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1970

The Development of Political Theory in Colonial Massachusetts, 1688-1740

Ronald P. Dufour College of William & Mary - Arts & Sciences

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Recommended Citation Dufour, Ronald P., "The Development of Political Theory in Colonial Massachusetts, 1688-1740" (1970). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1539624699. https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.21220/s2-ssac-2z49

This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. TEE DEVELOPMENT OF POLITICAL THEORY IN COLONIAL MASSACHUSETTS

1688 - 17^0

A Th.esis

Presented to

5he Faculty of the Department of History

5he College of William and Mary in Virginia

In I&rtial Fulfillment

Of the Requirements for the Degree of

Master of Arts

By

Ronald P. Dufour

1970 ProQ uest Number: 10625131

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ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106 - 1346 APPROVAL SHEET

3his thesis is submitted in partial fulfillment

of the requirements for the degree of

Master of Arts

Ronald Pa til Duf our j)

Approved, August 1970

Richard M. Brown, Ph. D.

t M.S; >1 1:^ LdaweS/H* Johnson/ >T. TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION ...... 2

Chapter I. THE ENGLISH L E G A C Y ...... 4

Chapter II. ANDROS ...... 11

Chapter III. THE GOVERNOR VS. THE HO U S E i ...... 1? Chapter IV. INTELLECTUAL CURRENTS ...... 33

Chapter V. THE P L O T ...... 47

Chapter VI. CONCLUSION...... 54

BIBLIOGRAPHY...... 56

iii ABSTRACT

This study is an investi^tion into the appropriateness of the social, political, and intellectual conditions of early provincial Massachusetts for the reception of the ideas of the English opposition press of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

The English legacy is reviewed “briefly, emphasizing the fears of power and corruption and the defensive stand taken in relation to the English constitution and English ri^its. A short overview is given of thd division “between court and country in the period under study in Massachusetts, based largely on political and financial connections. An interpretation of the Andros government under the Dominion in terms of this court vs. country split is offered, and the strong and lasting impact of the Dominion of New England is noted, stressing political polarization, disruption of an established life pattern, and importance for future ideological developments.

A discussion of the quarrels between royal governors and the House follows, concentrating particularly on the salary and other financial issues. The results again indicate increasing political dualism and a growing fear of the House in terms of corruption of the English consti­ tution, disruption of mixed government, and betrayal of the Charter, with a growing imperial assertiveness serving as the catalyst.

Intellectual currents in Puritan thought reveal similar trends. An intense investigation reveals a dominating trend: the duties of the ruler, the ends of society, and the views of religion and human nature were all becoming secularized, thus leading to greater polarization, aided by an unresponsive governor.

The final consolidating issue was the fear of a Popish plot, trace­ able throughout English history and originating with particular inten­ sity in Massachusetts under the Andros regime. Adding to this fear was the apparent spread of both political and moral corruption. This bleak si tuation was contrasted, in colonial minds, with an Anglo-Saxon ideal.

The conclusion reached is that Hie Massachusetts environment was indeed similar to that described by the English opposition press. By the 17^0 Land Bank crisis, only an astute Governor Shirley could pre­ vent major disruption. THE DEVELOPMENT OF POLITICAL THEORY

IN COLONIAL MASSACHUSETTS,

1688-1740 INTRODUCTION

Che relationship between ideas and politics is a subject of per­

petual heated discussion among intellectual historians. Richard Bush­

man, in a recent review of Bernard Bailyn's Origins of American Politics.

stated the particular problem of colonial intellectual history more

specifically; in Bushman's view, the key factor underlying the structure

of ideas which Bailyn has unearthed for American colonial politics is

the interaction of the conditions of eighteenth century political life

with a general colonial temperament.^ In other words, what were the

.reasons for the colonists accepting a certain group of ideas and not

another? Bailyn himself has done some work in this area on Massachu- 2 setts, in particular in a brief essay in Origins. It is the purpose

of this study, however, to define and delineate more precisely the

appropriateness of the political, social, and intellectual conditions

of early provincial Massachusetts for the reception of the ideas of the

English opposition press. The nature of these ideas themselves is

first of all worthy of extensive consideration; their acceptability is

further clarified by the impact of the Andros interlude, the political

and social divisions within the colony, and the nature of the continual

1. Richard Bushman, review of Bernard Bailyn's Origins of American Politics, in William and Mary Quarterly. 3rd Ser., XXV (April, 1 9 6 8 ), 286. 2. Bernard Bailyn, Origins of American Politics (Hew York, 1968), 114-117. 2 . squabbles between the governor and the House, Other, specif ic issues,

such as the appointment of the Speaker of the House, the financial

condition of the colony, and. the land bank controversy, add to the

apparently realistic situation traced by the English opposition press.

!Hiere were, finally, certain underlying currents of thought sweeping

Massachusetts society. Puritanism was undergoing a vast seculariza­

tion of outlook in its adaptation to the American situation. Puritan

concepts of the ruler, the nature of man, and the purpose of society

were likewise undergoing significant transitions, and the rise of

rational religion provided a further stimulus towards a growing con­

cern for reason, natural light, and the welfare of the people in

physical terms. The colonists themselves, finally, feared a world­

wide plot against English liberties, a plot exemplified by corruption

and the growing arbitrary power of rulers - a situation which they saw

as very real in their own immediate surroundings. CHAPTER I

SHE ENGLISH LEGACY

The English ideological background of the "patriot” ideas has been

thoroughly investigated by several prominent scholars, but it is well

worth our while to review them closely here, in light of their immediate applicationi to the colonial situation. 35ie body from which the colon- ists drew their inspiration traced its background to the seventeenth century commonwealthman and the emergence of the "country" ideology.

These ideas were based upon a fear for the security of English liber-'

ties and the English constitution, with the crucial projection of a basic division between court and country. The court represented the administration, the country the men of independent property. 3he busi­ ness of Parliament was to preserve the independence of property, upon which was founded all human liberty and excellence. Problems, however,

inevitably arise. To govern is to wield power, and it was believed

that power had a natural tendency to corrupt and encroach;'*' "the world

is governed by Men, and Men by their Passions; which, being boundless and insatiable, are always terrible when they are not controuled. Vlho

was ever satiated with Riches, or surfeited with Power, or tired with

Honours," Thus the ancient constitution of England was perfectly bal-

1. J.G.A. Pocock, "Machiavelli, Harrington, and English Politi­ cal Ideologies in the Ei^iteenth Century," Nin. and Mary Q.tlv.. 3**^- Ser., XXII (Oct., 1965), 565- 2. "Cato’s Letters" in David L. Jacobson, ed., The English Liber­ tarian -Heritage- (New York, 1965), 84. 4 anced ’between, its organs; the. Commonwealthmen ""believed in a separation of powers and hoped that each of the three parts of the government would "balance or check the others...,"^ and the function of Ihrliament was to supervise closely the executive, 4 for "Power is naturally active, vigilant, and distrustful...."^ She nature of power is such "that it turns Men that have it into Monsters; and therefore the most amiable and unexceptionable Man upon Earth is not to be trusted with it."^ If the executive should fall victim to the temptations of power, however, he does indeed have the means at hand to distract Parliament from its proper function; by retaining them to follow ministers and ministers’ rivals, by persuading them to support measures - standing armies, national debts, excise schemes - whereby the activities of the admin­ istration would grow beyond Parliamentary control. Collectively, these measures are called corruption. Such corruption, logically, would be labelled as a conspiracy to overthrow the English constitution and to blot out English liberties. There were, of course, ways to prevent such a thing from happening - government in a free country must be made g by laws to which a people have consented, through free elections, and 9 proper education is of the utmost importance in this defensive battle.

She people themselves were held to be entirely capable of taking part

3. Caroline Bobbins, The Eighteenth Century Commonwealthman.... (Cambridge, 1959), 8 . 4. Pocock, "English Political Ideologies," Wm. and Mary Qtly.. 3rd Ser., XXII (Oct. , 1965), 565- 5. Jacobson, English Libetarian Heritage. 8 5* 6 . Ibid.. 203 7. Pocock, "English Political Ideologies," jfrn. and Mary Qtly., 3rd Ser., XXII (Oct., 1965), 565- 8 . Pocock, "English Political Ideologies," Wm. and Mary Qtly., 3rd Ser., XXII (Oct., 1965), 565. 9. Bobbins, Commonwealthman. 99* in their own government, and they were to be instilled with a deep pub­ lic spirit and love of country to help* them wage the struggle."^

So much, then, for the inherited English structure of ideas. The important thing to be noted is that the situation they described did in fact fit rather aptly the actual situation in the Bay Colony, or at least it seemed so to contemporaries; v/e cannot deny the definite simi­ larity of circumstance. As Caroline Bobbins has noted of the ideas of

James Harrington, author of Oceanea and a leading seventeenth century

Commonwealthman, nthe smooth working of the system depended upon measure of‘equality between a number of persons with a stake in the country....

His suggested limitations upon property, his agrarian system or hier­ archy, were designed for a rural, not an urban economy.Recent re­ search has indicated that this rural, agrarian hierarchy was the basic 12 situation in Massachusetts, and any attempt to upset it would very likely be seen in terms of an encroaching power. The similarities, however, go far beyond this. Bailyn has noted the division between the governor and the merchants on the one hand and the assembly on the other, 13 ^ a division which both he and George Billias claim is superbly 14- illustrated by the land bank controversy. The division in Massachu­ setts, though, went even deeper. The arguments between the governor and the House were continual and illuminating, particularly the salary squabbles, the struggle for control of the finances, and the battle over the governor's right to negate the House Speaker. The financial

10. Jacobson, English Libertarian Heritage. 88 ff. 11. Robbins, Commonweal thman. 35* 12. Robert E. Brown, Middle-Class Democracy and the Revolution in Massachusetts (Ithaca, 1955). r>assiro. 13* Bailyn, Origins. 115- l4k Ibid.; George A. Billias, The Massachusetts Land Bankers of 17^0. University of Maine Studies, 2nd. Ser., No. 7^ (Orono, Maine, 1959). -Passim. situation of the colony, culminated-by the-Land Bank attempt of 17^*0,

was deeply polarizing in its effects upon the political and social life

of the colony. What the colonists saw and feared was the encroachment

of power by the royal executive, a corruption of their English rights

and liberties. In reaction, they drew together and asserted with great­

er strength the duties of the ruler to his society and the innate capa­

bilities possessed by man himself. The trends of the Enlightenment, of

course, had already begun to make inroads in these areas, but the cur­

rents were now greatly accelerated. The expanding plot to sabotage

English ri^its and the English constitution had now become a fri^iten-

ing reality. The Massachusetts past had prepared the people for self-

government, and the lack of actual power by the governors in the colon­

ies had further consolidated them into a powerful body of resistance,

^ represented through the House. The nde facto11 absence’ of an aristo­

cracy only accentuated the face to face confrontation between the ruler

and the ruled; between the usurper and the defenders. 15

As a final remark on the immediate relevance of the English ideas

to the Massachusetts situation, it would be wise to discuss in outline

terras the division between court and country. The administration was

consolidated by its very nature, and the patronage available to Massa­

chusetts governors grew at an extremely rapid pace; while the size of

the House less than doubled, the Governor's patronage multiplied six 16 times between 1700 and 1761* Those merchants who had an eye out for

their financial betterment spent most of their time on the side of this

administration; the Council was their outlet, and business connections

15* Bailyn, Origins. 131* ' 16* John M. Murrin, Anglicanizing an American Colony: The Trans­ formation of Provincial Massachusetts (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Yale University, 1966), 265. 8 with England were conducive to a conservative stand, eager to preserve the status quo. The majority of merchants made their profits through

British commercial connections; it was only natural that they should support the representative of the Crown and the royal prerogative, since this was the establishment which possessed the power to disrupt their 17 financial well-being. Iheir opposition to Andros was based on his under-cutting of their positions of power; their calculation of the extent of the threat to their civil liberties varied with their prox­ imity to the sources of privilege and power, as they rebelled against 18 a rash curtailment of this proximity. The Belcher family itself illustrated 11 the pattern of mercantile ascent through British society with classic perfection.” 19 We have already noted the lack of a bal­ ancing aristocracy, and we shall further see the House coalescing its power throu^i the struggles with the governors and emphasizing its likeness to the British House of Commons; the people, too, were gath­ ering their strength together, at the same time raising their respect for their own abilities, powers, and dues. The two were evidently solidly welded together, as relations between towns and their repre­ sentatives to the House were close indeed, and their feelings were 20 similar in such issues as the governor's salary. She towns them­ selves worked through a system of consensus, presenting a solid local 21 front. Hhough the colonists were generally not conspicuously aware

17. Bernard Bailyn, Hew England Merchants in the Seventeenth Century (Cambridge, Mass., 1955), 175, 170. 18. Ibid.. 1 7 6, 191-2. 19. JM4-. 195. 20. Kenneth Colegrove, "Hew England Town Mandates," The Colonial Society of Massachusetts, Publications. XXI (1919), **30-431 • 21 Michael Zuckerman, "Ihe Social Context of Democracy in Massa­ chusetts, " VTm * ^nd MarJr Qtly»» 3rd Ser., XXV (Oct., 1968), 523-5^ on the 18th century, but illuminating on the 1 7th too. of the division, in terras of court and country, they, were aware of some kind of split. In late 17^0, the Post-Bpy printed a letter telling of * a local dehate as to who was the more valuable to the community, the merchant or the countryman. The answer, of course, was the countryman,

because his labor and industry supplied the necessities of life, while many merchants just dumped luxurious goods upon an unsuspecting commun- 22 ity. The Weekly Journal printed a piece from the London Magazine in

late 1738 entitled 11A Praise of Agriculture”; it lauded the farmers' 23 vocation because "it conducts to Morality and every social virtue. . . . 11

The implication was, naturally, that every other livelihood did not. It

is also evident, finally, that these loose strands were woven together

at various times by such political geniuses as the Cookes, who developed

political alliances which depended heavily on church, professional, and militia groups, as well as family relations, financial partnerships, and

social clubs. Elisha Cooke, Sr., a prominent House politician, had formed a coalition of patriotic opposition to Andros, and succeeded at

the turn of the century in temporarily gaining the support of the mer­

chants on a patriotic, anti-prerogative platform. His son, Elisha, Jr.,

with monopolies on salt production and land development on Boston neck, was able to organize political coalitions based on financial partner­

ships; his methods varied from manipulation of tax assessments to drawing

prospective voters through an abundance of liquid refreshment. The Bos­

ton caucus which he directed was the perfect example of an effort to

direct the power of the people into the proper channels, so that their

(and his) interests would prevail in the government. The effectiveness

22. Boston Post-Boy (Massachusetts), Dec. 8 , 18^0, p.l col. 1. 23. Ibid.. Dec. 19, 1738, p.l col.l. 10 of this Caucus is indicated "by the lengthy continuation of certain members in office; at the same time, though, "the Caucus' leaders knew full well that their power rested ultimately on the people's enjoyment 24 of traditional rights and privileges."

