52 pages • 1 hour read
The Puritan Dilemma: The Story of John Winthrop
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Summary and Study Guide
Overview
The Puritan Dilemma: The Story of John Winthrop (1958) is a work of history by Edmund S. Morgan. The Puritan Dilemma is a biographical study of the first governor of colonial Massachusetts, John Winthrop. Morgan examines Winthrop’s work and life, presenting him as a man of high ideals who understood how to lead as a model of moderation and practical flexibility. Though many Puritans chose to withdraw from the world into little cells of self-righteousness, he consistently chose to engage with the world and help others. His talents helped him unite a colony filled with prickly characters, with a few dramatic exceptions. The Puritan Dilemma offers an accessible early example of the work that would earn Morgan a Pulitzer Prize and the National Humanities Medal.
This guide uses the 1958 hardback edition by Little, Brown, and Company.
Summary
John Winthrop’s grandfather, Adam, was a prosperous English cloth merchant when King Henry VIII decided to join the Protestant Reformation and remove English Christianity from the Catholic church. Adam Winthrop acquired the estate of Groton from the king when the monarch seized the lands of the Catholic monastery there. John, as the heir, grew up in a privileged family of country gentry that served as local leaders.
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