + Indies to be sold into slavery; among these was Philip's little son. The + rough soldier Church and the apostle Eliot were among the few who + disapproved of this policy. Church feared it might goad such Indians as + were still at large to acts of desperation. Eliot, in an earnest letter to + the Federal Commissioners, observed: "To sell souls for money seemeth to + me dangerous merchandise." But the plan of exporting the captives was + adhered to. As slaves they were understood to be of little or no value, + and sometimes for want of purchasers they were set ashore on strange + coasts and abandoned. A few were even carried to one of the foulest of + mediaeval slave-marts, Morocco, where their fate was doubtless wretched + enough. [[Sidenote: Indians sold into slavery] + </p> + <p> + In spite of Church's doubts as to the wisdom of this harsh treatment, it + did not prevent the beaten and starving savages from surrendering + themselves in considerable numbers. To some the Federal Commissioners + offered amnesty, and the promise was faithfully fulfilled. Among those who + laid down arms in reliance upon it were 140 Christian Indians, with their + leader known as James the Printer, because he had been employed at + Cambridge in setting up the type for Eliot's Bible. Quite early in the war + it had been discovered that these converted savages still felt the ties of + blood to be stronger than those of creed. At the attack on Mendon, only + three weeks after the horrors at Swanzey that ushered in the war, it was + known that Christian Indians had behaved themselves quite as cruelly as + their unregenerate brethren. Afterwards they made such a record that the + jokers and punsters of the day—for such there were, even among those + sombre Puritans—in writing about the "Praying Indians," spelled <i>praying</i> + with an <i>e</i>. The moral scruples of these savages, under the influence + of their evangelical training, betrayed queer freaks. One of them, says + Mrs. Rowlandson, would rather die than eat horseflesh, so narrow and + scrupulous was his conscience, although it was as wide as the whole + infernal abyss, when it came to torturing white Christians. The student of + history may have observed similar inconsistencies in the theories and + conduct of people more enlightened than these poor red men. "There was + another Praying Indian," continues Mrs. Rowlandson, "who, when he had done + all the mischief he could, betrayed his own father into the English's + hands, thereby to purchase his own life; ... and there was another ... so + wicked ... as to wear a string about his neck, strung with Christian + fingers." [[Sidenote: Conduct of the Christian Indians] + </p> + <p> + Such incidents help us to comprehend the exasperation of our forefathers + in the days of King Philip. The month which witnessed his death saw also + the end of the war in the southern parts of New England; but, almost + before people had time to offer thanks for the victory, there came news of + bloodshed on the northeastern frontier. The Tarratines in Maine had for + some time been infected with the war fever. How far they may have been + comprehended in the schemes of Philip and Canonchet, it would be hard to + say. They had attacked settlers on the site of Brunswick as early as + September, 1675. About the time of Philip's death, Major Waldron of Dover + had entrapped a party of them by an unworthy stratagem, and after + satisfying himself that they were accomplices in that chieftain's scheme, + sent them to Boston to be sold into slavery. A terrible retribution was in + store for Major Waldron thirteen years later. For the present the hideous + strife, just ended in southern New England, was continued on the + northeastern frontier, and there was scarcely a village between the + Kennebec and the Piscataqua but was laid in ashes. [[Sidenote: War with + the Tarratines, 1676-78] + </p> + <p> + By midsummer of 1678 the Indians had been everywhere suppressed, and there + was peace in the land. For three years, since Philip's massacre at + Swanzey, there had been a reign of terror in New England. Within the + boundaries of Connecticut, indeed, little or no damage had been inflicted, + and the troops of that colony, not needed on their own soil, did noble + service in the common cause. + </p> + <p> + In Massachusetts and Plymouth, on the other hand, the destruction of life + and property had been simply frightful. Of ninety towns, twelve had been + utterly destroyed, while more than forty others had been the scene of fire + and slaughter. Out of this little society nearly a thousand staunch men, + including not few of broad culture and strong promise, had lost their + lives, while of the scores of fair women and poor little children that had + perished under the ruthless tomahawk, one can hardly give an accurate + account. Hardly a family throughout the land but was in mourning. The + war-debt of Plymouth was reckoned to exceed the total amount of personal + property in the colony; yet although it pinched every household for many a + year, it was paid to the uttermost farthing; nor in this respect were + Massachusetts and Connecticut at all behind-hand. [[Sidenote: + Destructiveness of the war] + </p> + <p> + But while King Philip's War wrought such fearful damage to the English, it + was for the Indians themselves utter destruction. Most of the warriors + were slain, and to the survivors, as we have seen, the conquerors showed + but scant mercy. The Puritan, who conned his Bible so earnestly, had taken + his hint from the wars of the Jews, and swept his New English Canaan with + a broom that was pitiless and searching. Henceforth the red man figures no + more in the history of New England, except as an ally of the French in + bloody raids upon the frontier. In that capacity he does mischief enough + for yet a half-century more, but from central and southern New England, as + an element of disturbance or a power to be reckoned with, he disappears + forever. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0006" id="link2HCH0006"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VI. — THE TYRANNY OF ANDROS. + </h2> + <p> + The beginnings of New England were made in the full daylight of modern + history. It was an age of town records, of registered deeds, of + contemporary memoirs, of diplomatic correspondence, of controversial + pamphlets, funeral sermons, political diatribes, specific instructions, + official reports, and private letters. It was not a time in which mythical + personages or incredible legends could flourish, and such things we do + find in the history of New England. There was nevertheless a romantic side + to this history, enough to envelop some of its characters and incidents in + a glamour that may mislead the modern reader. This wholesale migration + from the smiling fields of merry England to an unexplored wilderness + beyond a thousand leagues of sea was of itself a most romantic and + thrilling event, and when viewed in the light of its historic results it + becomes clothed with sublimity. The men who undertook this work were not + at all free from self-consciousness. They believed that they were doing a + wonderful thing. They felt themselves to be instruments in accomplishing a + kind of "manifest destiny." Their exodus was that of a chosen people who + were at length to lay the everlasting foundations of God's kingdom upon + earth. Such opinions, which took a strong colour from their assiduous + study of the Old Testament, reacted and disposed them all the more to + search its pages for illustrations and precedents, and to regard it as an + oracle, almost as a talisman. In every propitious event they saw a special + providence, an act of divine intervention to deliver them from the snares + of an ever watchful Satan. This steadfast faith in an unseen ruler and + guide was to them a pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night. It was of + great moral value. It gave them clearness of purpose and concentration of + strength, and contributed toward making them, like the children of Israel, + a people of indestructible vitality and aggressive energy. At the same + time, in the hands of the Puritan writers, this feeling was apt to warp + their estimates of events and throw such a romantic haze about things as + seriously to interfere with a true historical perspective. [[Sidenote: + Romantic features in the early history of New England] + </p> + <p> + Among such writings that which perhaps best epitomizes the Puritan + philosophy is "The Wonder-working Providence of Zion's Saviour in New + England," by Captain Edward Johnson, one of the principal founders of + Woburn. It is an extremely valuable history of New England from 1628 to + 1651, and every page is alive with the virile energy of that stirring + time. With narrative, argument, and apologue, abounding in honesty of + purpose, sublimity of trust, and grotesqueness of fancy, wherein touching + tenderness is often alternated with sternness most grim and merciless, yet + now and then relieved by a sudden gleam of humour,—and all in a + style that is usually uncouth and harsh, but sometimes bursts forth in + eloquence worthy of Bunyan,—we are told how the founders of New + England are soldiers of Christ enlisted in a holy war, and how they must + "march manfully on till all opposers of Christ's kingly power be + abolished." "And as for you who are called to sound forth his silver + trumpets, blow loud and shrill to this chiefest treble tune—for the + armies of the great Jehovah are at hand." "He standeth not as an idle + spectator beholding his people's ruth and their enemies' rage, but as an + actor in all actions, to bring to naught the desires of the wicked, ... + having also the ordering of every weapon in its first produce, guiding + every shaft that flies, leading each bullet to his place of settling, and + weapon to the wound it makes." To men engaged in such a crusade against + the powers of evil, nothing could seem insignificant or trivial; for, as + Johnson continues, in truly prophetic phrase, "the Lord Christ intends to + achieve greater matters by this little handful than the world is aware + of." [[Sidenote: Edward Johnson] + </p> + <p> + The general sentiment of the early New England writers was like that of + the "Wonder-working Providence," though it did not always find such + rhapsodic expression. It has left its impress upon the minds of their + children's children down to our own time, and has affected the opinions + held about them by other people. It has had something to do with a certain + tacit assumption of superiority on the part of New Englanders, upon which + the men and women of other communities have been heard to comment in + resentful and carping tones. There has probably never existed, in any age + or at any spot on the earth's surface, a group of people that did not take + for granted its own preeminent excellence. Upon some such assumption, as + upon an incontrovertible axiom, all historical narratives, from the + chronicles of a parish to the annals of an empire, alike proceed. But in + New England it assumed a form especially apt to provoke challenge. One of + its unintentional effects was the setting up of an unreal and impossible + standard by which to judge the acts and motives of the Puritans of the + seventeenth century. We come upon instances of harshness and cruelty, of + narrow-minded bigotry, and superstitious frenzy; and feel, perhaps, a + little surprised that these men had so much in common with their + contemporaries. Hence the interminable discussion which has been called + forth by the history of the Puritans, in which the conclusions of the + writer have generally been determined by circumstances of birth or creed, + or perhaps of reaction against creed. One critic points to the Boston of + 1659 or the Salem of 1692 with such gleeful satisfaction as used to stir + the heart of Thomas Paine when he alighted upon an inconsistency in some + text of the Bible; while another, in the firm conviction that Puritans + could do no wrong, plays fast and loose with arguments that might be made + to justify the deeds of a Torquemada. [[Sidenote: Acts of the Puritans + often judged by a wrong standard] + </p> + <p> + From such methods of criticism it is the duty of historians as far as + possible to free themselves. If we consider the Puritans in the light of + their surroundings as Englishmen of the seventeenth century and + inaugurators of a political movement that was gradually to change for the + better the aspect of things all over the earth, we cannot fail to discern + the value of that sacred enthusiasm which led them to regard themselves as + chosen soldiers of Christ. It was the spirit of the "Wonder-working + Providence" that hurled the tyrant from his throne at