This paper concerns the book ‘The Puritan Dilemma: The Story of John Winthrop’ by Edmund S. Morgan. The purpose of the book is to provide an intellectual and critical biography of John Winthrop, one of the most important figures in early American puritanism and in the foundational settlements of Massachusetts. Morgan himself was prestigious and influential historian who specialized in American colonial history. Morgan was a presence at Yale between 1955 and 1986 and remains one of the most respected authorities on early American history, especially on its relationship to contemporary European developments and to protestant theology.
The central thesis of the book refers to what is entailed the puritan dilemma. This dilemma consisted of a contradiction that Morgen insists all puritans faced. On the one hand, their theology disavowed entirely earthly pleasures and considered the world as a fundamentally fallen place in which a person was under constant risk of temptation that, were they to succumb to it, would lead to their damnation. On the other hand, however, puritans were not able to simply withdraw from the world and lead a monk-like life in which they would be able to simply minimize the temptations that they faced and await the time when they would die and therefore be able to leave the earth. Rather, it was considered that the best life was one that was focused on earthly activity and was therefore constantly open to temptation. It is this dilemma, between moving in the world and resisting its damnable influence, that Morgen sees as lying at the heart of the psychology of the early New England settlers and that he insists can be seen to actively inform the life of Winthrop and the influence which he produced.
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"Puritan Dilemma".
Morgen presents Winthrop’s life as being in consistent engagement with this dilemma and as continually influenced by it. The dilemma itself, or rather the sense of puritan responsibility that Winthrop felt to be the center of his moral life comes to form the central reference for any of the action he takes. Morgen is keen to state at several points that Winthrop engaged in extensive self-reflection and that he would often attempt to consider precisely what temptations he was most susceptible to. Indeed, the decision to travel to the New World at all is referred to the structure of the dilemma as Winthrop is shown to consider both the necessity of God’s calling and also the possibility that he is simply engaging in a destructive form of separatism and abandoning and English society which he has found unsuitable.
Once Morgen moves to Winthrop’s life in New England he continues to relate the structure of his subject’s life and decisions to the puritan dilemma. As governor, Winthrop is shown to be continuously concerned with the precise nature of puritan morality and with the possibility of maintain it within the social structures of the New World. In particular, he is shown to actively use the dilemma in order to solve civil and theological disputes. At one point, Winthrop is described as mediating a conflict that emerged as a result of divergent opinions in the early congregations. While others called for excommunication for the offender, Winthrop is shown to refer to his deep belief that it is simply not possible to escape from the fallen nature of the world or to attempt to set up a community that would be free from infighting or strife. As a result, it was impossible for him to consider the world of New England as an escape or a flight from the rest of the world. Rather, it was a place in which the duty of the puritan minister was to mediate and the attempt to save the souls of those would inevitably face temptation and succumb to folly. Winthrop’s own actions in seeking mediation and reconciliation are shown to stem directly from this dilemma.
By drawing on anecdotal evidence as well primary sources such as Winthrop’s own journals and correspondence, Morgen insists that the New England puritans, as led by Winthrop, intended to demonstrate to the world that a kingdom of God was possible on earth, and that Massachusetts would be such a system. The overall structure of the book is to trace this attempt and its internal psychology in and through the political environment in which it found itself. As such, in the final chapters, while following the arc of Winthrop’s life, Morgen also includes a focus on the settlers’ relationship with the English parliament that would determine their political fate.
The book is organized chronologically and follows Winthrop from birth to death. It also involves several contextualizing sections that describe the tensions resulting from Henry VIII’s break from the Pope in Rome and the various religious tensions that surrounded protestant and catholic relations in the years before Winthrop’s birth. Throughout the book, a clear argumentative style is maintained and frequent reference is made to the reality of the dilemma that is seen to underpin Winthrop’s psychology. Morgen consults a large variety of sources, however generally refrains from quoting these at length and, as a result, the book is able to maintain a generally economical tone which is forceful as well as able to mobilize its erudition in such a way that it remains clear and easy to assimilate.
In conclusion, the book makes a major historical contribution, both in terms of its structure and in terms of thesis. A focus on the mindset that informs protestant self-denial is common in the twentieth century, most notably Max Weber’s study of the protestant worth ethic and the spirit of capitalism managed to extract world historical consequences from the moral systems of the 17th and 18th centuries. Morgen’s book, however, is a uniquely sensitive portrayal that is both erudite and possible to read easily. I would highly recommend it to any other student or historian.
