,,roger ,,williams                      
,illustration3 ,statue of ,roger        
,williams in ,roger ,williams ,park1    
,providence1 ,r4 ,i4                    
,,roger ,,williams                      
,,prophet ,,and ,,pioneer ,,of          
,,soul-,,liberty                        
,by                           ,,arthur  
,b4 ,,strickland                        
,illustration                           
,,the ,,judson ,,press                  
,,boston           ,,chicago            
,,st4 ,,louis      ,,new ,,york         
,,los ,,angeles      ,,kansas ,,city    
,,seattle        ,,toronto              
,copyright1 #aiai1 by                   
,,gilbert ,n4 ,,brink1 ,,secretary      
,published ,june1 #aiai                 
,,to                                    
,my ,wife                               
,,sympathetic ,,helper                  
,,and                                   
,,inspiring ,,companion                 
,,in ,,all ,,my ,,work                  
,,this ,,book ,,is ,,lovingly           

,,inscribed          ,,baptist ,,sparks 
,,from ,a ,,hebrew ,,anvil       8,even 
the absence of a definite experiment    
must not deter him4 ,he   would create a
 society where the principles would be  
put to the   test4 ,he would fashion a  
,state where the ,church and the crown  
would   be mutually helpful though      
independent4 ,he would create a         
condition   of humanity where the       
sovereignty of the soul before ,god     
would be   respected1 and where every   
man1 believer or disbeliever1 ,gentile1 
,jew1 or ,turk1 would have untrammeled  
opportunity for the display and         
exercise of the faith within him4 ,here 
lies the core of his heroism60          
,,concerning ,,the ,,monument ,,at      
,,roger ,,williams ,,park       8,this  
one monument speaks the gratitude of one
 ,state4 ,but the whole   country has an
 eloquent voice of appreciation4 ,even  
as the tombstone   of ,sir ,christopher 
,wren1 the builder of ,st4 ,paul's      
,cathedral1 intones   the larger praise 

when it says1 #8,if you would see his   
monument1 look   around you1' so would  
we point to the great principles of     
equal and   religious freedom1 written  
into the ,constitution of forty-eight   
,states1 and engraven on the minds of   
ninety millions of people in our        
country and making their moral and civic
 influence felt all over the   civilized
 globe1 as worthy tributes to the genius
 of ,roger ,williams40     --,extracts  
from ,thanksgiving ,address on 8,roger  
,williams10 delivered   by ,rabbi ,abram
 ,simon1 ,ph4 ,d41 to ,reformed         
,congregation ,keneseth   ,israel1      
,philadelphia1 ,november #bd1 #aiab4    
,,preface      ,the four years of the   
great war have witnessed two astounding 
facts1  namely1 the recrudescence of an 
ancient barbarism and the world-wide    
application of the ideals of            
,christianity4 ,during these momentous  
times  the frontiers of barbarism and of
 civilization were clearly marked4 ,the 
greater part of the world declared its  

position and took sides with one  or    
other of the contestants4 ,the whole    
world was either for or against1  either
 friend or foe to1 the essential        
principles of a ,christian              
civilization4    ,it was no accident    
that the torch of the ,hun and the      
,cross of the  ,christ should meet again
 on the old historic battle-ground      
between  the ,somme and the ,rhine1 and 
especially at the ,marne4 ,we thank ,god
 in  victory's hour that the ,cross of  
the ,christ is again triumphant1 and  we
 trust the torch of the ,hun is         
extinguished forever4 ,autocracy's      
serpent head has been crushed beneath   
the heel of a militant democracy4  ,that
 bruised heel is our reminder of the    
cost of victory4 ,it staggers  the      
imagination to state in terms of        
manhood1 materials1 and money the  price
 we have paid to make a world safe for  
democracy4    ,the eyes of a world have 
been opened4 ,men have thought of       
,calvary1 the  price the ,son of ,god   

paid to redeem the wayward1 wicked      
world4 ,men  through their ,calvary have
 come to understand the message of      
,christ's  ,cross--that all men are of  
equal value in the sight of humanity's  
,god1 and therefore are entitled to     
equal privileges in the world he  has   
made for their happiness4 ,out from the 
shambles of these war-torn  years there 
has come forth1 slowly and certainly1   
with ever-increasing  clearness1 the    
shining form of the ideal supreme1 the  
truth triumphant1  the principle of     
full1 free1 absolute soul-liberty4      
,as the thirsty caravan turns to the    
springs1 as the mariner turns to  his   
compass in the darkest night1 so the    
war-weary world--all parts  of it1 both 
that of friend and that of foe--looks   
beseechingly to  ,america and to the    
ideal of which she is the great         
exemplar4 ,from her  shores there went  
forth an army which under ,god turned   
the tide against  barbarism and made    
possible the final victory for          