Qhe situation in Massachusetts, then, did indeed have much in common with the ideas eapressed in the English libertarian heritage.

As we have already noted and shall see in further detail, fears of cor­ ruption and of a plot against English liberty were indeed widespread, and the division between court and country was certainly to develop into a real enough problem. The catalyst which spurred these forces into action, though, was an outside force representing a serious threat to an already precarious situation in Massachusetts. Sir Edmund Andros was to become a vivid living embodiment of all the colonists' fears.

24. Gerald Bryce Warden, Boston Politics, 1692-1765 (tuipubl. Ph.D. diss., Yale University, 1966), 102-3* 124, 128, 139; abstract in Disser­ tation Abstracts. XXVII (Feb., 1967), 2490-A; Warden, "The Caucus and Democracy in Colonial Boston," New England Quarterly. XLIII (March, 1 9 7 0), 2 2, 26-7, 42. CHAPTER II

ANDROS

Tlie political and social situation of seventeenth century Massa­ chusetts prior to the onslau^it of the Andros regime is of crucial significance to the understanding of developments in early provincial

Massachusetts. The Bay Colony had a long tradition of self-government; recent research has shown the provincial requirement for the franchise to he less onerous than previously thought,'*' and the contractual nature of Puritan political theory provided a firm foundation for balanced 2 popular rule.~ Ihe democratic tendencies of the town and the emphasis on communal consensus made the governmental "base even more firm. We have already seen that provincial representation was characterized by a close correspondence between the wishes of the propie and their rep- resentatives in the assembly. Thus English imperial policy, or the lack of it, had allowed the inner tendencies of Puritan political thou^it to blossom forth into an Americanized reality, conditioned by an economic and social equality far surpassing any European counter-

1. B. Katherine Brown, ”Ereemanship in Puritan Massachusetts,” American Historical Review. LIX (July, 195^)» 865-883. Also Robert Brown, Middle Glass Democracy. mssim. 2. Perry Miller, Jhe Hew England Mind: Jjhe Seventeenth Century (Boston, 1961), A08-^09; Edmund S. Morgan, Ed., Puritan Political Ideas (New York, 1965), XXIII-XXV. 3. Zuckerman, ”The Social Context of Democracy in Massachusetts,” Wm. and Mary Qtly. . 3rd Ser., 2X7 (Oct., 1968), 523-5^. 4. Colegrove, 11 New England Town Mandates,” Col. Soc. of Mass., Pub1ications. XXI (1919), passim.

11 part. With the advent of the Restoration, however, a new policy of imperial concern, originating with the Cromwellian Navigation Acts of

1651, "became more forceful and extensive. By April 1 6 7 8, the Lords of

Trade agreed that only a revocation of the Massachusetts charter and

the establishment of a royal government would bring the colony into a proper relation with England.'* Edward Randolph was one symptom of the new system, and however well-intentioned he may have been for the well­ being of the Empire, New Englanders found little or nothing to appreci­ ate in his conduct. It was his reports, after all, that brought out

s the paucity of imperial control in the Bay Colony, and it was partly his doing that the Dominion of New England was to be imposed with such 6 devastating effects. Thus the inhabitants of Massachusetts were al­ ready sufficiently disturbed when news of the creation of the Dominion arrived; they were to be even more upset by the man in control and the measures he was to take.

In general, what Andros and the Dominion asserted was that legis­ lation was a privilege and not the right that the people had become 7 accustomed to look upon it as. In other terms, Michael G. Hall has 8 seen it as a contest over who should rule - the Puritans or England.

Perhaps even the implications of a ”contest" are wrong, for the Puritans saw no reason to even admit the right of the home government to en­ croach upon what they considered to be their own sacred territory. To

5* Bailyn, New England Merchants. 153-159* 6 . Michael G. Hall, Edward Randolph and the American Colonies. 1 6 7 6 -1 7 0 3 (Chapel Hill, i9 6 0 ), passim. 7* Viola Barnes, The Dominion of New England (New Haven, 1 9 2 3), 9 9 . 8 . Michael G. Hall, et ai., eds., The Glorious Revolution in New England (Chapel Hill, 1964)7 9* Jeremiah. Durcmer, Spokesman for a later generation, it was nothing less than an evil and arbitrary reign; 9 as one writer was to remark, Wwe were chiefly Squeezed by a crew of abject Persons fetched, from New York to be the tools of the adversary. .. .^and^ we have been treated with multi­ plied contradictions to Magna Carta... . Andros and his henchmen, corresponding to the true usurping and corrupting rulers, had invaded the liberty and property of the English Protestants, nto destroy the 11 fundamentals of the English & erect a French govt.” Based on the ac­

tions of Andros in relation to the New England past, these near-paranoiac \ reactions were almost predictably logival. The interlude of the Dominion was'enough to Bstimulate and crystalize a defensive colonial theory of 12 the Constitution. 11

The first official act of Andros upon his arrival was to hold an

Anglican ceremony; this politically inept beginning was to be char­ acteristically indicative of his entire rein. His first professions were of high regard for the public good; former taxes and laws were to continue for at least a brief period, and most of his council were men 14 who sincerely wished for the public interest. Yet the need for reform, at least from the English point of view, was admittedly vast. A^in, however, Andros's methods were seemingly designed to corrupt and to destroy completely the ancient liberties of the colonists. His instruc-

9. Jeremiah Dummer, A Defense of the New England Charters.... (Boston, 1 7 2), 1 24. 10. Increase Mether, The Declaration of the Gentlemen.... (Boston, 1689), 3* Tl* The Revolution JLn Hew England Just if ied.. .. (Boston, 1691) * 12. 12. Martin Cole, The Rise of the Legislative Assembly in Provin­ cial Massachusetts (unpubl. Ph.D. diss., University of Iowa, 1939), 105* 13. Hall, Edward Randolph. 115. 14. Thomas Hutchinson, The. History of the Colony and Province of Massachusetts Bay. 3 voIs. (Cambridge, Mass. 1938), vol. I, 299-300* tions detailed the establishment of a court system as much like that

of England as possible; the only problem was that, the system evolved by

Massachusetts herself was as much unlike that of England as possible.

His manner of raising money was particularly objectionable; when it appeared that lively discussion on his tax measure would continue for some time, he simply signed it into law without bothering to take a vote.^ The Reverend John Wise and the members of his parish in Ips­ wich were particularly incensed, so much so that Wise soon found him-

self in jail for his actions in protest. 17 This act of ‘'levying monies without the consent of the people either by themselves or by an assem- 18 bly. ..“ was not to be forgotten; Wise's anger was to be vehemently 19 expressed in his later pamphlet, The Church * s Quarrel Espoused. To

the colonists, the simple fact of the matter was that the fundamentals

of English government, which they had of course established in ITew

England, "doth not allow their imposition of taxes without a Parlia- 20 ment." The colonists were already likening their governmental struc­

ture to that of England in their defense of English liberties. The

quarrel was further enhanced vhen Councillor Joseph Dudley, the future

royal governor, pointedly instructed John Wise.during his trial for

tax evasion that the colonists must not think that the privileges of

Englishmen would follow them to the ends of the world; after all, the

only difference between them and slaves was that they were given the

15. Herbert L. Osgood, The American Colonies in the Seventeenth Century (Gloucester, Mass., 1957), vol.3, ^ 0 1; for a detailed discus­ sion see John M. Murrin, Anglicanizing an American Colony. 16. Osgood, III, 403. 17. Revolution Justified. 13• 18. Osgood, III, 4-0^. 19. John Wise, The Churches Quarrel Espoused.... (1713), ®d. George A. Cook (Gainesville, Ela., 196 6 ), 118. 20. Revolution Justified, 21 privilege of not being bound in captivity. To an • Engli shman, as one of Cato*s Letters illustrated, slavery meant the loss of all freedom and 22 English rights. 23 Andros proceeded to license the press, and his strict enforcement of the laws of trade worsened the condition of an already depressed econ- 24 25 omy. Necessary defenses ired the people because of their expense.

The Puritans,, then, readily believed the Indians vho "declared they were encouraged by Sir Edmund Androsses /sicJ to make war upon the English 26 27 Town meetings, the backbone of New England "democracy," were 1 restricted to one a year for the sole purpose of electing town officers, land grants were to be revoked and reissued under more stringent condi­ tions, and writs of instruction were even brou^it against some of those

\dio refused to petition for new grants. 28 Thus the revolution of 1689 29 was understandably accepted with only too much joy; a way of life, based on a hallowed constitution and ancient liberties, had been shat­ tered by a Popish intruder.

The important points of this disastrous imperial escapade are the constitutional and ideological impacts. Throughout the early years of the Colony, the Massachusetts settlers had developed their own govern­ mental balance, drawing from both their English and American experien­ ces. The colonists gained the ri^it to elect their own deputies and

2 1. Hutchinson, Hist. of the Province. I, 301-3 0 2. 2 2. Jacobson, English ^hertg^ian Heritage. 127 ff. 2 3. Hutchinson, Hist, of the Province, I, 302. 24. Hall, Edward" Randolph . 111. 25. Hutchinson, History of the Province. I, 301 ff. 26. Revolution Justified. 2 9. 27. B. K. Brown, -passim. 28. Hutchinson, I, 313* 2 9. Ibid., II, 9 . 16 eventually, in 1644, the assistants agreed' to sit; apart'as a separate

"body. The recent research previously mentioned on the extent of the franchise and the nature of town government would seem to indicate that a natural system of checks and balances was in operation. As we shall see, Puritan political theory was extremely conducive to this sort of situation. Thus Andros, inevitably cast in the role of the evil, en­ croaching ruler, upset that balance; there was no House,the gover­ nor was essentially arbitrary, and the Council was hardly responsible to the will of the people, being composed largely of merchants and 31 strangers. In terms of country ideology, there could not have been a more perfect split betv/een court and country.

30. Osgood, Amer. Colonies in the Seventeenth Cent., Ill, 393* 31. Bailyn, New England Merchants. 1 7 6. CHAPTER III

THE GOVERNOR VS. THE HOUSE

After the overthrow of Andros, the colony reverted to its old way

of government for the time "being.^ Then the 1691 charter arrived - a

diplomatic coup, to say the least, for the hard working Increase

Mather. Yet even at this early date, the colony was plagued "by a pro­

phetic clash of interests. The "patriot11 faction of Elisha Cooke was

holding out stubbornly for the retention of the old charter; they were

strongly opposed to any encroachment of English control on their home 2 government. Mather, on the other hand, was willing to come to terms

with the English government, largely "because of the practical demands 3 of the situation. Yet he, too, had been no lover of the Andros regime, and to him the new charter was a welcome protector of the English h. liberties of the colony. Despite their differences over the accept­ ability of English rule, then, both sides were agreed on what had to

be protected - the ancient rights and liberties of Englishmen.

The Charter itself was sufficiently unique and telling in its future import to warrant examination in at least somedetail. On the more positive side, an expressly legal basis was given to both the

legislature and the judiciary, with the general court gaining the right

1. Hall, Edward Randolph. 123 • 2. Hutchinson, History of the Province, I, 3^8* 3 . Hall, Edward Randolph. 125. 4. Increase Mather, The Declaration of the Gentlemen..., passim.

1? to elect all judicial tribunals, The Assistants became the Council, elected by the General Court as a whole (Council & House) and subject to the governor's veto. The religious qualification for the franchise was suspended. Without the governor's warrant, no money could be issued from the Treasury; judges, sheriffs, and justices of the peace were all 5 to be appointed by the governor with the advice of the Council. In essence, it was a judicious compromise on control of the government, but one which would prove satisfactory to neither party.^ At the time, however, it was generally received by New Englanders as a divine bless­ ing. Andros had been more than they could take, a true visitation of the devil.

