The Silencing of Mary Dyer

Name: ______Period: ______Directions: You will be reading the first article in Us and Them. It will give you some insight into some of the issues some colonists faced. Please note that this article mainly focuses on colonists in New England- to the north. As you read, answer the questions below. Some are comprehension questions to make sure you understand what is happening; others are more in-depth to get you to start thinking about the issues in the article. The questions go in the order of the article. Please use complete sentences for ALL of your answers! 1. a) What did Mary and her husband, William, believe? b) How did their beliefs differ from those of the Puritan church?

2. Why was Governor Winthrop afraid of the ideas of Mary and Anne Hutchinson?

3. What was different in Rhode Island than in Massachusetts?

4. Why were the voices of women silenced in the Puritan church? Why were there no female church leaders in Rhode Island?

5. What did the Quakers do to protest the Puritan religion and why did they do these things?

6. What kinds of treatment did Quakers face?

7. Why did Mary Dyer go back to Massachusetts where she knew she could be put to death for her religion?

8. Why might the Puritans be called hypocrites based on this article? 9. What do these articles tell you about what was important to (valued by) the colonists? How do you know?

Discussion Questions: 10. Read the section entitled “Witch Hunting” on page 11 and “No Place to Pray” on page 13. What do you think causes religious intolerance like that which is described in these 3 articles?

11. What can (or needs to) be done to stop such religious intolerance?

12. Does a government have the authority to determine the religion of its people? Why or why not?

13. Would you ever be able to stand up for anything-even in the face of death? If so, what and why? If not, why not?