ABSTRACT
Born the son of a country gentleman in Suffolk, England, circa 1588, John Winthrop enjoyed a comfortable youth. Like many Englishmen in the early seventeenth century, Winthrop was increasingly alarmed by the oppression of dissent on the part of the Anglican Church. Winthrop, who had seven children and a wife to support, was also a landlord with responsibility for his tenants and servants. From the arrival in 1630 to his death in 1649, Winthrop served almost continuously as governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. His vision of New Englanders as God's chosen people-a vision shared by most Puritan settlers-was the driving force behind colonial society and everyday life. GOD ALMIGHTY in his most holy and wise providence, hath so disposed of the condition of mankind, as in all times some must be rich, some poor, some high and eminent in power and dignity; others mean and in submission.
