John Winthrop's Journal Summary

John Winthrop writes in his journal a story of how the Puritans are treating a man who has inflated his prices. This journal entry was later titled Puritan Leaders Decry Price-Gouging and Explain the Meaning of a “Just Price” and it explains how the Puritans took action against a criminal named Robert Kaine. Kaine was accused as a criminal because he wrongfully raised the prices in his shop above the price set by the Puritans. John Winthrop’s journal shows us that religion was one of the biggest influences in Puritans life, this document has historical significance because it is giving us a first hand account of how the Puritans judicial system works. Within the laws of the early colonial Puritans it seemed like from the document that religion was one of the ways that someone could be used to be put in court as a victim. The Puritans seemed to convict citizens if

They were a religions group of settlers who wanted to make a community with strong faith values. These values of faith would make their way into the laws of the Puritans. When listing out the rules of trading for the Puritans, Winthrop writes two rules that have involve faith. These rules include “there men may raise their price; for now it is a hand of God upon the commodity, and not the person.” and “ A man may not ask any more for his commodity than his selling price, as Ephron to Abraham, the land is worth thus much.” While religion and the state are separated now, the Puritans judged and followed out laws with the vision of God. This could make the Purtians corrupt because if someone is falling out of the Puritans belief then they could use the law to exile them or to keep outsiders out. These rules in the case of Kaine could've put him in jail because he was not listening to the word of God although it could’ve been harder to get his commodity or his supplier was asking for