The Last American Puritan Courtesy, American Antiquarian Society Increase Mather. Oil painting by Jan van der Spriett, London, 1688. MICHAEL G. HALL The Last American Puritan The Life of Increase Mather 1639-1723 WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY PRESS Middletown, Connecticut Copyright © 1988 by Michael G. Hall All rights reserved All inquiries and permissions requests should be addressed to the Publisher, Wesleyan University Press, 110 Mt. Vernon Street, Middletown, Connecticut 06457 Distributed by Harper & Row Publishers, Keystone Industrial Park, Scranton, Pennsylvania 18512 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA Hall, Michael G. (Michael Garibaldi) The last American Puritan. Bibliography: p. Includes index. I. Mather, Increase, 1639-1723. 2. Puritans— Massachusetts—Biography. 3. Massachusetts—History— Colonial period, ca. 1600–1775. I. Title. F67.M468H35 1988 974.4'o2'0924 [B] 87-7367 ISBN 0-8195-5128-7 Manufactured in the United States of America FIRST EDITION To MARGARET NIXON HALL for whom I herewith divest myself of the Mathers and ELIZABETH HOOD HALL whose love and strength makes life a joy This page intentionally left blank Contents LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS IX PREFACE xiii ONE The Legacy, Birth, and Education of a Puritan [1639-1661] 3 "P" for Puritan, 3; Migration as God's Will, 11; A Gathering of Visible Saints, 12; Childhood, 21; Harvard College and Boston, 29; Life in Boston, 35; England: the Revolution that Failed, 42 TWO The Struggle for Identity [1661-1672] 48 Marriage and Family, 49; Soldier of the Lord, 5 3; Half-Way Covenant, 55;North Church, 61; Obstinate and Turbulent Anabaptists, 66; A Preacher's Life, 71; Israel's Salvation, 76; His Father's Death, 78; The Biography of His Father: an Act of Atonement, 82; Devastation of these Churches, 87 THREE God's Agent on Earth [1672–1676] 92 A Growing Family, 93; Jeremiad, 96; Chariots of War, 103; God's Punish- ment, 106; Mather versus William Hubbard, 112; Mather's History of the War, 119 FOUR Spiritual Leadership [1676–1680] 127 The Danger of Apostasy: a Challenge to the Magistrates, 129; The Boston Press and the Power of the Printed Word, 131; Books as Instruments, 140; Smallpox: a Warning From a Stern God, 146; Reforming Synod, 147 FIVE New Worlds of Science and Hope [1680–1686] 155 Challenges From Right and Left, 155; John Foster: Astronomer and Printer, 158; Puritan as Scientist, 165; The Natural Order and God, 167; Cotton Mather, 174; Confident Years, 177 {viii Contents s i x Dominion of New England [1684 — 1688] 184 Fissures in Puritan Society, 185; End of Independence, 187; Mather and the Politics of Independence, 190; Treason or a Forgery? 192; Popular Culture in Puritan Boston, 194; President Pro Tempore of Harvard College, 197; Dominion of New England, 201 SEVEN Representing Massachusetts in London [1688–1691] 212 The Puritan and the Stuart King, 214; The Death of a Child, 217; Revolution and a Transfer of Power, 220; Parliament or Whitehall? 222; Revolt in the Colonies, 224; Massachusetts's Charges Against Andros and Dudley, 230; Stalemate, 236; Heads of Agreement: Dissenters Reconciled, 238; The New Charter, 240 EIGHT Massachusetts Under the New Charter [1692–1702] 255 Witchcraft and Cases of Conscience in Salem, 256; Politics Under the New Charter, 264; The Spiritual World and the Millennium, 271; The Struggle Over a Charter for Harvard, 279; Boston at the Century's End, 289; Defying the Platform: the Brattle Street Manifesto, 1699, 292 NINE The Last Puritan [1703–1723] 302 Harvard Lost, 302; Joseph Dudley: Imperial Governor, 306; An Aging Indian Commissioner, 310; Colman, Stoddard, and the Presbyterian Movement, 313; Joseph Dudley and the Crisis of 1707, 319; Published Sermons, 1703–1712, 323; Cosmopolitan Boston in the Eighteenth Century, 326; Family and Church, 338; Church Establishment, 343; Published Sermons, 1715–1720, 350; The End of Time, 356 NOTES 365 BIBLIOGRAPHY 403 INDEX 417 List of Illustrations Increase Mather. Oil painting by Jan van der Spriett frontispiece Birthplace in Lancashire, England, of Richard Mather, Increase Mather's father 7 Richard Mather. Oil painting by an unknown artist 8 Richard Mather, 1670, woodcut by John Foster 9 John Winthrop, first governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony 18 Portrait assumed to be of John Cotton, leader of Massachusetts Congregationalism 19 Title page of "A Platform of Church Discipline," of the Synod of 1649 23 Harvard College in 1638 32 Old College, Harvard, built in 1639 33 The Library in Old College, Harvard 33 Map of Boston and southern New England in 1635 37 Map of Boston's streets and buildings around 1645 3« Boston's first town house 39 Portrait, possibly of Charles Chauncy, president of Harvard and opponent of half-way covenant 56 John Davenport, senior minister of New Haven and critic of half-way covenant 57 The Life and Death of that Reverend Man of God, Mr. Richard Mather, by Increase Mather 86 Wo to Drunkards, two sermons by Increase Mather IOO The Day of Trouble is near, a jeremiad by Increase Mather IOI Several Laws and Orders, issued by General Court in 1675, including "Provoking Evils" no John Leverett, governor of Massachusetts during King Philip's War III An Earnest Exhortation, by Increase Mather on King Philip's War 1 20 A Brief History of the War with the Indians, by Increase Mather 121