Politically, the period from 1689-1702 witnessed developments significant in {heir import for future conflicts. The first royal governor, Sir William Phips, assured the colonists that he was God's instrument for the preservation of their ancient privileges,. 7 an assurance which tells much of the development of political thinking of g the period. Phips m s generally lax in asserting the prerogative, and the inhabitants lapsed into the sad delusion that the "good old days" had returned once more. Apparent stability also reigned during the period from 1694-1699* when a group of gentlemen managed the gov- ernment for themselves, 9 thus assuring the continued absence of royal

5* Acts and Re solves, Public and Private. of ,the Province of Massachuse11s Bay. 1, 1-20. 6 . Osgood, American Colonies, in the Seventeenth Cent., III, 442. 7. Richard S. Dunn, Puritans and Yankees.... (Princeton, 1962), 264. ~ - ™ — 8 . Herbert L. Osgood, The American Colonies in the Eighteenth Century (Gloucester. Mass., 1958), I, 303* 9. Dunn, Puritans and Yankees. 269. interference. Stoughton's first term as governor appeared harmless, and he vas generally well liked.Bellomont, too, was popular, and illness and wars, the latter a crucial factor which kept the governors occupied even through Dudley's tern (1702-171*0, kept him either iso­ lated from the public or enmeshed in essential and non-controvercial 11 business. At the same time, though, indications of future conflict were readily visible to those vigilant enough to recognize them. Until now, towns could elect as their deputy a man who was not an inhabitant of the town he represented. A new act, however, stated that a repre­ sentative must be a resident and a freeholder of the town he sat for.

In the words of Marcus Jernegan, "While this reduced the standard of ability in the house, it brought the deputies nearer the people of a town, and got rid of excess of representatives from Boston or vicinity. 12 Most of these were friends of the old order and opponents of Phips."

It was passed by a small majority despite stubborn opposition, and it was clearly a measure designed to regain executive power. Phips had vetoed Elisha Cooke's election to the Council and v;as also opposed to the new charter; his frontier background, further, made him unaccept- 13 able to the Boston elite. Thus he was losing support from all sides.

Stoughton's second term was also somewhat turbulent; the governor sent a report to Parliament complaining of laws being passed which were re­ pugnant to those of England and destructive of trade, of the refusal to transmit acts to England or allow repeal, and of the continued ex-

10. Hutchinson, History of the Province. II, 61, 81. 11. Ibid.. 84 ff. 12. Marcus Jernegal, "The Province Charter, 11 in A.3. Hart, ed., Commonwealth History of Massachusetts (Hew York, 1927-30), II, 1 6. 13* Osgood, Amer. Colonies in the 18th Cent.. I, 317-8. 20 ploitations of pirates. He advised that theMassachusetts charter he

resumed. It should also he noted that the colonists had previously

passed laws dealing with general liberties, individual legal privileges and legal policy in general, and land policy - only to have them all

disallowed in England on technical grounds.^ Urns Stoughton's proposed

measures must have called to mind the days of Bandolph, and the future actions of the colony were to prove an eagerness to counter this sub­

versive thrust against the ancient rights.

Despite outward calm, then, the situation which Dudley inherited i was a potentially explosive one, and very likely it was only his constant preoccupation with wars with the French and Indians which prevented it from developing into something more serious. As it was, the situation

was extremely unstable during his administration. As Lieutenant-

Governor of the Isle of Wight and as a member of Parliament in 1701, 16 Dudley had become enthralled with the concept of a royal governor; perhaps equally significant, he had become an active supporter of the 17 work of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, a body pas­

sionately despised in New England Puritan circles. What his years in

office accomplished, in essence, was the widening of the ideological, 18 political, and social divisions between court and country; he kept 19 the support of Boston merchants through military contracting, and

sent to the House endless messages and instructions, challenging its

14. Jernegan, 19. 15. Osgood, 303-4. 16. Jernegan, ,!!The Province Charter,1' 20. 1 7. Susan M. Heed, _Church and State in Massachusetts Bay. 1691- 1740. (Urbana, 111., 1914), 164. 18. Dunn, Puritans and Yankees. 280. 19* Bailyn, Origins. 115. 21 authority and continually criticizing its performance. He refused a total of five councillors, idiile only one had been negatived in the 20 previous ten years. In his early years, he became extremely inter- 21 ested in efforts to recall the charter. When he asked for a perman­ ent salary, then,the House committee reported back in complete surprise 22 that the subject v/as indeed altogether new to them, as indeed they had not taken such measures previously. The case against the governor was closed when he was charged with correspondence and trade with the 21 French and Indians of Canada. Though both Council and House exoner- 24 ated him at first, a pamphlet printed in London accused him of forc­ ing their hands. The same pamphlet saw his government as a return to the evils of the Dominion, with Dudley enriching himself all the while.

He had promoted bribery and corruption; his son was attorney-general, he had trampled upon the assembly, and he was in collusion with pirates and the French. The crowning accusation was a reference to a letter of

Dudley's in which he stated that the removal of the charter was the only 2 5 method of making the country safe for lawyers and gentlemen. Dudley represented the hand of the intruder, attempting to upset the delicate balance of Massachusetts government. Thomas Dudley, Joseph's grand­ father and occasional Massachusetts governor, had been a defender of localism and government by law against the arbitrary Winthrop; he would

20. Hutchinson, History., of the Province. 101-102. 21. Osgood, Eighteenth Century;. II, 139- 22. Leonard Labaree, Royal Government in America (Hew York, 1923), 353. 2 3. John C. Palfrey. History of Hew England (Boston, 1875)» IF, 299 ff. 24. Ibid.. 303. 25. Philopolites, A Memorial of the Present Deplorable State of New England (Boston, 1707)- 26 have shuddered to see those principles so completely betrayed.

The salary dispute in provincial Massachusetts was the most sig­ nificant of the numerous disagreements between the governor and the

House, and it is within this dispute in particular that we can attain a clear glimpse of .the relationship between intellectual currents and actual political conditions. In the past, Massachusetts had become accustomed to governors who were perfectly willing and were expected to serve the commonwealth gratis, as part of their duty. Thus the shock was necessarily great when Andros commanded for himself alone a 27 salary which exceeded the entire budget for the preceding year. This act in itself established a necessary and logical connection between salary demands and the usurpation of power; the situation was a com­ pletely unfamiliar one, and coupled with the other arbitrary actions of the governor, the salary became a matter of grave concern to the

House in particular. After the 1689 revolution, however, there was little real immediate disagreement or concern over this issue; the

House became accustomed to voting L1000 Sterling to both Blips and 28 Bellomont, as non-permanent grants, and they were accepted with only slight grumbling by the governors. Again, the war situations helped postpone the problem. Even these seemingly generous sums, however, were undercut by the rising inflationary problem which was to characterize the colony’s finances for the entire period under investigation; they were not, further, the permanent salaries which the royal administra­ tion had in mind. Thus in September, 170^, the House refused to pro-

26. Edmund S. Morgan, Ihe Puritan' Dilemma... (Boston, 1953), 86-7, 103-7, 115-6. 27• Hall, Edward Bandolhh. 1 1 1. 2 8 • Acts and Resolves. I, 17^, 188, 39^-5, ^97- 29 vide Dudley with a permanent salary, and greater conflict arose

when Dudley, instilled with the concept of Ihrliamentary supremacy

over the colony, (he m s himself v/ell off), continued the attempt to

achieve the imperial aim of a permanent salary. In the end, the only

concrete thing he did achieve was getting his salary reduced to a non- 30 permanent L500. As we shall see, the fears of corruption of the

House were very real, and the actions of Dudley we have previously dis­

cussed added to the impact of these fears.

The imperial government, though, was far from discouraged hy such

defeats. Governor Samuel Shute1s first message called for fixed sal-

aries for "both the governor and the Lieutenant-Governor, 31 hut the

House voted a mere L300 for his support at the time - with the governor 32 cautiously thanking them. The matter was not pursued much further

under Shute1 s administration. Governor Burnet,, however, proved to he

more stubborn, and his demands, coupled with the refusals of the House

to be coerced, produced a long and bitter quarrel filling the pages of

the House Joarnals. 33 His instructions ordered him to insist upon a 34 permanent salary of at least L1000 per annum;-^ the demand was, of 35 TT course, refused. Eventually, the House offered him L1 7 0 0, and then 36 a lump sum of L6000, to take care of all of his expenses. Burnet

29* Jerne^tn, 11 The Province Charter, 11 2 3. 30. Ibid.. 26; Osgood, Ei^fateenth Century. II, 139• 3d. Journals of the House of Re-presentatives of Massachusetts (Boston, 1919-1966), II, 130. 32. Ibid.. 1 7 2, 174. 33. Journals, VIII, eg. 324, 338-43, 346-7. 34. Ibid., 247. 35. Ibid.. 298. 36. G. Andrews Moriarty, nThe Royal Governors and the General Court, 0 in A.B. Hart, ed., Commonwealth History of Massachusetts (New York, 1927-1930), II, 136. 2 4 received secret instructions to accept this amount, provided he-was accorded a fixed salary for the rest of his term. 37 He died, however,

"before he could broach the offer to the House. This sketch, though, presents only a brief synopsis of what actually happened, and the con­

tentions developed by either side are extremely significant in their constitutional and ideological implications.

3he House, of course, defended their grants as sufficient and 38 timely enough. They argued that the House and Council were both very dependent upon the governor, giving numerous examples of this de­ pendence, and that consequently, in this single instance, the governor should have some dependence on the House. 39 Their contention was that the

two great ends of the Charter, support of the government and the pro­

tection and preservation of the inhabitants, were best served by grants 40 from time to time. Indeed, they noted that a permanent salary would 4l be dangerous to the inhabitants. In their explanation of their ac- tions given to the people, the House gave four reasons for their stand: a permanent salary was an untrodden path beset by danger and never taken by them or their ancestors; the Magna Carta had established the ri^it of all Englishmen to raise and dispose of moneys for the public good of

their own free accord; any other policy would lessen the dignity of the

House and destroy the balance of the constitution; and, finally, under the provincial charter the General Court retained the ri^it to appro- 42 priate fully the moneys. There are several things worthy of note in

37. Ibid. 38. Journals. Till, 279 39. Ibid.. 280 40. Ibid., 280-1. 41. Ibid., 287 42. J ou.rnA.ls. Till, 318. these contentions. She fear of constitutional imbalance as a sign of the destruction of the English way of life is notable; significant also are the assumption of the possession of all English rights by the people and the House, and the references to the practices of their forefathers.

Shute replied once again a few weeks after this House statement with an extensive argument, claiming that he did accord and acknowledge each 4 3 branch sufficiently in its own dignity and freedom. The two sides were obviously in some agreement about the issue in question, but their ways of looking at it were entirely different.

The new governor, Belcher, also had instructions which called for 44 a fixed salary of at least £1000. He received instead a present for ^5 that amount, as the House was completely unwilling to give up what it saw to be its only restraint on an over-powerful monarch. She salary quarrel thus continued for the first four years of Belcher’s governor- ship, 46 ending only when he received the modified instructions he de­ sired, allowing him to accept annual grants. In April, 1735» he signed four engrossed bills, the first of which gave him a grant of £3200.^7

For the time being, at least, the House could rest assured that they had gained sufficient control over an encroaching prero^,tive.

!Ihere were, of course, many other serious points of contention be­ tween the two bodies., and while none of them bear the import the salary quarrel does, they do deserve some consideration. The first of these, and undoubtedly the most important, was the struggle over the ri^it of the governor to n e ^ t e the House’s choice of their Speaker. The English

43. Ibid.. 324-330. 44. Journals, IX, 243-244. 45 . Ibid.,"261. ^6- Journals. X, 4, 9, 98, 141-2, 147-8. 170. ^7« Journals. XIII, viii. House of Commons had won this ri^it by refusing Charles II1 s nominee

in 1679. Until the explanatory charter of 1725 £^.ve this ri^it com- 48 pletely and without question to the governor, the actual ri^it of the Massachusetts executive to control the appointment was hotly con­ tested. The House claimed, of course, that it alone had the right to choose its own speaker. The governor, on the other hand, fixed his argument on the clause in the Charter which gave him the right to veto 4 9 all appointments of the General Court, consisting of both the House and the Council. Dudley had earlier attempted to ne^te Councillor

Thomas Oakes, but the extreme unpopularity of the measure caused him 50 to have second thoughts, and Oakes eventually took his seat. The next significant move in the battle came on May 2 5, 1720, when Shute negatived the popular leader of what may be considered the "country” faction, Elisha Cooke, Jr. He claimed the power of the Charter and gave previous personal affronts as the reason."* Cooke, who had caused 52 previous stirs by being negatived to the Council as well, defended the right of the House to choose its speaker also upon the grounds of

the Charter; a key part of his defense lies in his assertion that if the House would grant the Governor this power, then he would logically gain the power to negative committees, allowances of money, and all votes and bills of the House even before they vent to the Council. 53 •

48. Jack P. Greene, The Quest For Power... (Chapel Hill, 1 9 6 3), 206; Hutchinson, History of the Province. II, 242. ^9« Journals, III, 39* 50. Jernegan, "The Province Charter," 22. 51- Journals. XII, 229- 52. Journals. II, 3» 53. Elisha Cooke, Mr. Cook1s Just and Seasonable Vindication (Boston, 1720), 11. Ih is would be disastrous, of course, for the English tradition of gov­ ernment. At any rate, the House insisted upon their choice, claiming 5^ they had an ancient right to elect their Speaker; once again, we can trace this struggle throughout the development of English parliamentary 55 history, as well as finding its causes in the native roots and habits of Massachusetts itself. On May 30, Shute dissolved the General Court; ^ in the next session, the House notified the Governor of their choice for the speakership ’’for Information only, and not Approbation.Shute57 continued to insist upon his powers of non-concurrence, but to no avail, as'Cooke took his seat as Speaker on May 31» 1?21. 58 The situation con­ tinued in the same manner (Witness, for example, John Clarke -whom the

House chose as Speaker in 1722, simply informing the Governor that he

”is now sitting in the Chair,until the Explanatory Charter of 1725 arrived.

