 Danforth 's politics and religion were relatively conservative , with one historian describing him as " the Pym of Massachusetts politics " . In 1661 the colony was rebuked by King Charles II for its mistreatment of Quakers ; the colonial government had banned Quakers from its territory under threat of death , and four of them had recently been hanged after repeatedly violating the ban . The king in his letter demanded that the colony allow Quakers and others freedom of religious expression . Danforth was one member of a committee that was established to formulate a response . The document the committee drafted was a conservative declaration that the colonial government was essentially sovereign except where its laws conflicted with English law . ( By the time the king 's letter arrived the colonial government had already lessened the harsh punishments for violating bans . ) Two committee members , magistrate Simon Bradstreet and minister John Norton , were sent to England to argue the colony 's case . 
