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Liberty In John Winthrop's Little Speech On Liberty

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John Winthrop, a wealthy English puritan lawyer and governor who was leading founder of the Massachusetts Bay colony, had a completely different perspective when it came to liberty. In “Little Speech on Liberty” He says that liberty is one of the great questions that trouble the country and says he sees a “great mistake” in the country concerning its meaning. Winthrop defines two completely different liberties that he believes are prevalent in society, natural liberty and civil or federal liberty. Natural liberty he describes as being a liberty we share with creatures and beasts. In this, man has the ability to do whatever he desires— in essence this liberty gives you the will to do either good or evil, it is your own decision. Given the circumstances of choice, you can do whatever you want, meaning this liberty is unrestrained and completely up to the person. Because you are given a choice, this gives men more time to grow within the darkness and become much like their equals within this liberty, beasts. The other is the civil liberty, which is also deemed as the “moral liberty”. It is moral because of the agreement between God and man. Essentially moral liberty gives you the freedom to do whatever you want, as long as it is good, just, and honest. This liberty is maintained by the Bible; what the Bible says, is law. Previously in The Massachusetts Body of Liberties the concept that rights and the law are not given by man or the colony but are given by God was put onto

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