Several other matters of dispute between the House and governor deserve at least cursory attention. The fi^it over the control of the distribution of finances was significant because of the importance of finances in controlling the actions of the court section of the govern­ ment. We have already seen the import of this situation in Harring­ ton’s ideas; one can also trace it back throu^i English history, as the power of the Commons to vote tax money went a long way towards assuring their Parliamentary independence. One might further add that they, too,

5^. Journals. II, 229. 55. Jack P. Greene, ’’Political Mimesis: A Consideration of the Historical and Cultural Hoots of Legislative Behavior in the British Col­ onies in the Eighteenth Century.” American Historical Review. LXXVlCDec. 1969), 3^1. 56. Ibid., 2 3 3. >57. Journals . Ill, 87 • 58. Ibid.. 3 . 59. J ournals. IV, 2. were extremely jealous of this right once they had garnered it, though not with precisely the same import. Hie House insisted, then, on the ri^ht to control such disbursement; their stand was “That all Accompts should be examined by the House of Representatives before any Order be passed for Payment. .. The import of the entire situation can best be seen, however, in another House statement: regarding a previous Coun­ cil message on the subject, which “looks as tho* it could aim at a little short of a Dissolution of the very Foundations of our happy Con­ stitution, and to lay aside one essential part of the Legislature ev’n k the Representative Body of the People; For if the Council really have such an unlimited and despotick Power over the Treasury, ad Libitum, to dispose of what is therein, which they may seem to Challenge and Defend, they may as well take upon them to Supply the Treasury, by Rating and

Taxing the Inhabitants, 7 c. if they apprehend it for the Service and

Defence of the Province, and what not.”^ The House was indeed on the defensive seeking to consolidate its powers for it felt that "It is likewise new and unusual, for the Honourable Board, to Intermeddle so much with the Grants and Funds, which this House takes to be their pecu­ liar Province.

Qhere was also continuouscontroversy over thefortification of

Pemaquid, a crucial outpost against the Indians inMaine, with the House occasionally using it as a wedge in their financial wars. The House also attempted to pass an Impost Bill on English goods, causing serious

fjL . controversy again with the Governor and the Council (possibly over the

6 0 . J ournals., V, 2 9 5. 61* Journals. V, 331* 62• Journals. II, 157-8. 6 3 . Ibid.. 1 7 1. Ibid. . 155 ff. financial disruption it would bring to the merchants). There was a

running controversy over the use of the Maine woods by Elisha Cooke,

Jr., with the surveyor-general of the colony making incessant accusa­

tions a^inst Cooke.^ Cooke himself was an inheritor of the popular, anti-British cause from his father, was continually embroiled in quar­

rels with the governor (witness the Speaker question), and seized this 66 issue in particular to join it with the cry for English rights. In'

this case, he and his associates had purchased hundreds of acres in

Maine and offered them for sale, with the understanding that they would fix the local courts against conviction of poachers on the King’s Woods.

Cooke claimed the timber belonged to Massachusetts, aud in the course

of the argument he obtained popular support for his position by merg- 67 ing it with ’’patriotic” opposition to the royal prerogative.

The House even attempted to gain an entrance into the management

of the Indian Wars, most notably by their repeated calls for the inves- 68 tigation of the activities of Samuel 24oody and one Colonel Walton;

they further proposed a House committee of eleven to discuss war af~ 69 fairs. All this,, of course, was strictly illegal according to both

the Charter and the designs of the imperial government; the governor was, after all, primarily a military officer. Shute’s Memorial perhaps

summarizes the grievances of the imperial side best. He complained of

the continual encroachments on the governor’s power and violation of the

King’s prerogative and accused the House of seeking to assume functions

65. Ibid.. 148-9, 219-225. 6 6 . Cooke, Vindication. Passim. 6 7 . Clifford K. Shipton, Sibley's Harvard Graduates (Cambridge, Mass., 1933), IV, 352. ~ ~ ~ ~ 6 8 . Journals. IV, 94,99. 69- Ibid-. 1 3 2, 1 3 6. not given to them by the Charter. Hie problem was, though, that the

House saw the governors corruptly attempting to upset the constitutional balance intended by the Charter and inherent in both their English and

American pasts, thus bringing about a disastrous and total destruction of English liberties.

Another situation helping to create a split between court and coun­ try was that concerning the bills of credit. Inflationist policies had necessarily resulted from the L40,000 debt of the Quebec expedition, 71 and after 1715, the problem became particularly acute. Continual ex­ portation of specie expanded the serious financial problem, and as a 72 result, counterfeiting and forgery were serious additional problems.

There were abortive attempts to set up banks both in 1714 and 1720, and particularly beginning with Shute, the governors took constant care to 73 warn of the "swarm of evils" accompanying paper money. By 1 7 3 8» the

House had set up a special joint committee to prepare a draft asking

George II to withdraw a notice forbidding the issuance of bills of credit, 74 they were well aware of the difficulties of correcting the confused state into which public finances had fallen, and v/ere almost able to convince even Belcher of the dire need to continue emissions of the bills.^ The governor recanted his initial promise, however, and the House’s answer noted the great difficulties the province would be subjected to if the bill were not p a s s e d . 7^ In past years taxes

70. J ournals. V, xii. 71. Cole, Rise of Legislative Assembly, 180. 72. Acts and Resolves. I, 723,741 73- J ournals. II, 4, 359; XIII, 106. 74. J ournals . XVI, 7 1. 75. Journals. XVI, 223- 76. Journals. XVII, 213. had been paid for wholly in bills of credit, and the House asserted

that disaster would result if the bills were to be recalled by 1741

(as a- Parliamentary order stipulated) and nothing substituted for

them. 77 So significant was the financial situation in general that

Cotton Mather himself had gotten involved in 1705* publishing a pam- 78 phlet on the just rules of commerce. Another popular polemic, one

of the vast number spawned by the money and bank question, 79 was one

instructing the populace of the way to keep out of debt, in three ser- Oa mons. In 1721, Benjamin G-ray noted that the scarcity of money vns the great source of all miseries and calamities, and that it was impossible

to carry on any trade without a proper medium. 81 Without money, there 82 could be no justice in Hew England; even in 1720, the medium of ex- 83 change in Boston was completely exhausted. The divisions and factions 84 among the people were attributed to the want of a medium, and even for the clergy, money became 11 the sinews of trade.^ -he banks of 1714 and 1720 had been serious attempts at solving the problem, and another

try was made through a private bank in 1740. More important than these

attempts themselves, however, is the interesting divisions among the populace they reveal. It may be noted, first of all, that there was no

77. Ibid.. 218 78. Cotton Mather, Hex Mercatoria. Or. The Just Rules of Commerce Declared.... (Boston, 1705). 79* see Andrew Davis, Ed., Colonial Currency Reprints. 4 vols. (Boston, 1911)• 80. Samuel Moody, The Debtor1s Monitor...(Boston. 1715). 81. Benjamin Gray, A Letter to an Eminent Cler^cy-man... (Boston, 1721), 7. ~ 82. A Memorial of the Present Deplorable State of Hew England (Boston, 1707), 43. 8 3 . John Colman, The Distressed State of Boston...(Boston, 1720) in Andrew Davis ed., Colonial Currency Reprints (Boston, 1911)» I* 398. 84. More Hews Erom Robinson Crusoe1s Island.«.(Boston. 1720. ibid.. II, 112. 85. John Wise, A Word of Comfort.... (Boston. 1720), ibid. , 176. debtor conflict along class lines involved, as many, wealthy persons sup­ ported the establishment of the banks. The chief early proponents of the land bank, in fact, were all businessmen, politicians, and professionals 86 residing in Boston. In 1720, strong efforts were made to attract the

O n support of the farmers, and by 1740, a vast base of popular support had emerged. It may be noted that John Colman, co-promoter of the 1740 88 scheme, was an earlier associate of Cooke and the Caucus. Land specu­ lation, furthermore* had encouraged the politicians in their efforts, as well as providing further incentive for some of the smaller landowners

(Massachusetts had changed her land policy in the thirties to encourage both speculators and settlers in order to strengthen her border claims 89 in conflicts with Hew Hampshire. Opposed to the establishment of a land bank, however, and indeed they went so far as to propose their own Q silver bank, were many of the wealthier merchants of the colony." 0 At the same time, they happened to be on the side of the governor in this issue as he too, prodded by royal instructions, opposed the establish­ ment of the bank.''d Thus the conceptual division between court and coun­ try appeared to be very much of a reality to the colonists; it took all of the political skills of Shirley to calm the populace when the bank Q2 was finally suppressed permanently."

| | 1 » I M .rt 8 6 . Billias. Mass. Land Bankers. 4. 87. Ibid., 5* 8 8 . Warden, 11 Caucus and Democracy," 89. Ibid., 7- 90. Ibid.. 10. 91. Ibid., 8 f f . 92. I M d . , 37 ff.; Murrin, 2 6 8, 271 CHAPTER IV

INTELLECTUAL CURRENTS

That the people of Massachusetts had become internally united in various ways is evident in more than one area, and the intellectual currents sweeping Puritan thought contributed substantially to this unity. Again, we should remember the emphasis of the "country" ide­

ology on the unity and capabilities of the people. We have already

witnessed a coalescing of the Assembly against what was seen as an en­ croaching executive power, through a long and bitter series of struggles

with the governor. Puritan ministers still held a great deal of in­ fluence over the colonists, however, and religion still occupied a

significant part of the colonists1 lives, both in terms of influence and as a reflection of developing trends. Changes in the Puritan con­

cept of the ruler, in the role of society and the government, in the view of human nature, and in the nature of religion itself are all

significant in their contributions to the development of political

thought in the period. Inevitably, the people, of Massachusetts gradu­ ally became more concerned with the problems of the secular world; in a sense, Puritanism had succeeded too well and the colony* despite the difficulties of finance, had become relatively prosperous. Combined with the intellectual currents of the early Enlightenment period, this factor forms an explanatory backdrop for the changes mentioned above.

A few words should be said, first, on the nature of seventeenth

century Puritan society. Recent research has indicated that the church

33 as a unifying force began dissolving relatively early in the seventeenth

century, and that in fact, it had often had a minor role even in the

early stages of development.**' Yet recent work has also shown that there

was indeed a strong element of cohesion within the towns, that there

really was a sense of communal "I1 esprit" which pervaded local transac- 2 tions. Thus the people, if one follows this thesis, had always been

united to some extent, at least on a local level. It has also been

shown conclusively that the towns were very closely attached to their

representatives, and that the latter were under a compelling necessity 3 td pay close heed to the instructions they were given. We must not

forget, too, that the federal covenant theology m s part of the change 4 of social relationships from status to contract. Any ruler imposed

from the outside v/as thus likely to face a formidable opponent dedi­

cated to preserving a cherished heritage.

Drawing heavily from a common English background, Puritan thought

had brought into renewed emphasis the concept of the ruler as the ser­

vant of the people; it was part of his "calling" to care for the needs 5 of his state and to see true religion established and protected, two

desires practically inseparable during the early years of Massachusetts.

Church and state had always been separate, though, and the ruler had

always been the guardian, and not, the actual propagator, of the true

1. Darrett Rutman, Winthrojpts Boston.... (Chapel Hill, 1965),

2. Sumner C. Powell, Puritan Village...(Middletown, Conn., 1 9 6 3.) m s s l m . 3- Cole grove, "New England T o m Mandates," The Col. Soc. of Mass., Publi.. XYI (1 9 1 9), 4ll- 4. Perry Miller, The New England Mind: The Seventeenth Century. 399. 5. Edmund S. Morgan, ed. , Puritan Political Ideas (New York, 1965). xxxi. religion. In a sense, then, as secularization overtook "both Puritan society and religion, it was practically inevitable that the secular aspects of the duties of the Puritan ruler should become more and more important. Timothy Breen asserts that after 1689, the good ruler was first and foremost a defender of civil rights, and secondarily of the

Congregational faith - a statement a bit exaggerated, perhaps, but certainly not beyond the point of usefulness. All we need to do is bear in mind the thought of John Wise, who throughout his life pic- tured the ideal ruler as primarily a defender of civil rights. 7 For here again society was roughly divided between court and country; in the Andros regime, Gershom Bulkeley had shown himself to be an arch- conservative, 8 and Breen asserts that this trend continued throughout the period, with a number of ministers remaining faithful to the gov- 9 ernor. The 3rattie Street group, for all of their liberal religious doctrines, certainly qualify for this label, as does Solomon Stoddard.

