Thomas Hutchinson Quotes (Author of Strictures Upon The Declaration Of The Congress At Philadelphia) (2024)

“Americans were convinced in their own minds that they were very miserable, and those who think so are so. There is nothing so easy as to persuade people that they are badly governed. Take happy and comfortable people and talk to them with the art of the evil one, and they can soon be made discontented with their government, their rulers, with everything around them, and even with themselves.”
― Thomas Hutchinson

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“The persecution of the Episcopalians by the prevailing powers in England was evidently from revenge for the persecution they had suffered themselves, and from political considerations and the prevalence of a party, seeing all other opinions and professions, however absurd, were tolerated, but in New England it must be confessed that bigotry and cruel zeal prevailed, and to that degree that no op[inions but their own could be tolerated. They were sincere but mistaken in their principles and, absurd as it is, it is too evident, they believed it to be for the glory of God to take away the lives of his creatures for maintaining tenets contrary to what they professed themselves. This occasioned complaints against the colony to the parliament and to Cromwell, but without success.[252]”
― Thomas Hutchinson, History of Massachusetts: from the first settlement thereof in 1628, until the year 1750. (Volume 1)

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“One of the Frenchmen who had been entertained at the house knew her, and a boat being manned to invite her aboard, she fled to Governor’s Island and the Frenchmen after her, where they found the governor and his family, who were all greatly surprised, as was the whole colony, when they learned the news.”
― Thomas Hutchinson, History of Massachusetts: from the first settlement thereof in 1628, until the year 1750. (Volume 1)

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“The commissioners replied on the 26th that they could not have imagined that the court, after interruption of the authority committed by his Majesty to the commissioners, would have affirmed to themselves the hearing of the same case, wherein the governor and company are impleaded, it being unheard of and contrary to all the laws of Christendom, that the same persons should be judges and parties, and declared it contrary to his Majesty’s will and pleasure, that the cause should be examined by any other persons than themselves.”
― Thomas Hutchinson, History of Massachusetts: from the first settlement thereof in 1628, until the year 1750. (Volume 1)

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“The next year (1652) Mr. Bradstreet and others were sent commissioners to summon the inhabitants or Kittery to come in and own their subjection to Massachusetts as of right belonging to them. The inhabitants accordingly assembled November 16 and agreed to submit and about forty inhabitants subscribed an instrument of submission. The like was done at Acamenticus the 22nd of the same month, and soon after at Wells, Saco, and Cape Porpoise. To the inhabitants of all these plantations larger privileges were granted than to those of the other parts of Massachusetts government, for they were all freemen upon taking the oath, whereas everywhere else none could be made free unless he was a church member. The province was made a county by the name of Yorkshire. The towns from that time sent their deputies to the general court at Boston.”
― Thomas Hutchinson, History of Massachusetts: from the first settlement thereof in 1628, until the year 1750. (Volume 1)

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“The trade of the province increasing, especially with the West Indies, where the buccaneers or pirates at this time were numerous and part of the wealth which they took from the Spaniards as well as what was produced by the trade being brought to New England in bullion, it was thought necessary, for preventing fraud in money, to erect a mint for coining shillings, sixpences and threepences, with no other impression at first than N E on the one side, and XII, VI, or III on the other, but in October 1651 the court ordered that all pieces of money should have a double ring with this inscription, MASSACHUETTS and a tree in the center on one side, and NEW ENGLAND and the year of our Lord on the other side.”
― Thomas Hutchinson, History of Massachusetts: from the first settlement thereof in 1628, until the year 1750. (Volume 1)

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“The two first of the Massachusetts petitioners were Samuel Maverick and Robert Child. Mr. Maverick being in the colony at the arrival of the charter, was made a freeman before the law confining freedom to such only as were members of churches was in force but being an Episcopalian had never been in any office. Child was a young gentleman just before come from Padua, where he studied physic and, as was reputed, had taken the degree of doctor.”
― Thomas Hutchinson, History of Massachusetts: from the first settlement thereof in 1628, until the year 1750. (Volume 1)

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“In 1625, One Capt. Wollaston, with about 30 persons, began a plantation near Weston's. They gave it the name of Mount Wollaston. It was known by that name some years after, but at length the name was lost in that of Braintree, of which town is a part.[17] No mention is made of a patent to Wollaston. One Morton, of Furnival's Inn, was of this company. He was not left in command, but contrived to make himself chief, changed the name of Mount Wollaston to Merry Mount, set all the servants free, erected a maypole, and lived a life of dissipation until all the stock intended for trade was consumed.”
― Thomas Hutchinson, History of Massachusetts: from the first settlement thereof in 1628, until the year 1750. (Volume 1)

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“Mr. Winslow,[202] who had been chosen agent for the colony to answer to Gorton’s complaint, was now instructed to make defense against these petitioners, and by his prudent management and the credit and esteem he was in with many of the members of parliament and prejudice to the colony from either of these applications. In 1647 and 1648 the same governor and deputy governor were continued, and the first of these years Robert Bridges[203] was added to the assistants.”
― Thomas Hutchinson, History of Massachusetts: from the first settlement thereof in 1628, until the year 1750. (Volume 1)

