In 1637, Anne Hutchinson was tried before the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. During interrogation, she confessed to experiencing an “immediate revelation” from God. She described hearing “the voice of her own spirit in my soul.” After discussion with the authorities, John Winthrop concluded that "...this is the thing that has been the cause of all the mischief." » She was found guilty and banished from the colony. In 1775, Freeborn Garrettson had a similar mystical experience. “At night I went to bed as usual and slept until dawn: just as I awoke, I was alarmed by a terrible voice: “Wake up, sinner, for you are not ready to die. It made a strong impression on my mind, as if it were a human voice as loud as thunder. Soon after, he had a conversation with God which, despite the devil's verbal interruptions, resulted in his conversion. Like Hutchinson, Garrettson received immediate revelation from God. Unlike Hutchinson, Garrettson was not banned for this experience. In fact, he chose to publish it and became a key figure in the rise of Methodism in the United States. In the years between Hutchinson's trial and Garettson's conversion, American religion changed. Democracy changed him. Although the impact of religion on democracy has been well documented, it is difficult to trace the impact of democracy on religion. Nonetheless, historians like Nathan Hatch argue that democracy had a significant influence on the development of American religion. Hatch identifies three marks of the democratic spirit found in early American religious movements: redefined leadership, acceptance of spiritual experience, and grand ambitions. All three are examples...... middle of paper ...... Antinomianism in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, 1636-1638. Boston: John Wilson and Sons, 1894. Bangs, Nathan. . Flight. The Life of Rev. Freeborn Garrettson: Compiled from His Printed and Manuscript Journals and Other Authentic Documents. New York: J Cullord, 1829. Fea, John. Was America founded as a Christian nation? : A historical introduction. 1st ed. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011. Griffith, R. Marie. American Religions: A Documentary History. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008. Hatch, Nathan O. The Democratization of American Christianity. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989. Lyerly, Cynthia Lynn. Methodism and the Southern Spirit, 1770-1810. Religion in America Series. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. Noll, Mark A. The Old Religion in a New World: The History of North American Christianity. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 2002.