As one writer has noted, "Colman was a Tory in his sympathetic atti- tude toward English intrusions into provincial life." 10 Cotton Mather, as in so many other things, is something of a transitional figure here, preaching submissive obedience to rulers while at the same time stress- ing English liberties and quarreling with Dudley. 1 1 Certain standards

6 . Timothy H. Breen, The Character of the Good Euler: A Study of Puritan Political ideas in New England, 1630-1730 (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Yale University, 1968), abstract in Dissertation Abstracts, XXIX (May, 1969), 39^1-A. 7. see Wise's works, T>assim; also, Perry Miller, The ITew England Mind: From Colony to Province (Boston, 1961), 288-302. 8 . Gershorn Bulkeley, Will and Doom.. ., in the Connecticut Histor­ ical Society, Collections. Ill (1895), 79-269- 9. Breen, 39^1-A. 10. Bertrand M. Wainger, Liberal Currents in Provincial Massachu­ setts, 1692-1766. (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Cornell University, 193*0 , 116. 11. Cotton Mather, The Present State .of New England... (Boston, for rulers remained constant, of course, throughout the period - the

"beauty of their order," their "wisdom of conduct," their "unity of council," and their "strength of courage and resolution." 12 In the sev­ enteenth century, the characteristic view was that "the sword of civil power is put into their hands hy divine appointment.The belief remained, but the purposes of the divine appointment were to undergo drastic revisions.

Perhaps a hint of what was to come was suggested by Cotton Mather in his The Serviceable Man. ?or Mather, "the God of Heaven has Good

Thoughts for those Men, whose Good Works render them Serviceable to His

People." This was written not long after the Andros experience, and not long after the attainment of a charter which was seen to guarantee the colonists their English rights forever. It is not too difficult to guess as to what those "Good Works" may be applied to. Civil rulers were still "Gods Viceregents here upon Earth...,"^ but the prime con­ cern of rulers has become the happiness of the people, and as early as

169^ this included the people’s enjoying "their liberties and Eights without molestation or oppression...."^ The rulers' duties as stew­ ards of God and consultants of Scripture remained, but the groundwork upon which these duties stood was shifting dramatically. Above all, civil privileges and a good government were now the greatest benefits

12. William Hubbard, The Harrplness of a People .in the Wisdome of Their Rulers... (Boston, 1676), 7. 13* Michael Wigglesworth, Massachusetts Election Sermon (Boston. 1686), 27. 14. Cotton Mather, The Serviceable Man (Boston, l690)» 7- 15* Samuel Willard, The Character of j* Good Ruler... (Boston, 1690), 15. 16. Ibid.. 16. to a people. In the writings of Jeremiah Wise, the three tradition­ al tasks of a ruler have reversed themselves astonishingly, rulers must now promote the people's good first of all by securing for them their liberties and privileges, second by making good laws, and third and last by encouraging virtues, supporting ministers, and suppressing 18 vice. The trusts which Thomas Prince places in the hands of the rul­ ers are "our present Privileges...as well as the Royal Prerogative 19 •..." The ultimate glory of all administrators became now not the greater glory of God, but rather the peace, wealth, strength, and honor 20 of their people. The strength of a people now lay in their outward wealth and prosperity, and it became the prime duty of these rulers to promote this wealth and prosperity.

At the same time, there was a great awareness of the encroaching power of the ruler. Ebenezer Pemberton could quote Paschal to stress the awareness the ruler must have of his own frailty and susceptibility to power. 21 As John Bulkeley noted, "God has not Subjected the lives,

& Liberty's [%i b ] of the Ruled, to the Arbitrary Will and Pleasure of

Rulers." 22 The weaknesses of men in power had to be continually kept in mind; in William Cooper's opinion, "They are but Men; of the same

Make and Constitution with Others, of like Passions and Appetites, under

17. Peter Thacher, Wise and Good Civil Rulers... (Boston, 1726, 22. 18. Jeremiah Wise. Rulers the Ministers of God... (Boston, 1729), 2*f. ~ 19« Thomas Prince, Civil Rulers Raised up bv God to feed his people... (Boston, 1723), 2 2. 20. John Woodward, Civil Rulers are God's Ministers.•. (Boston, 1712), 6. 21. Ebenezer Pemberton, The Divine Original and Djgnity of Gov­ ernment Asserted... (Boston, 1710), 1-2• 22. John Bulkeley, The Necessity of Religion in Societies... (Boston, 1713), 27. all the Weaknesses and Corruptions of human Nature since the Fall, and

"beset v/ith the like and with some peculiar temptations. We should not

therefore place an undue confidence in them, now expect too much from 23 them” We have already seen the reactions to the Andros government,

and the newspapers of the day were prolific in their warnings of usur­

pation of arbitrary power by the governors and rulers of society in 24 general. More immediately, the ruler of Massachusetts was now an out­

sider who was attempting to extend his powers beyond the realm of almost

anything the people had ever known; even the arbitrary John Winthrop

had paid more heed to their warnings. Their reaction was one typically

represented by the mind of the seventeenth century Commonwealthman and 25 the authors of Cato1 s Letters. - the important thing for the people! Wwas c

now to be !,a mortal enemy to arbitrary government & unlimited Power. t|2 6

The ruler, in turn, had to be reminded constantly of his responsibility

to the people, of his duty not to go too far in the use of the prero^.- 7 tive. 2'

Another important change in Puritan thought involved the goals and

ends of society and government. Society had always been seen, of course,

as a necessary evil resulting from the Fall, and as such its general

purpose had largely been negative, except for the all-important ultimate 28 end of the worship and glory of God. We have already seen, however,

how the ruler had come to be looked upon as an instrument of peace and

23« William Cooper, The Honours of Christ Demanded of the Magis­ trate. .. (Boston, 1740), 9- 24. For example, New England Courant (Boston, Mass.), April 9-16, 1722, p.1 col.2: April 30-May 7. 1722, p. 1 col.l. 25* Robbins, Seventeenth Century Commonweal thman. pass iro. ltCatols Letters, 11 in Jacobson, ed., -passim. 26. New England Courant. April 9-16, 1722, p. 1 col.2. 27. Prince, Civil Rulers. 22. 28. Morgan, ed., Puritan Political Ideas. xx-xxi, xxxv. material prosperity, and it necessarily follows that the purpose of so­ ciety should undergo a similar change. As early as 1676 we "begin to see a change of emphasis in the works of William Hubbard, Tsfoo saw the end of all societies as peace and prosperity, with the people the foundation and most important part of the state. Here we see something of the court vs. country split, for many ministers, such as Ebenezer Pemberton, con- 30 tinued to see the ruler as the foundation of the state. For Samuel

Willard, the ordinance of Civil government* became an article of the law of Nature, and society acquired a tint of goodness, as Willard asserts that a natural obedience to superiors would have been present even be­ fore the Fall. The importance of government is borne out by the anarchy resulting from the 1 689 revolution: the role of the state is both to cure such disorder ”and to promote the civil peace and prosperity of such a people, as well as to suppress impiety, and nourish Religion.” 31 Ben­ jamin Colman was even more specific: ”GOVERNMENT is ordained for the good of Mankind, She People are not made for the Prince, to make him

Great: so much as the Prince for his People, to do them Good and make

them Harrpy: Hhat under his wise and just Administration his Dominions may enjoy Tranquillity and Peace, their due Rights and Liberties, both as men and Christians; Uhat Vertue and Religion, Learning and Arts, 32 Trade and the Kingdom grow Wise and Rich, Potent and Renowned....”

This certainly represents a distinctly different version, at least theo­ retically, from the original city upon a hill. Perhaps society had be­ gun to change much earlier or had even been essentially secular from

29. Hubbard, Haminess of a People. 18, 26. 30. Pemberton, Divine Original. 2^. 31. Willard, The Character of a. Good Ruler. 2-3. 32. Benjamin Colman, A Sermon... (Boston, 1716), 2 3. the beginning, but what can be regarded as a somewhat normal lag in thought patterns had prevented its open expression until now. For John

Hancock, Puritan minister, the end of all rule and government was the advantage of those under the authority of the ruler, and the public in­

terests of the country were far too precious to be put into the hands of unskilled or unfaithful men. J For Reverend John Woodward, the flourishing of civil interests took precedence over that of sacred in­ terests; the ruler must make every subject ‘'securely sitting under his

Vine & Fig-tree, in the free and undisturbed Injoyment /sicJ of all things contributing to the Comfort of this Life or a better... and vhen it is otherwise, the work of God they are ingaged ^sig j in, is left 3/j, undone and the End of their Office not answered.”-"^ A people’s pros­ perity, and not their holiness, depended on whether or not a ruler was

^good,or bad. 35 Society, furthermore, was now the natural result of 36 reason; there had even been a government among the angels. Perhaps

the sum result of all these trends is best expressed in the words of

John Wise, again the best example of secular, ’’liberal” trends; ’’the end of all good Government is to cultivate Humanity, and Promote the happiness of all...."-^ Once again, then, the situation in Massachu­ setts coincided astonishingly with that predicted by the English oppo­ sition press; the concern of Harrington was for the landed wealth and

33. John Hancock, Balers Should Be Benefactors... (Boston, 1 7 2), 2 3 , 28. 34. Woodward, Civil Rulers. 6 . 35* Ebenezer Gay, The Duty.of a Pep-ole... (Boston, 1730), 11. 3 6 . John Barnard, The Throne Established by Righteousness... (Boston, 173*0. 9» 37- John Wise, A Vindication of the Government of New England Churches... (Boston, 1717)» ed. Perry Miller, (Gainesville, Fla., 1966), 61. prosperity of the people as a whole, and this was exactly what was be­

coming the constant preoccupation of Massachusetts. If the ruler should

fail, then, the reaction would necessarily be a violent one.

The Puritan estimate of human nature was likewise becoming drasti­

cally revised. Much work has already been done in this area, of course,' but it would benefit our study to review the situation in a new li^it.

The first signs of this transition were hinted at in the preaching of

William Hubbard, for whom the people were the foundation and the most

important part of society. 7 Earlier Puritan thou^it had stressed

the negative aspect of human nature, a trend to be revived in the work

of Jonathan Edwards. During our period, however, the currents of the

Enli^itenment appear to be dominant. As society became more and more

geared to the temporal happiness and well-being of the people, these

same people began to be regarded in a more rational, secular manner;

the feeling was growing that they were indeed capable of participating

in their own actual government. Perhaps the concrete practices of the

town meeting made this change inevitable, but it was only now that

Puritan thinking began to catch up with reality. Samuel Willard made

the first ground-breaking statement in 16S&; f,Man is a Reasonable

Creature, and of the same order of being with them that Govern him, 40 and ought to be managed accordingly.” Here, perhaps, the ruler and

the people are becoming more and more equalized. Jeremiah Dummer, as

early as 1 7C&, could assert that men know the essential difference be-

3 8 . see in particular Morgan, ed., Puritan Political Ideas, and Perry Miller, Hew England Mind: From Colony to Province. 39* William Hubbard, Happiness of a People. 26. **0. Willard, Character of a, G-ood Ruler. 7* tween, good and. evil "by nature; no longer was the help of God in the

conversion experience necessary: “there is a law in every mans "breast, which dictates to him his moral duty.” 42 John Rogers held that "God has put a certain law into the Creatures, which we call the Law of Mature, 43 in the due observance of which they attain their End, and Glorify God.”

The end is still conventional, and the law, of course, had been effaced by the Fall, but Rogers nevertheless asserts that the hearts of men are

naturally inclined to obedience, thou^i as of yet, God alone can change

them completely. Benjamin Colman emphasized God's dealings with men as rational creatures, and further held that "RIGHT reason is a Divine

law to Man: the Law of GOD to us. It is the eternal and immutable rule

of truth, goodness, and righteousness.... It is the law and light of

Mature: the Law that Angels act by, the Rule of all GOD's perfect Acts Z4.5 and Works." The moral force of natural reason, of course, cannot discover all or cause repentance, but the process is obviously slowly

revolving to that point. A^ia, the emphasis is on man and his capa- bilities. Men are rational free agents; 46 God has always treated man as a creature "capable of understanding his own Duty," ( and God in- structs man in mysteries which only rational beings can understand. 48

41. Jeremiah Dummer, A Discourse on the Holiness of the Sabbath Day... (Boston, 1704), 20. 42. Ibid.. 21. 4 3 . John Rogers, A Sermon Preached Before His Excellency... (Boston, 1706), 16. 44. Ibid.. 17, 19, 20. 45* Benjamin Colman, God Deals with Us as Rational Creatures.. • (Boston, 1723), 8. 46. Charles Chauncey, The Only Compulsion Proper... (Boston, 1739), 1 0. 4 7 . Experience Mayhew, A Discourse Shewing that God Dealeth with Men as with Reasonable Creatures... (Boston, 1720), 2. 48. Ibid., 4. M(K)D considereth Men as Reasonable Creatures, and therefore affordeth them sufficient Means for the Ends He obligeth them to pursue and prosecute.All of these things, of course, had been implicit in the slow evolution of Puritanism throughout the seventeenth century, but they are just now creeping into doctrinal respectability. In essence, human nature has become ennobled with excellent powers. ^

Concurrent with this emphasis on man as a rational and reasonable creature is the growing emphasis on the same type of religion. The

Brattle Street Church was a direct outgrowth of this movement, empha- % sizing a simple and rational piety. We need not go into very much detail on their beliefs here; we have already seen much in the grow­ ing emphasis on man as a rational creature, and it would suffice to say that this quality of reason extended throughout their religious thinking. The Church was intended to be as inclusive as possible, and the only requirement for Communion was visible sanctity.Solomon

Stoddard follows somewhat in the same line of thinking, though with many glaring differences. Autocratic and pro-court in his leanings,

Stoddard nevertheless represents an excellent example of adaptation to the American environment and experience. He saw that the church had lost the political support that it had once thrived upon, that toleration was becoming more and more a fact of life, and that it was thus necessary to broaden the membership of the church as much as pos­ sible. He saw the sacrament as a means of conversion, and for him too 52 visible sanctity was the sole requirement. At the same time, how-

49. Ibid., 13. 50. New England Courant (Boston, Mass.), Feb. 19-26, 1722, p.l col.l. 51. Brattle Street Church, A Manifesto... (Boston, 1699), 2. 52. Perry Miller, The New England Mind: From Colony to Prov­ ince (Boston, 1 9 6 1), 1 6 0. ever, Stoddard was anti-intellectual and preached a cataclysmic conver- 53 sion as opposed to the gradualness of Colman. It remains his singular achievement, though, to argue that Americans were not inferior to their 54 progeni tors.