Whitehall and + prepared the way for the emancipation of modern Europe. No spirit less + intense, no spirit nurtured in the contemplation of things terrestrial, + could ever have done it. The political philosophy of a Vane or a Sidney + could never have done it. The passion for liberty as felt by a Jefferson + or an Adams, abstracted and generalized from the love of particular + liberties, was something scarcely intelligible to the seventeenth century. + The ideas of absolute freedom of thought and speech, which we breathe in + from childhood, were to the men of that age strange and questionable. They + groped and floundered among them, very much as modern wool growers in Ohio + or iron-smelters in Pennsylvania flounder and grope among the elementary + truths of political economy. But the spirit in which the Hebrew prophet + rebuked and humbled an idolatrous king was a spirit they could comprehend. + Such a spirit was sure to manifest itself in narrow cramping measures and + in ugly acts of persecution; but it is none the less to the fortunate + alliance of that fervid religious enthusiasm with the Englishman's love of + self-government that our modern freedom owes its existence. [[Sidenote: + Spirit of the Wonder-working Providence] + </p> + <p> + The history of New England under Charles II. yields abundant proof that + political liberty is no less indebted in the New World than in the Old to + the spirit of the "Wonder-working Providence." The theocratic ideal which + the Puritan sought to put into practice in Massachusetts and Connecticut + was a sacred institution in faults of the defence of which all his + faculties were kept perpetually alert. Much as he loved self-government he + would never have been so swift to detect and so stubborn to resist every + slightest encroachment on the part of the crown had not the loss of + self-government involved the imminent danger that the ark of the Lord + might be abandoned to the worshippers of Dagon. It was in Massachusetts, + where the theocracy was strongest, that the resistance to Charles II. was + most dogged and did most to prepare the way for the work of achieving + political independence a century later. Naturally it was in Massachusetts + at the same time that the faults of the theocracy were most conspicuous. + It was there that priestly authority most clearly asserted itself in such + oppressive acts as are always witnessed when too much power is left in the + hands of men whose primary allegiance is to a kingdom not of this world. + Much as we owe to the theocracy for warding off the encroachments of the + crown, we cannot be sorry that it was itself crushed in the process. It + was well that it did not survive its day of usefulness, and that the + outcome of the struggle was what has been aptly termed "the emancipation + of Massachusetts." [[Sidenote: Merits and faults of the theocracy] + </p> + <p> + The basis of the theocratic constitution of this commonwealth was the + provision by which the exercise of the franchise was made an incident of + church-membership. Unless a man could take part in the Lord's Supper, as + administered in the churches of the colony, he could not vote or hold + office. Church and state, parish and town, were thus virtually identified. + Here, as in some other aspects of early New England, one is reminded of + the ancient Greek cities, where the freeman who could vote in the + market-place or serve his turn as magistrate was the man qualified to + perform sacrifices to the tutelar deities of the tribe; other men might + dwell in the city but had no share in making or executing its laws. The + limitation of civil rights by religious tests is indeed one of those + common inheritances from the old Aryan world that we find again and again + cropping out, even down to the exclusion of Catholics from the House of + Commons from 1562 to 1829. The obvious purpose of this policy in England + was self-protection; and in like manner the restriction of the suffrage in + Massachusetts was designed to protect the colony against aggressive + episcopacy and to maintain unimpaired the uniformity of purpose which had + brought the settlers across the ocean. Under the circumstances there was + something to be said in behalf of such a measure of self-protection, and + the principle required but slight extension to cover such cases as the + banishment of Roger Williams and the Antinomians. There was another side + to the case, however. From the very outset this exclusive policy was in + some ways a source of weakness to Massachusetts, though we have seen that + the indirect effect was to diversify and enrich the political life of New + England as a whole. [[Sidenote: Restriction of the suffrage to church + members] + </p> + <p> + At first it led to the departure of the men who founded Connecticut, and + thereafter the way was certainly open for those who preferred the + Connecticut policy to go where it prevailed. Some such segregation was no + doubt effected, but it could not be complete and thorough. Men who + preferred Boston without the franchise to Hartford with it would remain in + Massachusetts; and thus the elder colony soon came to possess a + discontented class of people, always ready to join hand in glove with + dissenters or mischief-makers, or even with emissaries of the crown. It + afforded a suggestive commentary upon all attempts to suppress human + nature by depriving it of a share in political life; instead of keeping it + inside where you can try conclusions with it fairly, you thrust it out to + plot mischief in the dark. Within twenty years from the founding of Boston + the disfranchisement of such citizens as could not participate in + church-communion had begun to be regarded as a serious political + grievance. These men were obliged to pay taxes and were liable to be + called upon for military service against the Indians; and they naturally + felt that they ought to have a voice in the management of public affairs. + [[Sidenote: It was a source of political discontent] + </p> + <p> + Besides this fundamental ground of complaint, there were derivative + grievances. Under the influence of the clergy justice was administered in + somewhat inquisitorial fashion, there was an uncertainty as to just what + the law was, a strong disposition to confuse questions of law with + questions of ethics, and great laxity in the admission and estimation of + evidence. As early as 1639 people had begun to complain that too much + power was rested in the discretion of the magistrate, and they clamoured + for a code of laws; but as Winthrop says, the magistrates and ministers + were "not very forward in this matter," for they preferred to supplement + the common law of England by decisions based on the Old Testament rather + than by a body of statutes. It was not until 1649, after a persistent + struggle, that the deputies won a decisive victory over the assistants and + secured for Massachusetts a definite code of laws. In the New Haven colony + similar theocratic notions led the settlers to dispense with trial by jury + because they could find no precedent for it in the laws of Moses. Here, as + in Massachusetts, the inquisitorial administration of justice combined + with partial disfranchisement to awaken discontent, and it was partly for + this reason that New Haven fell so easily under the sway of Connecticut. + [[Sidenote: Inquisitorial administration of justice] + </p> + <p> + In Massachusetts after 1650 the opinion rapidly gained ground that all + baptized persons of upright and decorous lives ought to be considered, for + practical purposes, as members of the church, and therefore entitled to + the exercise of political rights, even though unqualified for + participation in the Lord's Supper. This theory of church-membership, + based on what was at that time stigmatized as the "Halfway Covenant," + aroused intense opposition. It was the great question of the day. In 1657 + a council was held in Boston, which approved the principle of the Halfway + Covenant; and as this decision was far from satisfying the churches, a + synod of all the clergymen in Massachusetts was held five years later, to + reconsider the great question. The decision of the synod substantially + confirmed the decision of the council, but there were some dissenting + voices. Foremost among the dissenters, who wished to retain the old + theocratic regime in all its strictness, was Charles Chauncey, the + president of Harvard College, and Increase Mather agreed with him at the + time, though he afterward saw reason to change his opinion, and published + two tracts in favour of the Halfway Covenant. Most bitter of all toward + the new theory of church-membership was, naturally enough, Mr. Davenport + of New Haven. [[Sidenote: The "Halfway Covenant"] + </p> + <p> + This burning question was the source of angry contentions in the First + Church of Boston. Its teacher, the learned and melancholy Norton, died in + 1663, and four years later the aged pastor, John Wilson, followed him. In + choosing a successor to Wilson the church decided to declare itself in + opposition to the liberal decision of the synod, and in token thereof + invited Davenport to come from New Haven to take charge of it. Davenport, + who was then seventy years old, was disgusted at the recent annexation of + his colony to Connecticut. He accepted the invitation and came to Boston, + against the wishes of nearly half of the Boston congregation who did not + like the illiberal principle which he represented. In little more than a + year his ministry at Boston was ended by death; but the opposition to his + call had already proceeded so far that a secession from the old church had + become inevitable. In 1669 the advocates of the Halfway Covenant organized + themselves into a new society under the title of the "Third Church in + Boston." A wooden meeting-house was built on a lot which had once belonged + to the late governor Winthrop, in what was then the south part of the + town, so that the society and its meeting-house became known as the South + Church; and after a new church founded in Summer Street in 1717 took the + name of the New South, the church of 1669 came to be further distinguished + as the Old South. As this church represented a liberal idea which was + growing in favour with the people, it soon became the most flourishing + church in America. After sixty years its numbers had increased so that the + old meeting-house could not contain them; and in 1729 the famous building + which still stands was erected on the same spot,—a building with a + grander history than any other on the American continent, unless it be + that other plain brick building in Philadelphia where the Declaration of + Independence was adopted and the Federal Constitution framed. [[Sidenote: + Founding of the Old South Church, 1669] + </p> + <p> + The wrath of the First Church at this secession from its ranks was deep + and bitter, and for thirteen years it refused to entertain ecclesiastical + intercourse with the South Church. But by 1682 it had become apparent that + the king and his friends were meditating an attack upon the Puritan + theocracy in New England. It had even been suggested, in the council for + the colonies, that the Church of England should be established in + Massachusetts, and that none but duly ordained Episcopal clergymen should + be allowed to solemnize marriages. Such alarming suggestions began to + impress the various Puritan churches with the importance of uniting their + forces against the common enemy; and accordingly in 1682 the quarrel + between the two Boston societies came to an end. There was urgent need of + all the sympathy and good feeling that the community could muster, whereby + to cheer itself in the crisis that was coming. The four years from 1684 to + 1688 were the darkest years in the history of New England. Massachusetts, + though not lacking in the spirit, had not the power to beard the tyrant as + she did eighty years later. Her attitude toward the Stuarts—as we + have seen—had been sometimes openly haughty and defiant, sometimes + silent and sullen, but always independent. At the accession of Charles II. + the colonists had thought it worth while to send commissioners to England + to confer with the king and avoid a quarrel. Charles promised to respect + their charter, but insisted that in return they must take an oath of + allegiance to the crown, must administer justice in the king's name, and + must repeal their laws restricting the right of suffrage to church members + and prohibiting the Episcopal form of worship. [[Sidenote: Founding of the + Old South Church, 1669] [[Sidenote: Demands of Charles II.] + </p> + <p> + When the people of Massachusetts received this message they consented to + administer justice in the king's name, but