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“The first instance I find of any person executed for witchcraft was in June 1648. Margaret Jones of Charlestown was indicted for a witch, found guilty, and executed. She was charged with having such a malignant touch that if she laid her hands upon man, woman or child in anger, they were seized presently with deafness, vomiting, or other sickness or some violent pains.”
― Thomas Hutchinson, History of Massachusetts: from the first settlement thereof in 1628, until the year 1750. (Volume 1)

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“Harvard College takes its date from the year 1638. Two years before the general court gave four hundred pounds toward a public school at Newtown, but Mr. John Harvard, a worthy minister of Charlestown, dying this year and having given a great part of his estate, between seven and eight hundred pounds, to the same use, the school took the name of Harvard College by an order of the court.”
― Thomas Hutchinson, History of Massachusetts: from the first settlement thereof in 1628, until the year 1750. (Volume 1)

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“A conference or disputation was determined on which they agreed should be managed in writing, as most likely to tend to the peace of the church. When they could not find that the scriptures nor the primitive church for the first three hundred years ever used the term ‘person’ of the Holy Ghost, they generally thought it was best it should be forsworn as being of human invention.”
― Thomas Hutchinson, History of Massachusetts: from the first settlement thereof in 1628, until the year 1750. (Volume 1)

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“That it is not lawful for a godly man to have communion in family prayer or in an oath with such as they judge unregenerate, and therefore he refused the oath of fidelity, and taught others so to do. That it is not lawful for an unregenerate man to pray. That the magistrate has nothing to do in matters of the first table.”
― Thomas Hutchinson, History of Massachusetts: from the first settlement thereof in 1628, until the year 1750. (Volume 1)

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“and many other persons of figure and distinction were expected to come over, some of which are said to have been prevented by express order of the King, as Mr. Pym, Mr. Hampden, Sir Arthur Haslerigg, Oliver Cromwell, etc. I know this is questioned by some authors, but it appears plainly by a letter from Lord Say and Seal to Mr. Vane, and a letter[61] from Mr. Cotton to the same nobleman as I take it, though his name is not mentioned, and an answer[62] to certain demands made by him, that his Lordship himself, and Lord Brooke and others, were not without thoughts of removing to New England,”
― Thomas Hutchinson, History of Massachusetts: from the first settlement thereof in 1628, until the year 1750. (Volume 1)

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“One professed design of the colony charter was the gospelizing the natives. The long neglect of any attempts this way cannot be excused. The Indians themselves asked how it happened, if Christianity was of such importance, that for six-and-twenty years together the English had said nothing to them about it.”
― Thomas Hutchinson, History of Massachusetts: from the first settlement thereof in 1628, until the year 1750. (Volume 1)

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“From the restoration until the vacating the charter, the colony never stood well in England, the principal persons both in church and state were never without fearful expectations of being deprived of their privileges. The years 1664 and 1665 afforded them greater occasion for fears than they had met with at any time before.”
― Thomas Hutchinson, History of Massachusetts: from the first settlement thereof in 1628, until the year 1750. (Volume 1)

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“The council gave their answer, that they would cause the general court to assemble August 3 and communicate the proposal to them. The commissioners then acquainted the council that there were many more things to signify to them at their return from Manhattan, and the council was desired in the meantime further to consider of his Majesty’s letter to the colony, June 28, 1662, and to give a more satisfactory answer than formerly. The commissioners then proceeded to the Manhattanites.”
― Thomas Hutchinson, History of Massachusetts: from the first settlement thereof in 1628, until the year 1750. (Volume 1)

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“One that came to the governor’s house to complain of his suffering was prevented, being informed that even there the last batch was in the oven. Some instances are mentioned of great calmness and resignation in this distress. A good man, who had asked his neighbor to a dish of clams, after dinner returned thanks to God, who had given them to suck of the abundance of the feast, and of treasure hid in the sands. They had appointed February 22 for a fast, but on the 5th, to their great joy, the ship Lyon, Capt. Pierce, one of the last year’s fleet, returned, laden with provisions from England, which were distributed according to the necessities of the people. The turned their fast into a thanksgiving.”
― Thomas Hutchinson, History of Massachusetts: from the first settlement thereof in 1628, until the year 1750. (Volume 1)

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“None of the English were sufficiently skilled in the Indian language to make a prayer in it, and the meeting was opened with a prayer in English, but one of the company, in a discourse in the Indian tongue, began with the moral law and a brief explication of it, and the wrath and curse of God the just portion of the breakers of this law, and then informed them of the coming of Christ into the world to recover mankind from sin and the punishment of it, his sufferings and death, resurrection and ascension, and that he would come again at the end of the world to be the judge of all men.”
― Thomas Hutchinson, History of Massachusetts: from the first settlement thereof in 1628, until the year 1750. (Volume 1)

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