civilization4  ,that army was composed  
of men whose fathers represented every  
nation  under heaven4 ,some who received
 the highest honor for distinguished    
service were born under the very flags  
they sought to overthrow4 ,it was       
humanity's army1 dominated by ideals    
distinctly ,american1 which fought1  not
 for military glory1 not for hellish    
hatred1 not for selfish gain1  but as   
the crusaders of a new order1 of an     
international fraternity4    ,the       
distinctive feature of ,america's       
greatness is not her boundless  wealth1 
not her limitless resources1 not her    
inimitable versatility4  ,it is the     
ideal which she has inherited from her  
fathers4 ,that ideal1  in the forefront 
of the world's thought today1 had its   
yesterday of  suffering and of          
sacrifice4    ,it is timely in the hour 
of democracy's triumph to turn our      
thoughts  toward the genesis of         
soul-liberty in ,america4 ,today        
millions of  men espouse her sacred     

cause4 ,in the dawn of ,american        
history1 in  the early colonial times1 a
 misunderstood1 maligned1 and persecuted
  refugee1 ,roger ,williams1 stood      
almost alone as her defender4 ,driven   
from motherland and from adopted home1  
he found among the savages  of the      
wilderness a place where he could live  
out his principles of  soul-liberty and 
grant freely to others what he desired  
for himself4 ,he  has been rightly      
called 8,the ,first ,american10 because 
he was the first  to actualize in a     
commonwealth the distinctively ,american
 principle of  freedom for mind and body
 and soul4    ,roger ,williams was not  
the discoverer of the principle of      
soul-liberty4  ,what ,jesus did and said
 was the torch of truth destined to     
illumine the  whole world4 ,his death on
 the cross was the voice of ,god in     
eloquent  terms1 telling us that all men
 were equal sharers in his love and     
entitled to equal opportunities and     
privileges in the world which he  had   

made for man's well-being4 ,christ      
taught clearly that men should  not     
force others to belief in him or to     
,christian conduct1 nor destroy  those  
who failed to follow his teachings as   
they saw them4    ,for centuries        
faithful witnesses kept alive in the    
world these precious  truths4 ,in fact1 
for a millennium the name ,anabaptist or
 ,baptist was  synonymous with          
soul-liberty4 ,baptists on the          
,continent and in ,england  sowed       
broadcast these seeds which led to a    
glorious harvest in the new  world4     
,after the death of ,roger ,williams the
 ,baptists in the colonies  continued   
the work so nobly begun by him4 ,in the 
face of bitterest  persecution they     
labored for a century before the        
much-desired  principle of soul-liberty 
was interwoven into our ,national       
,constitution  and protected by the     
,first ,amendment4    ,our ,western     
,hemisphere represents two types of     
civilization4 ,the ,rio  ,grande is the 

dividing line between a civilization    
which is ,baptist in  its distinctive   
and essential character and one which is
 non-,baptist4  ,to the north we see    
what the democracy of the soul can do   
when  associated with the democracy of  
political rights4 ,to the south we see  
but the twilight of civilization1 a     
place where there is political          
democracy in name1 but where it is      
rendered powerless because the  mind and
 soul do not enjoy full freedom4 ,it is 
the difference between  religious       
democracy and religious autocracy4 ,to  
the north the ,bible is  loved1 it is   
studied freely1 and its principles are  
followed4 ,it is a  land where the      
,bible is unchained and where the       
prevailing religions  are of a church   
without a bishop in a land without a    
king4 ,to the south  the ,bible is      
practically suppressed1 its study is    
discouraged1 and its  truths go         
unheeded4    ,europe1 thou art looking  
across the seas to ,america4 ,look to   

all three  ,americas4 ,political        
democracy is universal in ,north1       
,central1 and ,south  ,america4 ,ask    
thyself the question1 ,why is the       
civilization of the north  so           
attractive8 ,it is because ,religious   
,liberty is married to ,political       
,liberty4 ,dost thou want our           
blessedness8 ,then see to it that thy   
new-born democracies and thine ancient  
ones have complete soul-liberty4  ,give 
the ,bible a chance to bless thy        
stricken lands4 ,let the truths  from   
,god's book do their revolutionary work 
for thee as they have for  ,god's       
liberty land on this side of the sea4   
,religious liberty has unchained the    
,bible1 scattered the darkness of       
superstition1 flooded our continent with
 light and blessing4 ,it has  toppled   
selfish autocrats from their thrones1 it
 has unlocked the  shackles from the    
feet of millions who were living in     
spiritual and  physical slavery4        
,religious liberty opens the doors and  

lets ,god's  sunlight of truth enter to 
warm and bless the world4    ,to ,roger 
,williams and the historic ,baptist     
denomination we turn for  the story of  
the genesis and growth of this great    
blessing in ,america4  ,there is an     
effort1 in evidence in the secular and  
religious press  of ,america1 and1 in   
some sections1 in many of our public    
schools1 to  rob both ,williams and the 
,baptists of their crown of glory4 ,in  
certain  quarters both ,protestants and 
,catholics are attributing the honor of 
giving birth to religious liberty to    
communions which centuries ago          
persecuted our ,baptist forefathers unto
 banishment and death4    ,the early    
,american ,colonies can be divided into 
three classes4 ,one  class included     
those who sought for uniformity in      
religion4 ,exile and  death were        
resorted to to make that religious      
uniformity possible4  ,baptists were    
martyred in ,massachusetts and          
,virginia4 ,another class  included     