all the other matters were + referred for consideration to a committee, and so they dropped out of + sight. When the royal commissioners came to Boston in 1664, they were + especially instructed to ascertain whether Massachusetts had complied with + the king's demands; but upon this point the legislature stubbornly + withheld any definite answer, while it frittered away the time in trivial + altercations with the royal commissioners. The war with Holland and the + turbulent state of English politics operated for several years in favour + of this independent attitude of the colonists, though during all this time + their enemies at court were busy with intrigues and accusations. Apart + from mere slanders the real grounds of complaint were the restriction of + the suffrage, whereby members of the Church of England were shut out; the + claims of the eastern proprietors, heirs of Mason and Gorges, whose + territory Massachusetts had absorbed; the infraction of the navigation + laws; and the coinage of pine-tree shillings. The last named measure had + been forced upon the colonists by the scarcity of a circulating medium. + Until 1661 Indian wampum had been a legal tender, and far into the + eighteenth century it remained current in small transactions. "In 1693 the + ferriage from New York to Brooklyn was eight stivers in wampum or a silver + twopence." <a href="#linknote-35" name="linknoteref-35" id="linknoteref-35"><small>35</small></a> + As early as 1652 Massachusetts had sought to supply the deficiency by the + issue of shillings and sixpences. It was an affair of convenience and + probably had no political purpose. The infraction of the navigation laws + was a more serious matter. "Ships from France, Spain, and the Canaries + traded directly with Boston, and brought in goods which had never paid + duty in any English port." <a href="#linknote-36" name="linknoteref-36" + id="linknoteref-36"><small>36</small></a> The effect of this was to excite + the jealousy of the merchants in London and other English cities and to + deprive Massachusetts of the sympathy of that already numerous and + powerful class of people. [[Sidenote: Complaints against Massachusetts] + </p> + <p> + In 1675, the first year of King Philip's War, the British government made + up its mind to attend more closely to the affairs of its American + colonies. It had got the Dutch war off its hands, and could give heed to + other things. The general supervision of the colonies was assigned to a + standing committee of the privy council, styled the "Lords of the + Committee of Trade and Plantations," and henceforth familiarly known as + the "Lords of Trade." Next year the Lords of Trade sent an agent to + Boston, with a letter to Governor Leverett about the Mason and Gorges + claims. Under cover of this errand the messenger was to go about and + ascertain the sentiments which people in the Kennebec and Piscataqua + towns, as well as in Boston, entertained for the government of + Massachusetts. The person to whom this work was entrusted was Edward + Randolph, a cousin of Robert Mason who inherited the property claim to the + Piscataqua county. To these men had old John Mason bequeathed his deadly + feud with Massachusetts, and the fourteen years which Randolph now spent + in New England were busily devoted to sowing the seeds of strife. In 1678 + the king appointed him collector and surveyor of customs at the port of + Boston, with instructions to enforce the navigation laws. Randolph was not + the man to do unpopular things in such a way as to dull the edge of the + infliction; he took delight in adding insult to injury. He was at once + harsh and treacherous. His one virtue was pecuniary integrity; he was + inaccessible to bribes and did not pick and steal from the receipts at the + custom-house. In the other relations of life he was disencumbered of + scruples. His abilities were not great, but his industry was untiring, and + he pursued his enemies with the tenacity of a sleuth-hound. As an + excellent British historian observes, "he was one of those men who, once + enlisted as partisans, lose every other feeling in the passion which is + engendered of strife." <a href="#linknote-37" name="linknoteref-37" + id="linknoteref-37"><small>37</small></a> [[Sidenote: The Lords of Trade] + [[Sidenote: Edward Randolph] + </p> + <p> + The arrival of such a man boded no good to Massachusetts. His reception at + the town-house was a cold one. Leverett liked neither his looks nor his + message, and kept his peaked hat on while he read the letter; when he came + to the signature of the king's chief secretary of state, he asked, with + careless contempt, "Who is this Henry Coventry?" Randolph's choking rage + found vent in a letter to the king, taking pains to remind him that the + governor of Massachusetts had once been an officer in Cromwell's army. As + we read this and think with what ghoulish glee the writer would have + betrayed Colonel Goffe into the hands of the headsman, had any clue been + given him, we can quite understand why Hubbard and Mather had nothing to + say about the mysterious stranger at Hadley. Everything that Randolph + could think of that would goad and irritate the king, he reported in full + to London; his letters were specimens of that worst sort of lie that is + based upon distorted half-truths; and his malicious pen but seldom lay + idle. + </p> + <p> + While waiting for the effects of these reports to ripen, Randolph was + busily intriguing with some of the leading men in Boston who were + dissatisfied with the policy of the dominant party, and under his careful + handling a party was soon brought into existence which was ready to + counsel submission to the royal will. Such was the birth of Toryism in New + England. The leader of this party was Joseph Dudley, son of the grim + verse-maker who had come over as lieutenant to Winthrop. The younger + Dudley was graduated at Harvard in 1665, and proceeded to study theology, + but soon turned his attention entirely to politics. In 1673 he was a + deputy from Roxbury in the General Court; in 1675 he took part in the + storming of the Narragansett fort; in 1677 and the three following years + he was one of the Federal Commissioners. In character and temper he + differed greatly from his father. Like the proverbial minister's son whose + feet are swift toward folly, Joseph Dudley seems to have learned in stern + bleak years of childhood to rebel against the Puritan theory of life. Much + of the abuse that has been heaped upon him, as a renegade and traitor, is + probably undeserved. It does not appear that he ever made any pretence of + love for the Puritan commonwealth, and there were many like him who had as + lief be ruled by king as by clergy. But it cannot be denied that his + suppleness and sagacity went along with a moral nature that was weak and + vulgar. Joseph Dudley was essentially a self-seeking politician and + courtier, like his famous kinsman of the previous century, Robert, Earl of + Leicester. His party in Massachusetts was largely made up of men who had + come to the colony for commercial reasons, and had little or no sympathy + with the objects for which it was founded. Among them were Episcopalians, + Presbyterians, and Baptists, who were allowed no chance for public + worship, as well as many others who, like Gallio, cared for none of these + things. Their numbers, moreover, must have been large, for Boston had + grown to be a town of 5000 inhabitants, the population of Massachusetts + was approaching 30,000, and, according to Hutchinson, scarcely one grown + man in five was a church-member qualified to vote or hold office. Such a + fact speaks volumes as to the change which was coming over the Puritan + world. No wonder that the clergy had begun to preach about the weeds and + tares that were overrunning Christ's pleasant garden. No wonder that the + spirit of revolt against the disfranchising policy of the theocracy was + ripe. [[Sidenote: Joseph Dudley] + </p> + <p> + It was in 1679, when this weakness of the body politic had been duly + studied and reported by Randolph, and when all New England was groaning + under the bereavements and burdens entailed by Philip's war, that the + Stuart government began its final series of assaults upon Massachusetts. + The claims of the eastern proprietors, the heirs of Mason and Gorges, + furnished the occasion. Since 1643 the four Piscataqua towns—Hampton, + Exeter, Dover, and Portsmouth—had remained under the jurisdiction of + Massachusetts. After the Restoration the Mason claim had been revived, and + in 1677 was referred to the chief-justices North and Rainsford. Their + decision was that Mason's claim had always been worthless as based on a + grant in which the old Plymouth Company had exceeded its powers. They also + decided that Massachusetts had no valid claim since the charter assigned + her a boundary just north of the Merrimack. This decision left the four + towns subject to none but the king, who forthwith in 1679 proceeded to + erect them into the royal province of New Hampshire, with president and + council appointed by the crown, and an assembly chosen by the people, but + endowed with little authority,—a tricksome counterfeit of popular + government. Within three years an arrogant and thieving ruler, Edward + Cranfield, had goaded New Hampshire to acts of insurrection. [[Sidenote: + Royal province of New Hampshire] + </p> + <p> + To the decisions of the chief-justices Massachusetts must needs submit. + The Gorges claim led to more serious results. Under Cromwell's rule in + 1652—the same year in which she began coining money—Massachusetts + had extended her sway over Maine. In 1665 Colonel Nichols and his + commissioners, acting upon the express instructions of Charles II., took + it away from her. In 1668, after the commissioners had gone home, + Massachusetts coolly took possession again. In 1677 the chief-justices + decided that the claim of the Gorges family, being based on a grant from + James I., was valid. Then the young Ferdinando Gorges, grandson of the + first proprietor, offered to sell the province to the king, who had now + taken it into his head that he would like to bestow it upon the Duke of + Monmouth, his favourite son by Lucy Walters. Before Charles had responded, + Governor Leverett had struck a bargain with Gorges, who ceded to + Massachusetts all his rights over Maine for L1250 in hard cash. When the + king heard of this transaction he was furious. He sent a letter to Boston, + commanding the General Court to surrender the province again on repayment + of this sum of L1250, and expressing his indignation that the people + should thus dare to dispose of an important claim off-hand without + consulting his wishes. In the same letter the colony was enjoined to put + in force the royal orders of seventeen years before, concerning the oath + of allegiance, the restriction of the suffrage, and the prohibition of the + Episcopal form of worship. [[Sidenote: The Gorges claim] + </p> + <p> + This peremptory message reached Boston about Christmas, 1679. Leverett, + the sturdy Ironsides, had died six months before, and his place was filled + by Simon Bradstreet, a man of moderate powers but great integrity, and + held in peculiar reverence as the last survivor of those that had been + chosen to office before leaving England by the leaders of the great + Puritan exodus. Born in a Lincolnshire village in 1603, he was now + seventy-six years old. He had taken his degree at Emmanuel College, + Cambridge, had served as secretary to the Earl of Warwick, and in 1629 had + been appointed member of the board of assistants for the colony about to + be established on Massachusetts bay. In this position he had remained with + honour for half a century, while he had also served as Federal + Commissioner and as agent for the colony in London. His wife, who died in + 1672, was a woman of quaint learning and quainter verses, which her + contemporaries admired beyond measure. One of her books was republished in + London, with the title: "The Tenth Muse, lately sprung up in America." + John Norton once said that if Virgil could only have heard the seraphic + poems of Anne Bradstreet, he would have thrown his heathen doggerel into + the fire. She was sister of Joseph Dudley, and evidently inherited this + rhyming talent, such as it was, from her father. Governor Bradstreet + belonged to the moderate party who would have been glad to extend the + franchise, but he did not go with his brother-in-law in subservience to + the king. [[Sidenote: Simon Bradstreet and his wife] + </p> + <p> + When the General Court assembled, in May, 1680, the full number of + eighteen assistants appeared, for the first time in the history of the + colony, and in accordance with an expressed wish of the