If you follow the "Golden Rule of Historical Judgment," what are you most likely to say about the Puritan leaders in light of the harsh punishments they gave?

a. They were almost total hypocrites. They were persecuted in England and so they should have been more tolerant in America.
b. Their ideal of setting up a model society must have been more important to them than human suffering.
c. With what I know from my experiences in today's world, I would have done exactly the same thing.
d. There can never be any compromise with cruelty of any kind.