Cotton Mather represents another aspect of this trend, most obvi­ ously in his increasingly heavy emphasis upon action and good works.

Mather set himself the task of establishing a sect of men whose sole 55 purpose would be to do' good upon earth; personal piety became his guideline, and the conversion experience was drifting more and more into the background. Ejaculatory prayers should be ”darted up to

Heaven” all day long;-^ as early as 1692 he was calling to the citi­ zens to wake up and be continually on the watch, for the Philistines were upon them and it was a time of Reformation. 57 The Andros experi­ ence had spurred the Mathers into a defensive grappling with environ­ mental dangers, a protection of English liberties being the object of all their activity. Cotton was, in fact, more reflective of popular feeling than has generally been assumed, as his attitude is best sum­ marized by his eternal enemy and popular counterpart, the Hew England

Courant: ”He is the Honourable Man who is Influenced and Acted by a

Publick Spirit, and fir*d with a Generous Love to Mankind in the worst of Times; who lays aside his private Views, and foregoes his own Inter- est, when it comes in competition with the Publick.” 58 The active, un­ selfish citizen has become a hallmark of the religious experience.

53- Ibid.. 282. 5^* Ibid.. 285. 55* Cotton Mather, Essays to do Good... (Boston, 1710), viii. 56. Cotton Mather, A Christian at His Calling... (Boston, 1701), 27« 57- Cotton Mather, A Midnight Cry... (Boston, 1692), 22, 46, 62-64. 58. Hev England Courant (Boston. Mass.), March 26- April 2, 1722, p.l col.2. John Wise based his religious beliefs upon Whig principles as well,

a stand conditioned largely by his own experiences and by the effect of

the American situation on his thinking. Wise was a religious conserva­

tive who defended the old Congregational system against the encroaching 59 Fresbyterianism of the Proposals of 1705» but he defended it largely upon grounds of right reason and natural light. His political activi­

ties were also significant; as a minister in rural Ipswich, Wise was closely connected with his f armer-communicants and was even renowned far and wide for his wrestling abilities.^ He had been involved in the tax incident under Andros and was arrested and temporarily deprived of his 62 ministerial duties. The impact of this experience upon his thinking

is notable, as his writings show a distinct preference for compact government and an obvious dislike of arbitrary power. Despite his 64 preference for a mixed government, we find him stressing the demo­ cratic side of the structure^ in order to shield the people and the constitution with its English liberties from an encroaching executive.

Perhaps his temperament was deeply affected by his religious views, stressing as they did the inherently democratic principles of Congrega­

tional theory. In church affairs he hearkened back to the simplicity of the ancient churches and stressed the role of reason, 6)6% a platform

remarkably similar, though still basically Puritan in its democratic and doctrinal emphasis, to the Brattle Street Church. Yet the Wise who de­

59- Wainger, Liberal Currents. 60. Wise, Churches Quarrel. 47-48. 61. Miller, Prom Colony to Province. 293* 62. Ibid.. 156. 63* Wise, Churches Quarrel. 118-120.

64. Wise,* Vindication, ,i <1 —1 pappi — 11111 > 1 ■n'W 9 50-51* 65* Wise, Churches Quarrel and Vindication, -passim. 6 6 . Wise, Churches Quarrel, passim. fended English liberties inst the dangers of Popish and Anglican 67 plots remains the most remarkable; he was touched by a growing con­ cern for the material well-being of the people, illustrated by his activity in the land Bank arguments of 1720. 68 As Alan Heimert has 69 noted, he had something of the populist in him. He proposed settling

the wilderness and increasing the manufactures and variety of products; his concern was for the good of the people and their homeland.'70

In effect, then, there was a general and widespread attempt to adapt pious political premises to empirical and impious facts. In place of seventeenth century authority, a regime had come to be estab­ lished upon Whig principles;^ both reason and fear for civil liber­ ties were the motivating forces. The attempt was to equate piety with civil liberties, and religion was forced to jump on the bandwagon for several reasons; the defense of English liberties had become impera­ tive, and the Cooke party, in their political dealings and squabbles, had captured the watchword most important to the people - ’’happiness.”'72

A secularized heaven m s now the end result of a combative stance against

encroaching powers. As Dummer’s Defence indicates, the colony had been

transformed from a religious outpost to an economic and financial asset to the empire and a vigilant guardian of English ri^its.73

^7• Ibid.. 122—3 & passim. 6 8 . Wise, .A Wprd of Comfort. passim. 69» Alan Heimert, Religion and the American Mind Prom the Great Avakening to the Revolution (Cambridge, Mass., 1966), 19* 70. Miller, From Colony to Province. 329. 71- Ibid*. 381-382. 72. Ibid.. 3 7 9 . 73* Jeremiah Dummer, A Defense of the Hew England Charters (Bos' ton, 1 7 2), 1 oassim. CHAPTER V

THE PLOT

We have seen, then, how a great many aspects of the ncountry" ide­

ology were in effectual operation in Massachusetts. The financial

straggles of the Hoase with the governor illustrate a way of defensive

thinking characteristic of almost a sustained paranoia hut one with a strong hase in the seventeenth century experiences of the colony. At

the same time, concepts of society and government were changing, secu­ larizing a consolidated people and thereby strengthening their demands for protection of their constitution and rights. One final point, how­ ever, serves to consolidate the entire structure of events into a cohe­

sive whole remarkably similar to that predicated by the country ideol­ ogy: the dread of a world-wide plot against the English constitution and the liberties it safeguarded.

A considerable part of this fear was directed to political and' moral corruption apparently undermining the English character. In an

earlier section, we discussed the ideas of the English Libertarians on

this subject; more important, though, was the promulgation of similar

views by the colonists themselves. The general fear of political cor­ ruption has been obvious throughout this investigation; it further in­ cludes the spectre of bribes to representatives and others,^ a danger

1. Cotton Mather (Philopolites), A Memorial of the Present Deplor­ able State of New England (Boston, 170?7 , 118. Boston Evening Post (Massachusetts). April 30, 1739, p-1, cols. 1&2. perhaps best illustrated by Dudley* s involvements and the increasing patronage available to the governors. Ag^in as we have previously noted,

these conditions contributed significantly to the increasing split be­

tween court and country. Moral degeneration was emphasized as well. The

Weekly-Journal stressed the vices corrupting England - horse racing, gam- 2 ing, musick, taverns, and sensuality. The typical New England jeremi­ ads dealt severely with such pastimes; the newspapers were constantly

reminding their readers of the dangers of' pride and the virtues of humil­

ity,-^ and the Dogood letters make the most sense when seen in this light 4 Drunkenness was of particular concern, Boston after all being a seaport.

The Evening-Post even received a letter asking for the reprinting of an act of 1651 a^inst extravagance of apparel.-^ The Weekly Rehearsal

lamented the passing away of the simple and frugal way of life in Hol­ land.^ One feels that, there is more to these fears than the normal

Puritan jeremiad, particularly when such an anti-Puritan paper as the

Courant was in the vanguard of the warnings.

The most important consolidating issue, though, was the near-par­ anoiac reaction to which the colonists were susceptible when confronted with a threat to their English liberties; more specifically, the fear

of a Popish plot a^inst English Protestantism and liberty. This fear was a constant one in later English history, particularly in the years prior to the sailing of the Armada; in Elizabeth*s reign the fears were

2* New England Weekly Journal (Boston, Mass.), Dec. 10, 1733, P«l, col.1. 3 . for example, New England Oourant (Boston, Mass.), June 4-11, p.l col.l; July 26, 1722, 1,1; Peb. 1-8, 1725, 1,1. 4. all newspapers, passim. 5. Boston Evening Post ""(Mass .). Jan. 20, 1737, p.l, col.l. The Y/eekly Rehearsal (Boston, Mass.), Jan. 7, 1734, p.l, col.l. further borne out by the constant activities of Mary Queen of Scots.

In essence, French activity in Scotland, the Spanish Armada, and Papal backing of the Spanish efforts produced a very cautious attitude in the

British Isles. The temerity was further intensified by the French in­

trigues of James II and the culminating phenomenon of the original Pop­

ish Plot in England, a supposed Jesuit intrigue to wreak havoc upon the

country. Thus the world view was one of tremendous importance in the

colonial temperament; by the early eighteenth century, the colonists

were beginning to think that the onslaught had grown to a universal

battle of imminent importance. The reign of James II had been an evil

omen; the works of Guicciardini and -Machiavelli, pointing out as they

did the demise of the Republican virtues of Florence, were popular works •7 in Massachusetts. Even the autocratic government of Turkey did not

escape notice, and the decline of liberty in Poland, Denmark, and Hol- • R land was lamented. Perhaps this concern with the world situation

explains the tremendous concern of the colonial newspapers with foreign

news; the News-Letter, after all, was founded in 1?04, and the others in

the teens, twenties, and thirties. Perhaps it was not merely curiosity,

but interest in a battle for life and death. It was feared that the

Andros government was sent to establish a French government - after all,

he raised money arbitrarily, prohibited town meetings, and engaged in

taxation without representation, all attributes of the dreaded Popish

French. We have also seen that Andros himself was accused of Popery

and of being in league with both the French and the Indians. Thus both

7* T. G. Wright, Literary Culture in Early New England, 1620 -1 7 3 0 (New Haven, 1920), 273 , 28l7 — ---- 8. Bailyn Origins. 12; Evening Post. July 4, 1737, P-3, col.l; Hchears.nl, Jan. 7 , 173^, p.l, col.l; Wright, 187-8. 9. Revolution Justified. 7, 1 2, 2 9, 3 5 . 50 Puritan worship and English civil liberties were being threatened at

the same time, and the fears of Massachusetts were therefore consider­

ably stronger; once a ^ i n we see religious and civil causes being welded

together. The main accomplishment of the Prince of Orange was "his

Glorious Enterprise of Rescuing the Church of God from the Bloody

Altar. he was now the "Phenix: of this Age...." **■•*■ Great Britain,

in the eyes of Cotton Mather, had miraculously escaped from becoming

slaves of the French empire, 12 and God had delivered the English nation

"from the Spiritual Mischiefs of popery.

Adding to these beliefs were the continual ravagings of the French and Indians on the northern frontier; the colonists were consistently

eager to raise troops for Canadian invasions, though undoubtedly the

desire for plunder did play a role. The point which Cotton Mather found most to praise in Governor Shute were his years in the armies which fought "rescuing the Liberties of Europe and of mankind...."Alb A favor­

ite piece was "Cato's Vision"; in it, a young man dreams of a takeover

of the English nation by a Popish Pretender and the miseries accompany­

ing the change of government.'*'-* There were constant reminders of the

cruelties of Popish rule,^ and any misfortunes in the Protestant Church could be attributed to "the Popish Plots & Arms... . The priestcraft

10. Cotton Mather, The ¥onderf ul V/orks of God Commemorated... (Boston, 1690), 34. 11. Ibid.. 3 6 . 12. Cotton Mather. Things for a Distressed People to ThinkUpon... (Boston, 1696), 6 9 . ~ — ------13. Cotton Mather, A Pillarof Gratitude... (Boston, 1700), 19. Journals. Ill, 175. 3-5• New England Courant (Boston, Mass.), April 26-May 3* 1725t pi, cols. 1&2, p.2, col.l. 16. eg., Boston News Letter (Mass.), March 5-12, 1724, -passim; Jan.9-15» 173^» P»l» cols.l&2. 3-7- Ibid.. March 7-15, P-l> col.l. could only represent tyranny, and under the Popish tyrant James, the only possible recourse of the Protestant dissenters was rebellion.Ihere still existed, indeed, a French design to enslave the whole of Europe with the most dreadful machine of Popery; 19y it was a plot "against human

Nature, against Freedom, and a^inst Season...." 20 We cannot forget the

Anglican service of Andros and the connections with the S.P.O. of Dudley and Shute, vhich added their own particular tinges of conspiracy to the

Massachusetts situation. While governor of the Isle of Wi^it, Dudley had become a communicant of Hie Church of England; in 1701, he was made cor­ respondent of the Society for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge for that province, and later became a member of the S.P.Gr., strongly support­ ing its work. Shute, though a member of a nonconforming family, became 21 a member of the S.P.G-. and pledged himself to support its missionaries.

At the same time, the defense of English liberties and the Consti­ tution against an encroaching power and corruption is equally evident.

