John Winthrop Puritan Influence

Most Puritans, including John Winthrop (a Puritan lawyer and leader) did not want to break away from the Church of England due to their reasoning that her churches could still be purified through compromise (Morgan, 27). However, when the Puritan leaders noticed that the corruption in England was on a steady rise, they decided to emigrate to New England in order to preserve a purer Church of England (Morgan, 44-45). For example, on March 10, 1629, King Charles customarily liquified the Parliament in order to annex unequivocal power for himself (Morgan, 25). John Winthrop, though disciplined, was not from an extremely conservative family and had, in fact, grown up in the same manor as one family member who had converted to Catholicism (Morgan, 2-3). In respect to his own orthodoxical beliefs, he consistently made decisions that benefited the colonists and as a …show more content…
He desired power so that he could use his capabilities for the purpose of Christ (Morgan, 39). The ability and willingness to consider the advice and speculations of the ruled is an absolute essential to the democratic way of governing. Hence, as a representative of the people — chosen by the company and the people — for the people , he had to make decisions that corresponded with the interests of the citizens and the covenant of God. The governor was very lenient to his citizens and forgave many citizens of their transgressions. Without consulting the assistants, he made accommodations to the laws to better suit the colonists. For example, Winthrop had once let the settlers of Watertown build a dam on the Charles River. When asked to justify his decision, he stated that he had only allowed the construction of the weir because the town was low on supplies (Morgan, 96-97). John Winthrop held his position with responsibility and supported the decisions of his subjects whenever the outcome was financially profitable or highly