king. They were + ready to yield in trifles, but not in essentials. After wearisome + discussion, the answer to the royal letter was decided on. It stated in + vague and unsatisfactory terms that the royal orders of 1662 either had + been carried out already or would be in good time, while to the demand for + the surrender of Maine no reply whatever was made, save that "they were + heartily sorry that any actings of theirs should be displeasing to his + Majesty." After this, when Randolph wrote home that the king's letters + were of no more account in Massachusetts than an old London Gazette, he + can hardly be accused of stretching the truth. Randolph kept busily at + work, and seems to have persuaded the Bishop of London that if the charter + could be annulled, episcopacy might be established in Massachusetts as in + England. In February, 1682, a letter came from the king demanding + submission and threatening legal proceedings against the charter. Dudley + was then sent as agent to London, and with him was sent a Mr. Richards, of + the extreme clerical party, to watch him. [[Sidenote: Massachusetts + answers the king] + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile the king's position at home had been changing. He had made up + his mind to follow his father's example and try the experiment of setting + his people at defiance and governing without a parliament. This could not + be done without a great supply of money. Louis XIV. had plenty of money, + for there was no constitution in France to prevent his squeezing what he + wanted out of the pockets of an oppressed people. France was thriving + greatly now, for Colbert had introduced a comparatively free system of + trade between the provinces and inaugurated an era of prosperity soon to + be cut short by the expulsion of the Huguenots. Louis could get money + enough for the asking, and would be delighted to foment civil disturbances + in England, so as to tie the hands of the only power which at that moment + could interfere with his seizing Alsace and Lorraine and invading + Flanders. The pretty Louise de Keroualle Duchess of Portsmouth, with her + innocent baby face and heart as cold as any reptile's, was the French + Delilah chosen to shear the locks of the British Samson. By such means and + from such motives a secret treaty was made in February, 1681, by which + Louis agreed to pay Charles 2,000,000 livres down, and 500,000 more in + each of the next two years, on condition that he should summon no more + parliaments within that time. This bargain for securing the means of + overthrowing the laws and liberties of England was, on the part of Charles + II., an act no less reprehensible than some of those for which his father + had gone to the block. But Charles could now afford for a while to wreak + his evil will. He had already summoned a parliament for the 21st of March, + to meet at Oxford within the precincts of the subservient university, and + out of reach of the high-spirited freemen of London. He now forced a + quarrel with the new parliament and dissolved it within a week. A joiner + named Stephen College, who had spoken his mind too freely in the taverns + at Oxford with regard to these proceedings, was drawn and quartered. The + Whig leader Lord Shaftesbury was obliged to flee to Holland. In the + absence of a parliament the only power of organized resistance to the + king's tyranny resided in the corporate governments of the chartered + towns. The charter of London was accordingly attacked by a writ of <i>quo + warranto</i>, and in June, 1683, the time-serving judges declared it + confiscated. George Jeffreys, a low drunken fellow whom Charles had made + Lord Chief Justice, went on a circuit through the country; and, as Roger + North says, "made all the charters, like the walls of Jericho, fall down + before him, and returned laden with surrenders, the spoils of towns." At + the same time a terrible blow was dealt at two of the greatest Whig + families in England. Lord William Russell, son of the Earl of Bedford, and + Algernon Sidney, younger son of the Earl of Leicester, two of the purest + patriots and ablest liberal leaders of the day, were tried on a false + charge of treason and beheaded. [[Sidenote: Secret treaty between Charles + II. and Louis XIV] [[Sidenote: Shameful proceedings in England] + </p> + <p> + By this quick succession of high-handed measures, the friends of law and + liberty were for a moment disconcerted and paralyzed. In the frightful + abasement of the courts of justice which these events so clearly showed, + the freedom of Englishmen seemed threatened in its last stronghold. The + doctrine of passive obedience to monarchs was preached in the pulpits and + inculcated by the university of Oxford, which ordered the works of John + Milton to be publicly burned. Sir Robert Filmer wrote that "not only in + human laws, but even in divine, a thing may by the king be commanded + contrary to law, and yet obedience to such a command is necessary." + Charles felt so strong that in 1684 he flatly refused to summon a + parliament. + </p> + <p> + It was not long before the effects of all this were felt in New England. + The mission of Dudley and his colleague was fruitless. They returned to + Boston, and Randolph, who had followed them to London, now followed them + back, armed with a writ of <i>quo warranto</i> which he was instructed not + to serve until he should have given Massachusetts one more chance to + humble herself in the dust. Should she modify her constitution to please a + tyrant or see it trampled under foot? Recent events in England served for + a solemn warning; for the moment the Tories were silenced; perhaps after + all, the absolute rule of a king was hardly to be preferred to the sway of + the Puritan clergy; the day when the House of Commons sat still and wept + seemed to have returned. A great town-meeting was held in the Old South + Meeting-House, and the moderator requested all who were for surrendering + the charter to hold up their hands. Not a hand was lifted, and out from + the throng a solitary voice exclaimed, with deep-drawn breath, "The Lord + be praised!" Then arose Increase Mather, president of Harvard College, and + reminded them how their fathers did win this charter, and should they + deliver it up unto the spoiler who demanded it "even as Ahab required + Naboth's vineyard, Oh! their children would be bound to curse them." Such + was the attitude of Massachusetts, and when it was known in London, the + blow was struck. For technical reasons Randolph's writ was not served; but + on the 21st of June a decree in chancery annulled the charter of + Massachusetts. [[Sidenote: Massachusetts refuses to surrender her charter] + [[Sidenote: It is annulled by degree of chancery, June 21, 1684] + </p> + <p> + To appreciate the force of this blow we must pause for a moment and + consider what it involved. The right to the soil of North America had been + hitherto regarded in England, on the strength of the discoveries of the + Cabots, as an appurtenance to the crown of Henry VII.,—as something + which descended from father to son like the palace at Hampton Court or the + castle at Windsor, but which the sovereign might alienate by his voluntary + act just as he might sell or give away a piece of his royal domain in + England. Over this vast territory it was doubtful how far Parliament was + entitled to exercise authority, and the rights of Englishmen settled there + had theoretically no security save in the provisions of the various + charters by which the crown had delegated its authority to individual + proprietors or to private companies. It was thus on the charter granted by + Charles I. to the Company of Massachusetts Bay that not only the cherished + political and ecclesiastical institutions of the colony, but even the + titles of individuals to their lands and houses, were supposed to be + founded. By the abrogation of the charter, all rights and immunities that + had been based upon it were at once swept away, and every rood of the soil + of Massachusetts became the personal property of the Stuart king, who + might, if he should possess the will and the power, turn out all the + present occupants or otherwise deal with them as trespassers. Such at + least was the theory of Charles II., and to show that he meant to wreak + his vengeance with no gentle hand, he appointed as his viceroy the brutal + Percy Kirke,—a man who would have no scruples about hanging a few + citizens without trial, should occasion require it. [[Sidenote: Effect of + annulling the charter] + </p> + <p> + But in February, 1685, just as Charles seemed to be getting everything + arranged to his mind, a stroke of apoplexy carried him off the scene, and + his brother ascended the throne. Monmouth's rebellion, and the horrible + cruelties that followed, kept Colonel Kirke busy in England through the + summer, and left the new king scant leisure to think about America. Late + in the autumn, having made up his mind that he could not spare such an + exemplary knave as Kirke, James II. sent over Sir Edmund Andros. In the + mean time the government of Massachusetts had been administered by Dudley, + who showed himself willing to profit by the misfortunes of his country. + Andros had long been one of James's favourites. He was the dull and dogged + English officer such as one often meets, honest enough and faithful to his + master, neither cruel nor rapacious, but coarse in fibre and wanting in + tact. Some years before, when governor of New York, he had a territorial + dispute with Connecticut, and now cherished a grudge against the people of + New England, so that, from James's point of view, he was well fitted to be + their governor. James wished to abolish all the local governments in + America, and unite them, as far as possible, under a single + administration. With Plymouth there could be no trouble; she had never had + a charter, but had existed on sufferance from the outset. In 1687 the + charters of Rhode Island and Connecticut were rescinded, but the decrees + were not executed in due form. In October of that year Andros went to + Hartford, to seize the Connecticut charter but it was not surrendered. + While Sir Edmund was bandying threats with stout Robert Treat, the queller + of Indians and now governor of Connecticut, in the course of their evening + conference the candles were suddenly blown out, and when after some + scraping of tinder they were lighted again the document was nowhere to be + found, for Captain Wadsworth had carried it away and hidden it in the + hollow trunk of a mighty oak tree. Nevertheless for the moment the colony + was obliged to submit to the tyrant. Next day the secretary John Allyn + wrote "Finis" on the colonial records and shut up the book. Within another + twelvemonth New York and New Jersey were added to the viceroyalty of + Andros; so that all the northern colonies from the forests of Maine to the + Delaware river were thus brought under the arbitrary rule of one man, who + was responsible to no one but the king for whatever he might take it into + his head to do. [[Sidenote: Sir Edmund Andros] [[Sidenote: The Charter + Oak] + </p> + <p> + The vexatious character of the new government was most strongly felt at + Boston where Andros had his headquarters. Measures were at once taken for + the erection of an Episcopal church, and meantime the royal order was that + one of the principal meeting-houses should be seized for the use of the + Church of England. This was an ominous beginning. In the eyes of the + people it was much more than a mere question of disturbing Puritan + prejudices. They had before them the experience of Scotland during the + past ten years, the savage times of "Old Mortality," the times which had + seen the tyrannical prelate, on the lonely moor, begging in vain for his + life, the times of Drumclog and Bothwell Brigg, of Claverhouse and his + flinty-hearted troopers, of helpless women tied to stakes on the Solway + shore and drowned by inches in the rising tide. What had happened in one + part of the world might happen in another, for the Stuart policy was the + same. It aimed not at securing toleration but at asserting unchecked + supremacy. Its demand for an inch was the prelude to its seizing an ell, + and so our forefathers understood it. Sir Edmund's formal demand for the + Old South Meeting-House was flatly refused, but on Good Friday, 1687, the + sexton was frightened into opening it, and thenceforward Episcopal + services were held there alternately with the regular services until the + overthrow of Andros. The pastor, Samuel Willard, was son of the gallant + veteran who had rescued the beleaguered people of Brookfield in King + Philip's war. Amusing passages occurred between him and Sir Edmund, who + relished the