BEYOND THE "DEMOCRAT"/"CONSERVATIVE" DICHOTOMY: JOHN WISE RECONSIDERED.

The article discusses Congregationalist minister John Wise of Chebacco parish in Ipswich, Massachusetts, notable for his participation in the tax revolt of 1687 when he and other town leaders refused to appoint a new property tax collector as ordered by the Dominion of New England. It considers his two works on Congregationalist church polity, the 1713 "The Churches’ Quarrel" and the 1717 "A Vindication." It explores the historiography of Wise, considering whether he was an early "American democrat" or "colonial conservative," ideas forwarded by biographer George Cook and historian Perry Miller respectively.