One of the earliest defenders of New England*s English rights had been

Cotton Mather in his attacks upon the intrusions of the Andros govern­ ment. Benjamin Colman, despite his pro^Court stand, could also refer to

Cato the Younger and Cicero as lovers of liberty and as patriots; 22 his view of the situation was simple: "Let the Invaluable Privileges which we enjoy by the Royal Favour, and the CHARTER in which, they are granted and secured to us by the best of Princes, be a special Object of your watchful care.Even further, "he that estimates not our Charter Privi-

Ibid.. March 5-12, 1724, p.2, col.l. 19- Ibid.. p.2, col.2. 20* Ibid., p.4, col.l. 21. Reed, Church and State. 164, 169. 2 2. Benjamin Colman, Religious Regards (Boston, 1718), 2 1. 23. Ibid., 37. leges mast “be either very* Ignorant of the Interests of this People, or 2 4 very unfriendly to them. 11 As late as 1741, William Williams was warn ing Belcher that "we conclude that your Excellency has the same just and good Sentiments concerning our CHARTER. ...rf^ 3he charter thus represented to the colonists their specific claim to the ancient rights of Englishmen. It had been so in the seventeenth century, and it was expected to continue. The rights of the House to determine the salary of the governor found their roots in both the Magna Carta and the Char- 0 / o rp ter; the days of Ring Alfred were also a handy reference point.

H. ‘Trevor Colbourn has noted that "there seemed general agreement on

Saxon virtues in the histories Americans most often consulted. 11 Henry

Care’s English Liberties, for example, praised Saxon ancestors for the wisdom of their government, provisions for individual liberties, and precautions against oppression. William Atwood, a contemporary of Care stressed the elective nature and concern for the people of the Anglo-

Saxon king. Algernon Sidney also praised the Saxons as lovers of lib- erty, and Molesworth and Bolingbroke concurred. 28 Ihe inhabitants were defending, then, ancient English traditions crystallized in their own charter. Equally significant is the defense of mixed government, a hallmark of the British constitution. As Cooke noted, the result of the powers the governor would garner in gaining the right to negate the Speaker

24. Ibid., 3 7. 25. William Williams, A Discourse on Saving Paith... (Boston, 1741), 40. 26. Journals. VIII, 318. 27. Hew England Courant (Boston, Mass.), Jan. 28-Peb. 4, 1?23» p .1, col.l. 28. H. Trevor Colbourn, Ihe Lamp of Experience... (Chapel Hill, 1965), 28-31. would "be that the House, as part of the Legislature, would become use­

less - and this, of course, could not have been the intention of the 29 Charter. In the salary controversy, the House insisted that it could

not give up the only thing that gave it wei^it, the grants of monies:

"whereas if we resenble the British Constitution, as Your Excellency has done us the Honour to declare, We humbly apprehend that no other

part of the Legislature should be so independent...."-^ G-overnor Burnet

himself, ironically the son of Whig exile and confidant of William and

Mary, Bishop Barnet,-^ stated the case most aptly in an address to the

Legislature: ”The three distinct Branches of the Legislature, preserved

in a due Ballance, form the Excellency of the British Constitution: If

anyone of these Branches should become less able to support its own dig- 32 nity and Eree&om the Whole must inevitably suffer by the Alteration. 1

The colonists agreed wholeheartedly.

29. Cooke, Vindication. 1 1. 30. Journals. VIII, 279. 31. Maurice Ashley, England in the Seventeenth Century. 3rd ed. (Baltimore, 1961), 177-8. 32. Journals. VIII, 279. CHAPTER 71

CONCLUSION

Ihus a variety of events and social and intellectual transforma­ tions combined to create an environment remarkably similar to that de­ scribed by the English opposition press. According to the Evening Post, seats of power were supposed to be filled by patrons of liberty;1 ac­ cording to the House, this was just not so in Massachusetts, and corrup­ tion, usurpation of power, and constitutional imbalance abounded. At the same time, the lower level of the mixed government was becoming stronger and stronger and was extremely well-prepared to react to the dangers it faced. The dividion between court and country was reasonably realistic, and the fear of a conspiracy against English liberties was strong. Perhaps we can gain a further insi^it into these occurrences from a statement by the Evening Post: "The Nights of the People, (for the sake of securing which all Government was instituted) consist in framing their own Constitution, and chasing their own Governors. When the Constitution is broke throuidi, or dissolved, then the power which was originally derived from the people, reverts to them....1*^ The Post was actually rejecting everything that had happened since 1 6 8 6, and was calling for a return to the idyllic situation of ancient days, which in

Massachusetts was the undisturbed seventeenth century, the pre-Andros

1 * J&stan Eveaias Jfcai (Mass.), March 15, 1736. p.l, col.l. 2. Ibid., March 2 0, 1733, p.l, col.l.

& paradise. $hen John Adams said that the suppression, of the Land Bank by

Parliament in 17^1 caused more controversy than even the Stamp Act,^ he was possibly closer to the truth than we may suspect. This action, in addition to its financial implications, represented the culmination of what was seen as a continuous repression of secular ri^its by the court party in Massachusetts. Only the shrewd moves of William Shirley pre­ vented serious trouble.

3. Billias, Mass. land Bankers. 16. BIBLIOGRAPHY

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The Weekly Rehearsal (Boston, Massachusetts), 1731-1735«

Public Records

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Calendar of State Papers. Colonial Series. America and West Indies. Vaduz: Kraus Reprint Ltd., 1964.

Commission of King James the Second _to Sir Edmund Andros. June 1686. in Peter Porce, comp., Tracts and Other Parers.... Glouces ter, Mass.: Peter Smith, 1963* (c« 1836-1846).

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Toppan, Robert N. (ed.). ’’Dudley Records ," Massachusetts Historical Society, Proceedings. 2nd Ser., XIII (1899), 222-286.

Toppan, Robert N. (ed. ). nAndros Records," American Antiquarian Society, Proceedings. n.s., XIII (1899-1900), 237-268.

Books & Pamphlets

Banister, Thomas. A Letter to the Right Honourable.... Boston: pri­ vately printed, 1 7 1 5.

Barnard, John. The Throne Established by Righteousness.. .. Boston: privately printed, 1734.

Belcher, Samuel. Concio ad Magistratum.... Boston: Printed by Bartholomew Green, 1707*

Brattle Square Church. A Manifesto.... Boston: Printed by B. Green and J. Allen, 1699.

Breck, Robert. The Only Method to Promote the Happiness of <1 People.. Boston: Printed for T. Hancock, 1728.

A Brief Relation of the State of New England.... London: privately printed, 1 6 8 9 .

Bulkeley, Gershom. The People * s Right to Election.... Philadelphia: Printed by Assignes of Win. Bradford, 1689•

■■■*— ■ : Will and Doom.... Connecticut Historical Society, Collections. Ill (1895T7 79-269. Bulkeley, John. Ihe Necessity of Religion in Societies.... Boston: Printed & sold by Timothy Green, 1713-

Byles, Mather. A Poem on the Death of His Late Ma.iesty King George... Boston: privately printed, 1727* — —— . A Poem Presented ,to His Excellency William Burnet.... Boston: privately printed, 1 7 2. 8

. . On the Death of the Queen.... Boston: Printed by J. Draper, for D. Henchman in Cornhill, 1738.-

Care, Henry. English Liberties.... Boston: Printed by J. Eranklin for N. Buttolph, B. Eliot, and D. Henchman, & sold at their shops 1 7 2. 1 Chauncey, Charles. The Only Compulsion Proper... * Boston: Printed by J. Draper for J. Edwards, in Cornhill, 1739.

Checkley, Samuel. The Duty of a People.... Boston: Printed for Benja­ min Gray, 1727-

Clark, Peter. The Captain of the Lord1s Host.... Boston: Printed and sold by S. Knee land and T. Green in Qiueenstreet over against the Prison, 1741.

— — . The Rulers Highest Dignity.... Boston: Printed by S. Eheeland, 1739. Colman, Benjamin. A Brief Enquiry.... Boston: Printed by T. Fleet and T. Crump, for Samuel Gerrish, 1716.

The Character of His Excellency William Burnet..•. Boston: pri­ vately printed, 1 7 2- 9

God Deals With Us as Rational Creatures.... Boston: privately printed, 1 7 2. 3

Government the Pillar of the People.... Boston: Printed for T. Hancock, at,the Bible and Three Crowns near the Town-Bock, 1730.

The Piety and Duty of Rulers. •.. Boston: Printed by B. Green: Sold by BenJ. Eliot, 1708.

The Religious Regards.... Boston: Printed by B. Green, 1718.

Righteousness and Compassion*... Boston: Printed by J. Draper*.. for D, Henchman..., 1736.

A Sermon.... Boston: Printed by T. Fleet and T. Crump; sold by Samuel Gerrish, 1716.

Some Reasons and Arguments.... Boston: Printed by J. Franklin, 1719. Colman, John. The Distressed State of Boston.... Boston: Printed for Nicholas Boone, at the sign of the Bible in Cornhill; Benjamin Gray, and John Edwards, at their shops in King-Street, 1720.

Cooke, Elisha. Mr. Cook1s Just and Seasonable Vindication.... Boston: privately printed, 1 7 2. 0

Reflections Upon Reflections....Boston: privately printed, 1720. Cooper, William. The Honours of Christ Demanded of the Magistrate.... Boston: Printed by J. Draper... for J. Edwards and H. Foster, in Cornhill, 1740. Davis, Andrev/ (ed.). Colonial Currency Reprints. 4 vols. Boston: The Prince Society, 1911-

The Deplorable State of New England.... Boston: privately printed, 1 7 2. 0

Dummer, Jeremiah. A Defense of the New England Charters.... Boston: Reprinted... by S. Kneeland, 1721.

Dummer, Jeremiah. A Discourse on the Holiness of the SabbathDay.... Boston: Printed by B. Green. Sold by BenJ. Eliot, 1704.

1111. Letter to a gentleman on the Assembly fixing the Governor1 s salary.... Boston: privately printed, 1729*

.. ■■. Letter to el Npble Lord.. •. London:privately printed, 1717; Reprinted at Boston, for E. Phillips, 1717*

Gay, Ebenezer. The Duty ojT a People.... Boston: Printed by Thomas Fleet..., 1730.

Gill, Obadiah, and others. Some few remarks upon |i scandalous book.... Boston: Printed by T. Green, sold by Nicholas Boone, 1701.

Gray, Benjamin. A Letter to an Eminent clergy-man..«• Boston: privately printed, 1 7 2. 1

Hancock, John. The Prophet Jeremiah’s Resolutions.... Boston: Printed by S. Kneeland, 1734.

Rulers should be Benefactors.... Boston: Printed by B. Green, 1 7 2. 2

Hubbard, William. The Happiness of a People In the Wisdome of their Rulers.... Boston: Printed by John Foster, 1 6 7 6.

Jacobson, David L. (ed.). The English Libertarian Heritage. New York: The Bobbs-Merrill Co., Inc., 1965*

Lynde, Samuel, and others. A Vindication of the Bank of Credit.. •. Boston: privately printed, 1714.

Mather, Cotton. Advice from the Watch Tower.... Boston: Printed by J. Allen, for N. Boone..., 1713*

——» ■» —. A Christian at His Calling.... Boston: Printed by B. Green & J. Allen, for S. Sewall, 1701. — — . Christian Loyalty.... Boston: Printed and sold by T. Fleet..., 1727. — — . "Diary," Wm. Ford, ed. in Massachusetts Historical Society, Collections. 7th ser., VII-VIII (1911-1912). • Essays to do Good.... Boston: privately printed, 1 7 1 0.

—... . Fair Weather... • Boston: Printed by Bartholomew Green and John Allen for Nicholas Buttolph..., 1694.

— 11 * A Faithful Monitor.... Boston: privately printed, 1704.

Mather, Cotton. A Letter.... Boston: Printed by B. Green, 1719*

. Lex Mercatoria. Or. The Just Rules of Commerce Declared.... Boston: Printed and sold by Timothy Green..., 1705«

1 . Magnalia Christi Americana.... Hartford, Conn.: S. Andrus and son, 1855-

' Manuductio ad Ministerium.... Boston: Printed for Thomas Hancock and sold at his Shop..., 1726.

— - ■ . A Midnight Cry.... Boston: Printed by John Allen, for Sam. Riillips, 1 6 9 2.

— — . Barentator.... Boston: Printed by B. Green, for Nathaniel Belknap...., 1724.

**■’* " JL Pillar of Gratitude.... Boston: Printed by B. Green, & J. Allen, 1 7 0 0.

“ ' ' The Present State of New England.... Boston: Printed by Samuel Green, 1690.

■ . Batio Disciplinae Fratrum.... Boston: Printed for S. Gerrish in Cornhill,- 1 7 2. 6

The Serviceable Man.... Boston: Printed by Samuel Green, for Joseph Browning..., 1690.

—... . Sober Sentiments.... Boston: Printed by T. Fleet..,, 1722.

Successive Generations.. .. Boston: Printed by B. Green: Sold by Samuel Gerrish at his Shop, 1715* • Things for a Distressed People to think upon.... Boston: Printed by B. Green and J. Allen for Duncan Campbel..., ,1 6 9 6 .

. The Wonderful Works of God Commemorated.... Boston: Printed... by S. Green & Sold by Joseph Browning at the corner of the Prison Lane, and BenJ. Harris at the London Coffee-House, 1690.

Mather, Increase. The Declaration of the Gentlemen.... Boston: Printed by Samuel Green and sold by Benjamin Harris at the London Coffee- House, 1689-

■ . The Excellency of a Public Spirit.... Boston: Printed by B. Green & J. Allen for Nicholas Boone..., 1702. --- • A Za^thjer tg.s_tjjn.p,rxy againsA the ^caMalous proceedings of the * New North Church Boston: Printed for B. Gray, and J. Edwards, 1 7 2. 0

Mather, Increase. A Narrative of the Miseries of New England.... Boston Reprinted by Richard Pierce, 1689-

—■■■■ ■. The Order of the Gospel.... Boston: Printed by B. Green, and J. Allen, for B. Eliot, 1'700.