pleasantry of keeping minister and congregation waiting an + hour or two in the street on Sundays before yielding to them the use of + their meeting-house. More kindly memories of the unpopular governor are + associated with the building of the first King's Chapel on the spot where + its venerable successor now stands. The church was not finished until + after Sir Edmund had taken his departure, but Lady Andros, who died in + February, 1688, lies in the burying-ground hard by. Her gentle manners had + won all hearts. For the moment, we are told, one touch of nature made + enemies kin, and as Sir Edmund walked to the townhouse "many a head was + bared to the bereaved husband that before had remained stubbornly covered + to the exalted governor." <a href="#linknote-38" name="linknoteref-38" + id="linknoteref-38"><small>38</small></a> [[Sidenote: Episcopal services + in Boston] [[Sidenote: Founding of the King's Chapel, 1689] + </p> + <p> + The despotic rule of Andros was felt in more serious ways than in the + seizing upon a meetinghouse. Arbitrary taxes were imposed, encroachments + were made upon common lands as in older manorial times, and the writ of <i>habeas + corpus</i> was suspended. Dudley was appointed censor of the press, and + nothing was allowed to be printed without his permission. All the public + records of the late New England governments were ordered to be brought to + Boston, whither it thus became necessary to make a tedious journey in + order to consult them. All deeds and wills were required to be registered + in Boston, and excessive fees were charged for the registry. It was + proclaimed that all private titles to land were to be ransacked, and that + whoever wished to have his title confirmed must pay a heavy quit-rent, + which under the circumstances amounted to blackmail. The General Court was + abolished. The power of taxation was taken from the town-meetings and + lodged with the governor. Against this crowning iniquity the town of + Ipswich, led by its sturdy pastor, John Wise, made protest. In response + Mr. Wise was thrown into prison, fined £50, and suspended from the + ministry. A notable and powerful character was this John Wise. One of the + broadest thinkers and most lucid writers of his time, he seems like a + forerunner of the liberal Unitarian divines of the nineteenth century. His + "Vindication of the Government of the New England Churches," published in + 1717, was a masterly exposition of the principles of civil government, and + became "a text book of liberty for our Revolutionary fathers, containing + some of the notable expressions that are used in the Declaration of + Independence." [[Sidenote: Tyranny] [[Sidenote: John Wise of Ipswich] + </p> + <p> + It was on the trial of Mr. Wise in October, 1687, that Dudley openly + declared that the people of New England had now no further privileges left + them than not to be sold for slaves. Such a state of things in the valley + of the Euphrates would not have attracted comment; the peasantry of + central Europe would have endured it until better instructed; but in an + English community it could not last long. If James II. had remained upon + the throne, New England would surely have soon risen in rebellion against + Andros. But the mother country had by this time come to repent the fresh + lease of life which she had granted to the Stuart dynasty after Cromwell's + death. Tired of the disgraceful subservience of her Court to the schemes + of Louis XIV., tired of fictitious plots and judicial murders, tired of + bloody assizes and declarations of indulgence and all the strange devices + of Stuart tyranny, England endured the arrogance of James but three years, + and then drove him across the Channel, to get such consolation as he might + from his French paymaster and patron. On the 4th of April, 1689, the + youthful John Winslow brought to Boston the news of the landing of the + Prince of Orange in England. For the space of two weeks there was quiet + and earnest deliberation among the citizens, as the success of the + Prince's enterprise was not yet regarded as assured. But all at once, on + the morning of the 18th, the drums beat to arms, the signal-fire was + lighted on Beacon Hill, a meeting was held at the Town-House, militia + began to pour in from the country, and Andros, summoned to surrender, was + fain to beseech Mr. Willard and the other ministers to intercede for him. + But the ministers refused. Next day the Castle was surrendered, the Rose + frigate riding in the harbour was seized and dismantled, and Andros was + arrested as he was trying to effect his escape disguised in woman's + clothes. Dudley and the other agents of tyranny were also imprisoned, and + thus the revolution was accomplished. It marks the importance which the + New England colonies were beginning to attain, that, before the Prince of + Orange had fully secured the throne, he issued a letter instructing the + people of Boston to preserve decorum and acquiesce yet a little longer in + the government of Andros, until more satisfactory arrangements could be + made. But Increase Mather, who was then in London on a mission in behalf + of New England, judiciously prevented this letter of instructions from + being sent. The zeal of the people outstripped the cautious policy of the + new sovereign, and provisional governments, in accordance with the old + charters, were at once set up in the colonies lately ruled by Andros. + Bradstreet now in his eighty-seventh year was reinstated as governor of + Massachusetts. Five weeks after this revolution in Boston the order to + proclaim King William and Queen Mary was received, amid such rejoicings as + had never before been seen in that quiet town, for it was believed that + self-government would now be guaranteed to New England. [[Sidenote: Fall + of James II.] [[Sidenote: Insurrection in Boston, and overthrow of Andros, + April 18, 1689] + </p> + <p> + This hope was at least so far realized that from the most formidable + dangers which had threatened it, New England was henceforth secured. The + struggle with the Stuarts was ended, and by this second revolution within + half a century the crown had received a check from which it never + recovered. There were troubles yet in store for England, but no more such + outrages as the judicial murders of Russell and Sidney. New England had + still a stern ordeal to go through, but never again was she to be so + trodden down and insulted as in the days of Andros. The efforts of George + III. to rule Englishmen despotically were weak as compared with those of + the Stuarts. In his time England had waxed strong enough to curb the + tyrant, America had waxed strong enough to defy and disown him. After 1689 + the Puritan no longer felt that his religion was in danger, and there was + a reasonable prospect that charters solemnly granted him would be held + sacred. William III. was a sovereign of modern type, from whom freedom of + thought and worship had nothing to fear. In his theology he agreed, as a + Dutch Calvinist, more nearly with the Puritans than with the Church of + England. At the same time he had no great liking for so much independence + of thought and action as New England had exhibited. In the negotiations + which now definitely settled the affairs of this part of the world, the + intractable behaviour of Massachusetts was borne in mind and contrasted + with the somewhat less irritating attitude of the smaller colonies. It + happened that the decree which annulled the charters of Rhode Island and + Connecticut had not yet been formally enrolled. It was accordingly treated + as void, and the old charters were allowed to remain in force. They were + so liberal that no change in them was needed at the time of the + Revolution, so that Connecticut was governed under its old charter until + 1818, and Rhode Island until 1842. [[Sidenote: Effects of the Revolution + of 1689] + </p> + <p> + There was at this time a disposition on the part of the British government + to unite all the northern colonies under a single administration. The + French in Canada were fast becoming rivals to be feared; and the wonderful + explorations of La Salle, bringing the St. Lawrence into political + connection with the Mississippi, had at length foreshadowed a New France + in the rear of all the English colonies, aiming at the control of the + centre of the continent and eager to confine the English to the sea-board. + Already the relations of position which led to the great Seven Years' War + were beginning to shape themselves; and the conflict between France and + England actually broke out in 1689, as soon as Louis XIV.'s hired servant, + James II., was superseded by William III. as king of England and head of a + Protestant league. [[Sidenote: Need for union among all the northern + colonies] + </p> + <p> + In view of this new state of affairs, it was thought desirable to unite + the northern English colonies under one head, so far as possible, in order + to secure unity of military action. But natural prejudices had to be + considered. The policy of James II. had aroused such bitter feeling in + America that William must needs move with caution. Accordingly he did not + seek to unite New York with New England, and he did not think it worth + while to carry out the attack which James had only begun upon Connecticut + and Rhode Island. As for New Hampshire, he seems to have been restrained + by what in the language of modern politics would be called "pressure," + brought to bear by certain local interests. <a href="#linknote-39" + name="linknoteref-39" id="linknoteref-39"><small>39</small></a> But in the + case of the little colony founded by the Pilgrims of the Mayflower there + was no obstacle. She was now annexed to Massachusetts, which also received + not only Maine but even Acadia, just won from the French; so that, save + for the short break at Portsmouth, the coast of Massachusetts now reached + all the way from Martha's Vineyard to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. + [[Sidenote: Plymouth, Maine, and Acadia, annexed to Massachusetts] + </p> + <p> + But along with this great territorial extension there went some + curtailment of the political privileges of the colony. By the new charter + of 1692 the right of the people to be governed by a legislature of their + own choosing was expressly confirmed. The exclusive right of this + legislature to impose taxes was also confirmed. But henceforth no + qualification of church-membership, but only a property qualification, was + to be required of voters; the governor was to be appointed by the crown + instead of being elected by the people; and all laws passed by the + legislature were to be sent to England for royal approval. These features + of the new charter,—the extension, or if I may so call it, the <i>secularization</i> + of the franchise, the appointment of the governor by the crown, and the + power of veto which the crown expressly reserved,—were grave + restrictions upon the independence which Massachusetts had hitherto + enjoyed. Henceforth her position was to be like that of the other colonies + with royal governors. But her history did not thereby lose its interest or + significance, though it became, like the history of most of the colonies, + a dismal record of irrepressible bickerings between the governor appointed + by the crown and the legislature elected by the people. In the period that + began in 1692 and ended in 1776, the movements of Massachusetts, while + restricted and hampered, were at the same time forced into a wider orbit. + She was brought into political sympathy with Virginia. While two + generations of men were passing across the scene, the political problems + of Massachusetts were assimilated to those of Virginia. In spite of all + the other differences, great as they were, there was a likeness in the + struggles between the popular legislature and the royal governor which + subordinated them all. It was this similarity of experience, during the + eighteenth century, that brought these two foremost colonies into cordial + alliance during the struggle against George III., and thus made it + possible to cement all the colonies together in the mighty nation whose + very name is fraught with so high and earnest a lesson to mankind,—the + UNITED STATES! [[Sidenote: Massachusetts becomes a royal province] + </p> + <p> + For such a far-reaching result, the temporary humiliation of Massachusetts + was a small price to pay. But it was not until long after the accession of + William III. that things could be seen in these grand outlines. With his + coronation began the struggle of seventy years between France and England, + far grander than the struggle between Rome and Carthage, two thousand + years earlier, for primacy in the world, for the prerogative of + determining the future career of mankind. That warfare, so fraught with + meaning, was waged as much upon American as upon European ground; and + while it continued, it was plainly for the interest of the British + government to pursue a conciliatory policy toward its American colonies, + for without their wholehearted assistance it could have no hope of + success. As soon as the struggle was ended, and the French power in the + colonial world finally overthrown, the perpetual quarrels between the + popular legislatures and the royal governors led immediately to the Stamp + Act and the other measures of the British government that brought about + the American revolution. People sometimes argue about that revolution as + if it had no past behind it and was simply the result of a discussion over + abstract principles. [[Sidenote: Seeds of the American Revolution already + sown] + </p> + <p> + We can now see that while the dispute involved an abstract principle of + fundamental importance to mankind, it was at the same time for Americans + illustrated by memories sufficiently concrete and real. James Otis in his + prime was no further distant from the tyranny of Andros than middle-aged + men of to-day are distant from the Missouri Compromise. The sons of men + cast into jail along with John Wise may have stood silent in the moonlight + on Griffin's Wharf and looked on while the contents of the tea-chests were + hurled into Boston harbour. In the events we have here passed in review, + it may be seen, so plainly that he who runs may read, how the spirit of + 1776 was foreshadowed in 1689. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0010" id="link2H_4_0010"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE. + </h2> + <p> + An interesting account of the Barons' War and the meeting of the first + House of Commons is given in Prothero's <i>Simon de Montfort</i>, London, + 1877. For Wyclif and the Lollards, see Milman's <i>Latin Christianity</i>, + vol. viI. — The ecclesiastical history of the Tudor period may best + be studied in the works of John Strype, to wit, <i>Historical Memorials</i>, + 6 vols.; <i>Annals of the Reformation</i>, 7 vols.; <i>Lives of Cranmer, + Parker, Whitgift, etc.</i>, Oxford, 1812-28. See also <i>Burnet's History + of the Reformation of the Church of England</i>, 3 vols., London, + 1679-1715; Neal's <i>History of the Puritans</i>, London, 1793; Tulloch, + <i>Leaders of the Reformation</i>, Boston, 1859. A vast mass of + interesting information is to be found in <i>The Zurich Letters, + comprising the Correspondence of Several English Bishops, and Others, with + some of the Helvetian Reformers</i>, published by the Parker Society, 4 + vols., Cambridge, Eng., 1845-46. Hooker's <i>Ecclesiastical Polity</i> was + published in London, 1594; a new edition, containing two additional books, + the first complete edition, was published in 1622. + </p> + <p> + For the general history of England in the seventeenth century, there are + two modern works which stand far above all others,—Gardiner's <i>History + of England</i>, 10 vols., London, 1883-84; and Masson's <i>Life of Milton, + narrated in connection with the Political, Ecclesiastical, and Literary + History of his Time</i>, 6 vols., Cambridge, Eng., 1859-80. These are + books of truly colossal erudition, and written in a spirit of judicial + fairness. Mr. Gardiner's ten volumes cover the forty years from the + accession of James I. to the beginning of the Civil War, 1603-1643. Mr. + Gardiner has lately published the first two volumes of his history of the + Civil War, and it is to be hoped that he will not stop until he reaches + the accession of William and Mary. Indeed, such books as his ought never + to stop. My friend and colleague, Prof. Hosmer, tells me that Mr. Gardiner + is a lineal descendant of Cromwell and Ireton. His little book, <i>The + Puritan Revolution</i>, in the "Epochs of History" series, is extremely + useful, and along with it one should read Airy's <i>The English + Restoration and Louis XIV</i>., in the same series, New York, 1889. The + best biography of Cromwell is by Mr. Allanson Picton, London, 1882; see + also Frederic Harrison's <i>Cromwell</i>, London, 1888, an excellent + little book. Hosmer's <i>Young Sir Henry Vane</i>, Boston, 1888, should be + read in the same connection; and one should not forget Carlyle's <i>Cromwell</i>. + See also Tulloch, <i>English Puritanism and its Leaders</i>, 1861, and <i>Rational + Theology and Christian Philosophy in England in the Seventeenth Century</i>, + 1872; Skeats, <i>History of the Free Churches of England</i>, London, + 1868; Mountfield, <i>The Church and Puritans</i>, London, 1881. Dexter's + <i>Congregationalism of the Last Three Hundred Years</i>, New York, 1880, + is a work of monumental importance. + </p> + <p> + On the history of New England the best general works are Palfrey, <i>History + of New England</i>, 4 vols., Boston, 1858-75; and Doyle, <i>The English in + America—The Puritan Colonies</i>, 2 vols., London, 1887. In point of + scholarship Dr. Palfrey's work is of the highest order, and it is written + in an interesting style. Its only shortcoming is that it deals somewhat + too leniently with the faults of the Puritan theocracy, and looks at + things too exclusively from a Massachusetts point of view. It is one of + the best histories yet written in America. Mr. Doyle's work is admirably + fair and impartial, and is based throughout upon a careful study of + original documents. The author is a Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, + and has apparently made American history his specialty. His work on the + Puritan colonies is one of a series which when completed will cover the + whole story of English colonization in America. I have looked in vain in + his pages for any remark or allusion indicating that he has ever visited + America, and am therefore inclined to think that he has not done so. He + now and then makes a slight error such as would not be likely to be made + by a native of New England, but this is very seldom. The accuracy and + thoroughness of its research, its judicial temper, and its philosophical + spirit make Mr. Doyle's book in some respects the best that has been + written about New England. + </p> + <p> + Among original authorities we may begin by citing John Smith's <i>Description + of New England</i>, 1616, and <i>New England's Trial</i>, 1622, contained + in Arber's new edition of Smith's works, London, 1884. Bradford's + narrative of the founding of Plymouth was for a long time supposed to be + lost. Nathaniel Morton's <i>New England's Memorial</i>, published in 1669, + was little more than an abridgment of it. After two centuries Bradford's + manuscript was discovered, and an excellent edition by Mr. Charles Deane + was published in the <i>Massachusetts Historical Collections</i>, 4th + series, vol. iii., 1856. Edward Winslow's <i>Journal of the Proceedings of + the English Plantation settled at Plymouth</i>, 1622, and <i>Good News + from New England</i>, 1624, are contained, with other valuable materials, + in Young's <i>Chronicles of the Pilgrim Fathers</i>, Boston, 1844. See + also Shurtleff and Pulsifer, <i>Records of Plymouth</i>, 12 vols., ending + with the annexation of the colony to Massachusetts in 1692; Prince's <i>Chronological + History of New England</i>, ed. Drake, 1852; and in this connection + Hunter's <i>Founders of New Plymouth</i>, London, 1854; Steele's <i>Life + of Brewster</i>, Philadelphia, 1857; Goodwin's <i>Pilgrim Republic</i>, + Boston, 1887; Bacon's <i>Genesis of the New England Churches</i>, New + York, 1874; Baylies's <i>Historical Memoir</i>, 1830; Thacher's <i>History + of the Town of Plymouth</i>, 1832. + </p> + <p> + Sir Ferdinando Gorges wrote a <i>Briefe Narration of the Originall + Undertakings of the advancement of plantations into the parts of America, + especially showing the beginning, progress, and continuance of that of New + England</i>, London, 1658, contained in his grandson's collection entitled + <i>America Painted to the Life</i>. Thomas Morton, of Merrymount, gave his + own view of the situation in his <i>New English Canaan</i>, which has been + edited for the Prince Society, with great learning, by C.F. Adams. Samuel + Maverick also had his say in a valuable pamphlet entitled <i>A Description + of New England</i>, which has only come to light since 1875 and has been + edited by Mr. Deane. Maverick is, of course, hostile to the Puritans. See + also Lechford's <i>Plain Dealing in New England</i>, ed. J.H. Trumbull, + 1867. + </p> + <p> + The earliest history of Massachusetts is by Winthrop himself, a work of + priceless value. In 1790, nearly a century and a half after the author's + death, it was published at Hartford. The best edition is that of 1853. In + 1869 a valuable life of Winthrop was published by his descendant Robert + Winthrop. Hubbard's <i>History of New England</i> (<i>Mass. Hist. Coll.</i>, + 2d series, vols. v., vi.) is drawn largely from Winthrop and from + Nathaniel Morton. There is much that is suggestive in William Wood's <i>New + England's Prospect</i>, 1634, and Edward Johnson's <i>Wonder-working + Providence of Zion's Saviour in New England</i>, 1654; the latter has been + ably edited by W.F. Poole, Andover, 1867. The records of the Massachusetts + government, from its founding in 1629 down to the overthrow of the charter + in 1684, were edited by Dr. Shurtleff in 6 vols. quarto, 1853-54; and + among the documents in the British Record Office, published since 1855, + three volumes—<i>Calendar of State Papers</i>, <i>Colonial America</i>, + vol. i., 1574-1660; vol. v., 1661-1668; vol. vii., 1669—are + especially useful. Of the later authorities the best is Hutchinson's <i>History + of Massachusetts Bay</i>, the first volume of which, coming down to 1689, + was published in Boston in 1764. The second volume, continuing the + narrative to 1749, was published in 1767. The third volume, coming down to + 1774, was found among the illustrious author's MSS. after his death, and + was published in London in 1828. Hutchinson had access to many valuable + documents since lost, and his sound judgment and critical acumen deserve + the highest praise. In 1769 he published a volume of <i>Original Papers</i>, + illustrating the period covered by the first volume of his history. Many + priceless documents perished in the shameful sacking of his house by the + Boston rioters, Aug. 26, 1765. The second volume of Hutchinson's <i>History</i> + was continued to 1764 by G.R. Minot, 2 vols., 1798, and to 1820 by Alden + Bradford, 3 vols., 1822-29. Of recent works, the best is Barry's <i>History + of Massachusetts</i>, 3 vols., 1855-57. Many original authorities are + collected in Young's <i>Chronicles of Massachusetts</i>, Boston, 1846. + Cotton Mather's <i>Magnolia Christi Americana</i>, London, 1702 (reprinted + in 1820 and 1853), though crude and uncritical, is full of interest. + </p> + <p> + Many of the early Massachusetts documents relate to Maine. Of later books, + especial mention should be made of Folsom's <i>History of Saco and + Biddeford</i>, Saco, 1830; Willis's <i>History of Portland</i>, 2 vols., + 1831-33 (2d ed. 1865); <i>Memorial Volume of the Popham Celebration</i>, + Portland, 1862; Chamberlain's <i>Maine, Her Place in History</i>, Augusta, + 1877. On New Hampshire the best general work is Belknap's <i>History of + New Hampshire</i>, 3 vols., Phila., 1784-92; the appendix contains many + original documents, and others are to be found in the <i>New Hampshire + Historical Collections</i>, 8 vols., 1824-66. + </p> + <p> + The <i>Connecticut Colonial Records</i> are edited by Dr. J.H. Trumbull, + 12 vols., 1850-82. The <i>Connecticut Historical Society's Collections</i>, + 1860-70, are of much value. The best general work is Trumbull's <i>History + of Connecticut</i>, 2 vols., Hartford, 1797. See also Stiles's <i>Ancient + Windsor</i>, 2 vols., 1859-63; Cothren's <i>Ancient Woodbury</i>, 3 vols., + 1854-79. Of the Pequot War we have accounts by three of the principal + actors. Mason's <i>History of the Pequod War</i> is in the <i>Mass. Hist. + Coll.</i>, 2d series, vol. viii.; Underhill's <i>News from America</i> is + in the 3d series, vol. vi.; and Lyon Gardiner's narrative is in the 3d + series, vol. iii. In the same volume with Underhill is contained <i>A True + Relation of the late Battle fought in New England between the English and + the Pequod Savages</i>, by Philip Vincent, London, 1638. The <i>New Haven + Colony Records</i> are edited by C.J. Hoadly, 2 vols., Hartford, 1857-58. + See also the <i>New Haven Historical Society's Papers</i>, 3 vols., + 1865-80; Lambert's <i>History of New Haven</i>, 1838; Atwater's <i>History + of New Haven</i>, 1881; Levermore's <i>Republic of New Haven</i>, + Baltimore, 1886; Johnston's <i>Connecticut</i>, Boston, 1887. The best + account of the Blue Laws is by J.H. Trumbull, <i>The True Blue Laws of + Connecticut and New Haven, and the False Blue Laws invented by the Rev. + Samuel Peters</i>, etc., Hartford, 1876. See also Hinman's <i>Blue Laws of + New Haven Colony</i>, Hartford, 1838; Barber's <i>History and Antiquities + of New Haven</i>, 1831; Peters's <i>History of Connecticut</i>, London, + 1781. The story of the regicides is set forth in Stiles's <i>History of + the Three Judges</i> [the third being Colonel Dixwell], Hartford, 1794; + see also the <i>Mather Papers</i> in <i>Mass. Hist. Coll.</i>, 4th series, + vol. viiI. — <i>The Rhode Island Colonial Records</i> are edited by + J.R. Bartlett, 7 vols., 1856-62. One of the best state histories ever + written is that of S.G. Arnold, <i>History of the State of Rhode Island + and Providence Plantations</i>, 2 vols., New York, 1859-60. Many valuable + documents are reprinted in the <i>Rhode Island Historical Society's + Collections</i>. The <i>History of New England, with particular reference + to the denomination called Baptists</i>, by Rev. Isaac Backus, 3 vols., + 1777-96, has much that is valuable relating to Rhode Island. The series of + <i>Rhode Island Historical Tracts</i>, issued since 1878 by Mr. S.S. + Rider, is of great merit. Biographies of Roger Williams have been written + by J.D. Knowles, 1834; by William Gammell, 1845; and by Romeo Elton, 1852. + Williams's works have been republished by the Narragansett Club in 6 + vols., 1866. The first volume contains the valuable <i>Key to the Indian + Languages of America</i>, edited by Dr. Trumbull. Williams's views of + religious liberty are set forth in his <i>Bloudy Tenent of Persecution</i>, + London, 1644; to which John Cotton replied in <i>The Bloudy Tenent washed + and made White in the Blood of the Lamb</i>, London, 1647; Williams's + rejoinder was entitled <i>The Bloudy Tenent made yet more Bloudy through + Mr. Cotton's attempt to Wash it White</i>, London, 1652. The controversy + was conducted on both sides with a candour and courtesy rare in that age. + The titles of Williams's other principal works, <i>George Fox digged out + of his Burrowes</i>, Boston, 1676; <i>Hireling Ministry none of Christ's</i>, + London, 1652; and <i>Christenings make not Christians</i>, 1643; + sufficiently indicate their character. The last-named tract was discovered + in the British Museum by Dr. Dexter and edited by him in Rider's <i>Tracts</i>, + No. xiv., 1881. The treatment of Roger Williams by the government of + Massachusetts is thoroughly discussed in Dexter's <i>As to Roger Williams</i>, + Boston, 1876. See also G.E. Ellis on "The Treatment of Intruders and + Dissentients by the Founders of Massachusetts," in <i>Lowell Lectures</i>, + Boston, 1869. + </p> + <p> + The case of Mrs. Hutchinson is treated, from a hostile and somewhat + truculent point of view, in Thomas Welde's pamphlet entitled <i>A Short + Story of the Rise, Reign, and Ruin of Antinomians, Familists, and + Libertines that infected the Churches of New England</i>, London, 1644. It + was answered in an anonymous pamphlet entitled <i>Mercurius Americanus</i>, + republished for the Prince Society, Boston, 1876, with prefatory notice by + C.H. Bell. Cotton's view of the theocracy may be seen in his <i>Milk for + Babes, drawn out of the Breasts of both Testaments</i>, London, 1646; <i>Keyes + of the Kingdom of Heaven</i>; and <i>Way of the Congregational Churches + Cleared</i>, London, 1648. See also Thomas Hooker's <i>Survey of the Summe + of Church Discipline</i>, London, 1648. The intolerant spirit of the time + finds quaint and forcible expression in Nathaniel Ward's satirical book, + <i>The Simple Cobbler of Aggawam</i>, 1647. + </p> + <p> + For the Gorton controversy the best original authorities are his own book + entitled <i>Simplicitie's Defence against Sevenheaded Polity</i>, London, + 1646; and Winslow's answer entitled <i>Hypocracie Unmasked</i>, London, + 1646. See also Mackie's <i>Life of Samuel Gorton</i>, Boston, 1845, and + Brayton's <i>Defence of Samuel Gorton</i>, in Rider's <i>Tracts</i>, No. + xviI. — For the early history of the Quakers, see Robert Barclay's + <i>Inner Life of the Religious Societies of the Commonwealth</i>, London, + 1876,—an admirable book. See also <i>New England a Degenerate Plant</i>, + 1659; Bishop's <i>New England judged by the Spirit of the Lord</i>, 1661; + Sewel's <i>History of the Quakers</i>, 1722; Besse's <i>Sufferings of the + Quakers</i>, 1753; <i>The Popish Inquisition newly erected in New England</i>, + London, 1659; <i>The Secret Works of a Cruel People made Manifest</i>, + 1659; and the pamphlet of the martyrs Stevenson and Robinson, entitled <i>A + Call from Death to Life</i>, 1660. John Norton's view of the case was + presented in his book, <i>The Heart of New England Rent at the Blasphemies + of the Present Generation</i>, London, 1660. See also J.S. Pike's <i>New + Puritan</i>, New York, 1879; Hallowell's <i>Pioneer Quakers</i>, Boston, + 1887; and his <i>Quaker Invasion of Massachusetts</i>, Boston, 1883; + Brooks Adams, <i>The Emancipation of Massachusetts</i>, Boston, 1887; + Ellis, <i>The Puritan Age and Rule</i>, Boston, 1888. + </p> + <p> + Some additional light upon the theocratic idea may be found in a treatise + by the apostle Eliot, <i>The Christian Commonwealth; or, the Civil Polity + of the Rising Kingdom of Jesus Christ</i>, London, 1659. An account of + Eliot's missionary work is given in <i>The Day breaking, if not the Sun + rising, of the Gospel with the Indians in New England</i>, London, 1647; + and <i>The Glorious Progress of the Gospel amongst the Indians in New + England</i>, 1649. See also Shepard's <i>Clear Sunshine of the Gospel + breaking forth upon the Indians</i>, 1648; and Whitfield's <i>Light + appearing more and more towards the Perfect Day</i>, 1651. + </p> + <p> + The principal authority for Philip's war is Hubbard's <i>Present State of + New England, being a Narrative of the Troubles with the Indians</i>, 1677. + Church's <i>Entertaining Passages relating to Philip's War</i>, published + in 1716, and republished in 1865, with notes by Mr. Dexter, is a charming + book. See also Mrs. Rowlandson's <i>True History</i>, Cambridge, Mass., + 1682; Mather's <i>Brief History of the War</i>, 1676; Drake's <i>Old + Indian Chronicle</i>, Boston, 1836; Gookin's <i>Historical Collections of + the Indians in New England</i>, 1674; and <i>Account of the Doings and + Sufferings of the Christian Indians</i>, in <i>Archchaeologia Americana</i>, + vol. ii. Batten's <i>Journal</i> is the diary of a citizen of Boston, sent + to England, and it now in MS. among the <i>Colonial Papers</i>. Mrs. Mary + Pray's letter (Oct. 20, 1675) is in <i>Mass. Hist. Coll.</i>, 5th series, + vol. i. p. 105. + </p> + <p> + The great storehouse of information for the Andros period is the <i>Andros + Tracts</i>, 3 vols., edited for the Prince Society by W.H. Whitmore. See + also Sewall's <i>Diary, Mass. Hist. Coll.</i>, 5th series, vols. v.—viii. + Sewall has been appropriately called the Puritan Pepys. His book is a + mirror of the state of society in Massachusetts at the time when it was + beginning to be felt that the old theocratic idea had been tried in the + balance and found wanting. There is a wonderful charm in such a book. It + makes one feel as if one had really "been there" and taken part in the + homely scenes, full of human interest, which it so naively portrays. Anne + Bradstreet's works have been edited by J.H. Ellis, Charlestown, 1867. + </p> + <p> + For further references and elaborate bibliographical discussions, see + Winsor's <i>Narrative and Critical History of America</i>, vol. iii.; and + his <i>Memorial History of Boston</i>, 4 vols., Boston, 1880. There is a + good account of the principal New England writers of the seventeenth + century, with illustrative extracts, in Tyler's <i>History of American + Literature</i>, 2 vols., New York, 1878. For extracts see also the first + two volumes of Stedman and Hutchinson's <i>Library of American Literature</i>, + New York, 1888. + </p> + <p> + In conclusion I would observe that town histories, though seldom written + in a philosophical spirit and apt to be quite amorphous in structure, are + a mine of wealth for the philosophic student of history. + </p> + <h3> + ] + </h3> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_NOTE" id="link2H_NOTE"> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + NOTES: + </h2> + <p> + <a name="linknote-1" id="linknote-1"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1 (<a href="#linknoteref-1">return</a>)<br /> [ Milman, <i>Lat. Christ.</i> + vii. 395.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-2" id="linknote-2"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 2 (<a href="#linknoteref-2">return</a>)<br /> [ Gardiner, <i>The Puritan + Revolution</i>, p. 12.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-3" id="linknote-3"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 3 (<a href="#linknoteref-3">return</a>)<br /> [ Green, <i>History of the + English People</i>, iii. 47.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-4" id="linknote-4"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 4 (<a href="#linknoteref-4">return</a>)<br /> [ Steele's <i>Life of + Brewster,</i> p. 161.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-5" id="linknote-5"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 5 (<a href="#linknoteref-5">return</a>)<br /> [ Gardiner, <i>Puritan + Revolution</i>, p. 50.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-6" id="linknote-6"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 6 (<a href="#linknoteref-6">return</a>)<br /> [ It is now 204 years since a + battle has been fought in England. The last was Sedgmoor in 1685. For four + centuries, since Bosworth, in 1485, the English people have lived in peace + in their own homes, except for the brief episode of the Great Rebellion, + and Monmouth's slight affair. This long peace, unparalleled in history, + has powerfully influenced the English and American character for good. + Since the Middle Ages most English warfare has been warfare at a distance, + and that does not nourish the brutal passions in the way that warfare at + home does. An instructive result is to be seen in the mildness of temper + which characterized the conduct of our stupendous Civil War. Nothing like + it was ever seen before.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-7" id="linknote-7"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 7 (<a href="#linknoteref-7">return</a>)<br /> [ Picton's <i>Cromwell</i>, + pp. 61, 67; Gardiner, <i>Puritan Revolution</i>, p. 72.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-8" id="linknote-8"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 8 (<a href="#linknoteref-8">return</a>)<br /> [ Quincy, History of Harvard + University, ii. 654.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-9" id="linknote-9"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 9 (<a href="#linknoteref-9">return</a>)<br /> [ C.F. Adams, <i>Sir + Christopher Gardiner, Knight</i>, p. 31.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-10" id="linknote-10"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 10 (<a href="#linknoteref-10">return</a>)<br /> [ The compact drawn up in + the Mayflower's cabin was not, in the strict sense a constitution, which + is a document defining and limiting the functions of government. Magna + Charta partook of the nature of a written constitution, as far as it went, + but it did not create a government.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-11" id="linknote-11"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 11 (<a href="#linknoteref-11">return</a>)<br /> [ See Johnston's + Connecticut, p. 321, a very brilliant book.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-12" id="linknote-12"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 12 (<a href="#linknoteref-12">return</a>)<br /> [ See the passionate + exclamation of Endicott, below, p. 190.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-13" id="linknote-13"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 13 (<a href="#linknoteref-13">return</a>)<br /> [ Excursions of an + Evolutionist: pp. 250, 255.