— »»■ The Present State of New England Affairs... . Boston: Printed by Samuel Green, 1689.

Maybev, Experience. 4 . Discourse Shewing that God Dealeth with Men as with Reasonable Creatures.... Boston: Printed by B. Green, for Samuel Gerrish, 1720.

Moody, Samuel. The Debtor* s Monitor.... Boston: Printed by B. Green, for Samuel Gerrish, 1715-

Moss, Joseph. An Election Sermon.... New London, Conn.: Printed & Sold by Timothy Green, 1715-

A Narrative of the Proceedings of Sir Edmund Andros.... Boston: pri­ vately printed, 1691.

Paine,.V' Thomas. sac*A Discourse • HShewing, M W B f w a iM x n e A * ■■that m j a i u . i a the » h p Real First wsaatfift.* ■set*#'* Cause •«»**. of ** the Straits and Djff iculties... is .. . Extravagancy and not Paper Money.... Boston: Printed by J. Franklin for D. Henchman, 1721.

Palmer, John. The Present State of New England. Impartially Considered .... Boston: Printed by Samuel Green, 1689.

Pemberton, Ebenezer. The Divine Original and Dignity of Government Asserted.... Boston: Printed by B. Green, 1710.

— . A Funeral sermon.... Boston: Printed by B. Green for Benja­ min Eliot..., 1707.

Philopile tes. A Memorial of the Present Deplorable State of New Eng­ land. ... Boston: privately printed, n.d.

The Political state of Great Britain.... Boston: privately printed, 1731. Prentice, John. Pure and Undefiled Religion the highest obligation. and truest glory of civil rulers.... Boston: Printed by S. Kneeland... for D. Henchman in Cornhill, 1735-

The Present Melancholy Circumstances of the Province Considered.... Boston: Printed for B. Gray, and J. Edwards..., 1719-

Prince, Thomas. Civil Rulers Raised up by God to feed his people.... Boston: Printed for Samuel Gerrish..., 1728. Prince, Thomas. The People of New-England Put in mind of the Rii°ht- eous Acts of the Lord.... Boston: Printed by B. Green... for D. Henchman in Cornhill, 1730*

— --. A Sermon on the Sorrowful Occasion .of the Death of His Late Ma.iesty.... Boston: Printed for Daniel Henchman..., 1727-

4 Ess.I ection for erecting a Bank of Credit.... Boston: privately printed, 1714.

Question: Are we obliged in this Government of the Massachusetts. Charter, to settle a salary upon the Governor?.... Boston: pri­ vately printed, I7 2 9.

Reflections on the present state of the Province.... Boston: Printed for and sold by Benjamin Eliot & Daniel Henchman..., 1720.

The Revolution in New England Justified.... Boston: Printed for Joseph ' Brunning..., 1691.

Rogers, John. A Sermon Preached before His Excellency.... 3oston: Printed by B. Green: Sold by BenJ. Eliot..., 1706.

Russell, Jonathan. A Plea For the Righteousness of God. ... Boston: Printed by Bartholomew Green, for Benjamin Eliot..., 1704.

Saltonstall, Gurdon. A Sermon Preached Before the General Assistants the Colony of Oonnecticut.... Boston: Printed by B. Green, and J. Allen, for Duncan Campbel..., 1697-

Sevall, Josejh. Nineveh1 s Repentance and Deliverance.. . . Boston: Printed by J. Draper... for D. Henchman in Cornhil, 1740.

—1 «” »'■■. Rulers Must be Just.... Boston: Printed by B. Green, 1724.

Shepard, Jeremiah. GodTs Conduct of His Church.... Boston: Printed by John Allen, for Nicholas Boone..., 1715- * Stoddard, Solomon. The Safety of Appearing.... 2nd ed. Boston: Re- printed for D. Henchman..., 1829.

Thacher, Peter. Wise and Good Civil Rulers.... Boston: privately printed, 1 7 2. 6

Thayer, Ebenezer. Jerusalem Ins trueted and Warned.... Boston: Printed by B. Green, for S. Gerrish, 1725*

Walker, Williston (ed.). Creeds and Platforms of Congregationalism. Boston: The Pilgrim Press, i9 6 0 .

Webb, John. The Government of Christ.... Boston: Printed by J. Draper... for I, Procter..., 1738.

Wigglesworth, Michael. Massachusetts Election Sermon. Boston: pri­ vately printed, 1 6 8 6. Williams, William. A Discourse on Saving Faith.... Boston: Printed and sold by S. Kneeland and T. Green in Queenstreet, and S. Eliot in Cornhill, 17^1.

The Great Concern of Chris tians... jbo Preserve the Doc trine of Christ in its Parity.... Boston: Printed by S. Kneeland, 1723*

Willard, Samuel. The Character of a Good Ruler.... Boston: Printed by Benjamin Harris, for Michael Perry, lo9^.

'.... . The Childfs Portion.... Boston: Printed by Samuel Green... sold by Samuel Phillips..., 168^.

—.■■■. The Doctrine of the Covenant of Redemption.... Boston: Printed by Benjamin Harris, 1693•

Prognostics of Impending Calamities.... Boston: Printed by B. Green, and J. Allen, for Nicholas Boone..., 1701

Wise, Jeremiah. Rulers the Ministers of God for the Good of Their People.... Boston: Printed by T. Fleet... Sold by T. Hancock, 1729.

Wise,, John. The Churches Quarrel Espoused (1713)* ©&• George A. Cook. Gainesville, Fla.: Scholars' Facsimiles & Reprints, 1966.

— A Vindication of the government of Hew-England churches .... ed. Perry Miller. Gainesville, Fla.: Scholars' Facsimiles & Reprints, 1 9 6 6 .

(Amicus Patriae). A Word of Comfort to £ Melancholy Country.. •. Boston: Printed by J. Franklin, 1721.

Woodvard, John. Civil Rulers are God's Ministers. for the People's Good.... Boston: Printed by T. Green, 1712. 64

s e c o n d a r y s o u r c e s

Adams, James T. Provincial Society, 1690-1763* New York: Macmillan, 1927.

1 1 Revolutionary New England. 1691-1776. Boston: Atlantic Monthly Press, 1923,

Ashley, Maurice. England in the Seventeenth Century. Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1961.

Bailyn, Bernard. The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution. Cambridge, Mass.: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1967. "" The New England Merchants in the Seventeenth Century. Cam­ bridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1955-

11 ■11 ■ ■ . The_ Origins of American Politics. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1968.~

1 ". "Political Experience and Enlightenment Ideas in Eighteenth Century America," American Historical Review. LXVTI (Jan., 1962), 339-351. Baldwin, Alice H. The New England Clergy and the American Revolution. Durham, N.G.: Duke University Press, 1928.

Barnes, Viola, The Dominion of New England. New Haven: Yale Univer­ sity Press, 1923.

Billias, George A. The Massachusetts land Bankers of 1740. (University of Maine Studies, 2nd ser. no. 74). Oreno, Maine, 1959«

Boyer, Paul S. "Borrowed Rhetoric: Ihe Massachusetts Excise Contro­ versy of 1754," William and Mary Quarterly. 3rd Ser., XXI (1964), 328-351. Brauer, Jerald C. "Puritan Mysticism and the Development Liberalism” Church History. XIX (1950), 151-170.

Breen, Timothy Hall, ihe Character of the Good Ruler: A Study of Puritan Political Ideas in New England, 1630-1730. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Yale University, 1968. Abstract in Disserta­ tion Abstracts. XXIX (May, 1969)* 3941-A.

Bridenbaugh, Carl. Mitre and Sceptre.... New York: Oxford University Press, 1962. Brown, B. Katherine, "Freemanship in Puritan Massachusetts, 11 American Historical Review. LIX (July, 195*0 , 865-883.

Brown, Robert E. Middle-Glass Democracy and the Revolution in Massa­ chusetts . 1691-1780. Ithaca: Cornall University Press, 1955»

Buel, Richard Jr. “Democracy and the American Revolution: A Frame of Reference,” William and Mary Quarterly. 3rd Ser., XXI (Apr. 196*0 165-190.

Burns, Rev. John F . Controversies Between Royal Governors and their Assemblies in the Horthem American Colonies. Boston: V/right & Potter Printing Co., 1923*

Carpenter, William S. The Development of American Political thought. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1930.

Clarke, Mary P. Parliamentary Privilege in the American Colonies. Hew * Haven: Yale University Press, 19*h3-

Colbourn, H. Trevor. The Lamp of Experience.... Chapel Hill: Univer­ sity of Worth Carolina Press, 1965-

Cole, Martin, The Rise of the Legislative Assembly in Provincial Massachusetts. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Iowa, 1939•

Colgrove, Kenneth. “New England Town Mandates,” The Colonial Society of Massachusetts, Publications. XXI (Transactions, 1919), *KLl-449».

Cook, George Allan. J ohn Wise: Early American Democrat. New York: Columbia University Press, 1952.

Graven, Wesley Frank, Hhe Colonies in Transition. New York: Harper & Row, 1968.

Curti, Merle, The Growth of American Thought. New York: Harper & Brothers, 19*K3« Cushing, Harry A. History of the Transition from Provincial to Commonwealth Government in Massachusetts. • New York: Columbia University, 1896.

Doyle, J. A. English Colonies in America, vols. II & III. New York: Henry Holt & Co., 1889«

Duniway, Clyde A. The Development of Freedom of Press in Massachusetts New York: Longnans, Green & Co., 1906.

Dunn, Richard S. Puri tans and Yankees.... Princeton: Princeton Uni­ versity Press, 1962.

——11 ■. “Seventeenth-Century English Historians in America," in James Morton Smith, ed. Seventeenth Century America. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1959- Gierke, Otto von. — Natural B m i m w i » a a m j tn«u>law wrmmmmmand tmthe aa hiwi Theory m of « « «Society. ______2 vols. trans. Ernest Baker. Cambridge (Eng.): The Univers ity Press, 1950 (c. 193*0•

Gay, Peter. A Loss of Mastery: Puritan Historians in Colonial America. New York: Vintage Books, 1968. (c."T9 6 6 57"

Greene, Evarts 3. Provincial America. 1690-17*^0. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1905.

The Provincial Governor in the English Colonies of North America. New York: Longmans, Green & Co., 1898.

— — — —. Religion and the State.... New York: New York University Press, 19^1.

Greene, Jack P. “Changing Interpretations of Early American Politics,” ( in Ray Allan Billington, ed. The Reinterpre tation of Early Ameri­ can History. San Marino, Calif.: Huntington Library, 1 9 6 6 .

Greene, Jack P. “Political Mimesis: A Consideration of the Histori­ cal and Cultural Roots of Legislative Behavior in the British Colonies in the Eighteenth Century,” American Historical Review. LXXV (Dec., 1969), 337-361.

Greene, Jack P. The Quest for Power: The Lower Houses of Assembly in .the Southern Rova! Colonies, 1689-1776. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1963-

— . "The Role of the Lower Houses of Assembly in Ei^iteenth Century Politics,” Journal of Southern History. XXXVII (Nov., 1961), 451-**7*+. — — —

Gummere, Richard. "John Wise, a Classical Controversialist," Essex Institute Historical Collections. XCII (June, 1956), 265-278.

Hall, Michael G. Edward Randolph and the American Colonies. 1676-1703. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, i9 6 0 .

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Harrington, James, Oceanea. in Ideal Commonwealths (World* s Greatest Literature). New York: P. P. Collier & Son, 1901.

Hart, Albert Bushnell (ed. ) . Commonwealth His tory of Massachusetts... • 5 vols. New York: Tie States History Co., 1927-1930.

Heimert, Alan. Religion and the American Mind from the Great Awakening to the Revolution. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1966. Hutchinson, Thomas. The History of the Colony and Province of Massa­ chusetts Bay. 3 vols. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1936. Jacobson. David L. (ed.). The English Libertarian Heritage. New York: Ihe Botbs-Merrill Co.,“ 0771965.' ' ------

Katz, Stanley. "The Origins of American Constitutional Thou^it," Per­ spectives in American History III (1969)* ^V^-^91.

Kimball, Everett. The Public Life of Joseph Dudley.... New York: Long­ mans, Green & Co., 1911. Kinard, Mar^ret. "John Usher’s Report on the Northern Colonies, 1698," William and Mary Quarterly. 3rd Ser., VII (Jan., 1950), 95-107-

Krieger, Leonard. The Politics of Discretion: Pufendorf and the Acceptance of Natural Law. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1965- Labaree, Leonard W. Conservatism in Early American History. Ithaca - Cornell University Press.

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Leder, Lawrence H. Liberty and Authority: Early American Political Ideology. 1689-1763. Chicago: Quadrangle Books, 1 9 6 8 .

Lewis, Tieodore Burnham, Jr. Massachusetts and the Glorious Revolu­ tion, 1660-1692. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of- Wisconsin, 1 9 6 7* McElroy, Paul S. "John Wise: the Father of American Independence," Essex Institute Historical Collections. LXXXI (July, 19^5)> 201- 226. Miller, John C. "Religion, Finance, and Democracy in Massachusetts," New England Quarterly. VI (March, 1933)» 29-58.

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Ronald Raul Dufour

Born in Lawrence, Massachusetts, October 22, 19^7• Graduated from Central Catholic Hi^School in that city, May, 1965, A.B. Merri­ mack College, 1969- In September, 1969* the author entered the

College of William and Mary as a graduate fellow in the Department of

History.

71