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-14" id="linknote-14"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 14 (<a href="#linknoteref-14">return</a>)<br /> [ A glimmer of light upon + Gorton may be got from reading the title-page of one of his books: "AN + INCORRUPTIBLE KEY, composed of the CX PSALME, wherewith you may open the + Rest of the Holy Scriptures; Turning itself only according to the + Composure and Art of that Lock, of the Closure and Secresie of that great + Mystery of God manifest in the Flesh, but justified only by the Spirit, + which it evidently openeth and revealeth, out of Fall and Resurrection, + Sin and Righteousness, Ascension and Descension, Height and Depth, First + and Last, Beginning and Ending, Flesh and Spirit, Wisdome and + Foolishnesse, Strength and Weakness, Mortality and Immortality, Jew and + Gentile, Light and Darknesse, Unity and Multiplication, Fruitfulness and + Barrenness, Curse and Blessing, Man and Woman, Kingdom and Priesthood, + Heaven and Earth, Allsufficiency and Deficiency, God and Man. And out of + every Unity made up of twaine, it openeth that great two-leafed Gate, + which is the sole Entrie into the City of God, of New Jerusalem, <i>into + which none but the King of glory can enter</i>; and as that Porter openeth + the Doore of the Sheepfold, <i>by which whosoever entreth is the Shepheard + of the Sheep</i>; See Isa. 45. 1. Psal. 24. 7, 8, 9, 10. John 10. 1, 2, 3; + Or, (according to the Signification of the Word translated <i>Psalme</i>,) + it is a Pruning-Knife, to lop off from the Church of Christ all + superfluous Twigs <i>of earthly and carnal Commandments</i>, Leviticall + Services or Ministery, and fading and vanishing Priests, or Ministers, who + are taken away and cease, and are not established and confirmed by Death, + as holding no Correspondency with the princely Dignity, Office, and + Ministry of our <i>Melchisedek</i>, who is the only Minister and Ministry + of the Sanctuary, and of that true Tabernacle which the Lord pitcht, and + not Man. For it supplants the Old Man, and implants the New; abrogates the + Old Testament or Covenant, and confirms the New, unto a thousand + Generations, or in Generations forever. By Samuel Gorton, <i>Gent.</i>, + and at the time of penning hereof, in the Place of Judicature (upon + Aquethneck, alias Road Island) of Providence Plantations in the + Nanhyganset Bay, New England. Printed in the Yeere 1647."] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-15" id="linknote-15"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 15 (<a href="#linknoteref-15">return</a>)<br /> [ Father of Benedict + Arnold, afterward governor of Rhode Island, and owner of the stone + windmill (apparently copied from one in Chesterton, Warwickshire) which + was formerly supposed by some antiquarians to be a vestige of the + Northmen. Governor Benedict Arnold was great-grandfather of the traitor.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-16" id="linknote-16"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 16 (<a href="#linknoteref-16">return</a>)<br /> [ <i>Gorton, Simplicitie's + Defence against Seven-headed Policy</i>, p. 88.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-17" id="linknote-17"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 17 (<a href="#linknoteref-17">return</a>)<br /> [ De Forest, <i>History of + the Indians of Connecticut</i>, Hartford, 1850, p. 198.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-18" id="linknote-18"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 18 (<a href="#linknoteref-18">return</a>)<br /> [ Doyle, <i>Puritan + Colonies</i>, i. 324.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-19" id="linknote-19"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 19 (<a href="#linknoteref-19">return</a>)<br /> [ See below, p. 222, note.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-20" id="linknote-20"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 20 (<a href="#linknoteref-20">return</a>)<br /> [ See my <i>Excursions of + an Evolutionist,</i> pp. 239-242, 250-255, 286-289.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-21" id="linknote-21"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 21 (<a href="#linknoteref-21">return</a>)<br /> [ Gorton's life at Warwick, + after all these troubles, seems to have been quiet and happy. He died in + 1677 at a great age. In 1771 Dr. Ezra Stiles visited, in Providence, his + last surviving disciple, born in 1691. This old man said that Gorton wrote + in heaven, and none can understand his books except those who live in + heaven while on earth.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-22" id="linknote-22"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 22 (<a href="#linknoteref-22">return</a>)<br /> [ Doyle, <i>Puritan + Colonies</i>,: i. 369.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-23" id="linknote-23"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 23 (<a href="#linknoteref-23">return</a>)<br /> [ Doyle, i.: 372.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-24" id="linknote-24"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 24 (<a href="#linknoteref-24">return</a>)<br /> [ Milman, <i>Latin + Christianity</i>, vii. 390.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-25" id="linknote-25"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 25 (<a href="#linknoteref-25">return</a>)<br /> [ Doyle, ii. 133, 134; + Rhode Island Records, i. 377, 378.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-26" id="linknote-26"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 26 (<a href="#linknoteref-26">return</a>)<br /> [ Colonial Laws of + Massachusetts, pp. 14-16; Levermore's Republic of New Haven, p. 153.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-27" id="linknote-27"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 27 (<a href="#linknoteref-27">return</a>)<br /> [ See my remarks above, p. + 145.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-28" id="linknote-28"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 28 (<a href="#linknoteref-28">return</a>)<br /> [ The daring passage in the + sermon is thus given in Bacon's <i>Historical Discourses</i>, New Haven, + 1838: "Withhold not countenance, entertainment, and protection from the + people of God—whom men may call fools and fanatics—if any such + come to you from other countries, as from France or England, or any other + place. Be not forgetful to entertain strangers. Remember those that are in + bonds, as bound with them. The Lord required this of Moab, saying, 'Make + thy shadow as the night in the midst of the noonday; hide the outcasts; + bewray not him that wandereth. Let mine outcasts dwell with thee, Moab; be + thou a covert to them from the face of the spoiler.' Is it objected—'But + so I may expose myself to be spoiled or troubled'? He, therefore, to + remove this objection, addeth, 'For the extortioner is at an end, the + spoiler ceaseth, the oppressors are consumed out of the land.' While we + are attending to our duty in owning and harbouring Christ's witnesses, God + will be providing for their and our safety, by destroying those that would + destroy his people."] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-29" id="linknote-29"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 29 (<a href="#linknoteref-29">return</a>)<br /> [ Palfrey, <i>History of + New England,</i> in. 138-140.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-30" id="linknote-30"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 30 (<a href="#linknoteref-30">return</a>)<br /> [ See Parkman, <i>Conspiracy + of Pontiac</i>, i. 80-85.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-31" id="linknote-31"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 31 (<a href="#linknoteref-31">return</a>)<br /> [ De Forest, <i>History of + the Indians of Connecticut,</i> pp. 252, 257.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-32" id="linknote-32"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 32 (<a href="#linknoteref-32">return</a>)<br /> [ The story rests chiefly + upon the statements of Hutchinson, an extremely careful and judicious + writer, and not in the least what the French call a <i>gobemouche</i>. + Goffe kept a diary which came into Hutchinson's possession, and was one of + the priceless manuscripts that perished in the infamous sacking of his + house by the Boston mob of August 26, 1765. What light that diary might + have thrown upon the matter can never be known. Hutchinson was born in + 1711, only thirty-six years after the event, so that his testimony is not + so very far removed from that of a contemporary. Whalley seems to have + died in Hadley shortly before 1675, and Goffe deemed it prudent to leave + that neighbourhood in 1676. His letters to Increase Mather are dated from + "Ebenezer," i. e., wherever in his roamings he set up his Ebenezer. One of + these letters, dated September 8, 1676, shows that his Ebenezer was then + set up in Hartford, where probably he died about 1679 In 1676 the arrival + of Edward Randolph (see below, p. 256) renewed the peril of the regicide + judge, and his sudden removal from his skilfully contrived hiding-place at + Hadley might possibly have been due to his having exposed himself to + recognition in the Indian fight. Possibly even the supernatural + explanation might have been started, with a touch of Yankee humour, as a + blind. The silence of Mather and Hubbard was no more remarkable than some + of the other ingenious incidents which had so long served to conceal the + existence of this sturdy and crafty man. The reasons for doubting the + story are best stated by Mr. George Sheldon of Deerfield, in <i>Hist.-Genealogical + Register</i>, October, 1874.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-33" id="linknote-33"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 33 (<a href="#linknoteref-33">return</a>)<br /> [ If Philip was half the + diplomatist that he is represented in tradition, he never would have gone + into such a war without assurance of Narragansett help. Canonchet was a + far more powerful sachem than Philip, and played a more conspicuous part + in the war. May we not suppose that Canonchet's desire to avenge his + father's death was one of the principal incentives to the war; that + Philip's attack upon Swanzey was a premature explosion; and that Canonchet + then watched the course of events for a while before making up his mind + whether to abandon Philip or support him?] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-34" id="linknote-34"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 34 (<a href="#linknoteref-34">return</a>)<br /> [ A wretched little + werewolf who some few years ago, being then a lad of fourteen or fifteen + years, most cruelly murdered two or three young children, just to amuse + himself with their dying agonies. The misdirected "humanitarianism," which + in our country makes every murderer an object of popular sympathy, + prevailed to save this creature from the gallows. Massachusetts has lately + witnessed a similar instance of misplaced clemency in the case of a vile + woman who had poisoned eight or ten persons, including some of her own + children, in order to profit by their life insurance. Such instances help + to explain the prolonged vitality of "Judge Lynch," and sometimes almost + make one regret the days in old England when William Probert, after + escaping in 1824 as "king's evidence," from the Thurtell affair, got + caught and hanged within a twelvemonth for horse-stealing. Any one who + wishes to study the results of allowing criminality to survive and + propagate itself should read Dugdale's The Jukes; Hereditary Crime, New + York, 1877.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-35" id="linknote-35"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 35 (<a href="#linknoteref-35">return</a>)<br /> [ Weeden, <i>Indian Money + as a Factor in New England Civilization</i>, Johns Hopkins University + Studies, II. viii., ix. p. 30.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-36" id="linknote-36"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 36 (<a href="#linknoteref-36">return</a>)<br /> [ Doyle, ii. 253.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-37" id="linknote-37"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 37 (<a href="#linknoteref-37">return</a>)<br /> [ Doyle, <i>Puritan + Colonies</i>, ii. 254.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-38" id="linknote-38"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 38 (<a href="#linknoteref-38">return</a>)<br /> [ The quotation is from an + unpublished letter of Rev. Robert Ratcliffe to the Bishop of London, cited + in an able article in the <i>Boston Herald</i>, January 4, 1888. I have + not seen the letter.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39" id="linknote-39"></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 39 (<a href="#linknoteref-39">return</a>)<br /> [ Doyle, <i>Puritan + Colonies</i>, ii. 379, 380.] + </p> + <div style="height: 6em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + + <div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 12767 ***</div> +</body> +</html> |