those who granted a toleration to other 
,christian religions1  but who denied   
political privileges to ,jews1 infidels1
 or ,unitarians4  ,maryland and         
,pennsylvania1 although far advanced    
from the persecuting  spirit of some of 
the colonies1 belong to this second     
class4 ,there was  another class1       
represented at first by the smallest of 
the colonies1  little ,baptist ,rhode   
,island1 which gave full1 absolute1     
religious  liberty4 ,no political       
privilege was dependent on religious    
belief4 ,the  attitude of the early     
colonists to the ,jews is the acid test 
of their  claim to priority as the      
advocates of soul-liberty in ,america4  
,hebrew scholars and statesmen do not   
hesitate to give their tribute of  honor
 to ,roger ,williams and the ,baptists4 
,the ,hon4 ,oscar ,s4 ,straus1  twice   
,american ,ambassador to ,turkey1       
,secretary of ,labor and ,commerce  in  
the late ,president ,roosevelt's        
,cabinet1 and ,president of the ,league 

to ,enforce ,peace1 said on ,january    
#ac1 #aiai1 on the eve of sailing for   
,europe and the ,peace ,conference3     
,if ,i were asked to select from all the
 great men who have left their   impress
 upon this continent from the days that 
the ,puritan ,pilgrims   set foot on    
,plymouth ,rock1 until the time when    
only a few days ago   we laid to rest   
the greatest ,american in our           
generation--,theodore   ,roosevelt2 if  
,i were asked whom to hold before the   
,american people   and the world to     
typify the ,american spirit of fairness1
 of freedom1   of liberty in ,church and
 ,state1 ,i would without any hesitation
 select   that great prophet who        
established the first political         
community on   the basis of a free      
,church in a free ,state1 the great and 
immortal   ,roger ,williams4444 ,he     
became a ,baptist1 or as they were then 
called1   ,anabaptist1 because to his   
spirit and ideals the ,baptist faith    
approached nearer than any other--a     

community and a church which   is famous
 for never having stained its hands with
 the blood of   persecutors4            
,,contents                              
,,page        ,i4 ,,the ,,apostle ,,of  
,,soul-,,liberty                        
#a       ,,ii4 ,,the ,,founding ,,of    
,,providence                        #bg 
,,iii4 ,,the ,,historic ,,custodians    
,,of ,,soul-,,liberty           #eg     
,,iv4 ,,soul-,,liberty ,,at ,,home ,,in 
,a ,,commonwealth            #gi        
,v4 ,,from ,,soul-,,liberty ,,to        
,,absolute ,,civil ,,liberty      #ajc  
,,vi4 ,,the ,,torch-,,bearers ,,of ,,the
 ,,ideal ,,of ,,roger ,,williams        
,,until ,,liberty ,,enlightened ,,the   
,,world              #aai      ,,vii4   
,,the ,,world-,,wide ,,influence ,,of   
,,roger ,,williams'         ,,ideal     
#acg           ,,study ,,outline ,,of   
,,the ,,life ,,and ,,times ,,of ,,roger 
,,williams                              
#ade           ,a ,,selected            
,,bibliography                          

#adi           ,,an ,,itinerary ,,for ,a
 ,,historic ,,pilgrimage           #aea 
,,acknowledgment      ,the author       
desires to express his indebtedness to  
the ,john ,carter ,brown  ,library1     
,providence1 ,r4 ,i41 to the            
8,providence ,magazine10 to the ,rhode  
,island ,historical ,society1 to the    
,roger ,williams ,park ,museum1 and to  
the ,new ,york ,city ,public ,library1  
for valuable assistance rendered in     
securing illustrations for this book4   
,,list ,,of ,,illustrations             
,,page      ,statue of ,roger ,williams 
,frontispiece      ,copy of ,shorthand  
,found in ,indian ,bible                
#d      ,sir ,edward ,coke              
#e      ,charterhouse ,school           
#i      8,a ,key into the ,language of  
,america0                               
#ab      ,boston1 #afcb                 
#ac      ,the ,fort and ,chapel on the  
,hill ,where ,roger ,williams           
,preached                               
#ac      ,pembroke ,college             

#ag      ,fac-simile from ,original     
,records of the ,order for the          
,banishment of ,roger ,williams         
#bj      ,original ,church at ,salem1   
,mass4                                  
#ba      ,site of ,home of ,roger       
,williams in ,providence1 ,r4 ,i4       
#ba      ,sun-dial and ,compass ,used by
 ,roger ,williams in ,his ,flight       
#cj      ,spring at the ,seekonk        
,settlement                             
#ca      ,tablet ,marking ,seekonk ,site
                                        
#ca      ,what ,cheer ,rock4            
,landing-place of ,roger ,williams      
#ca      ,original ,deed of ,providence 
from the ,indians                       
#ce      ,williams' ,letter of          
,transference to ,his ,loving ,friends  
#ci      ,the ,original ,providence     
8,compact0                              
#da      ,the ,first ,division of ,home 
,lots in ,providence                    
#de      8,simplicities ,defence0       
#dg      ,the ,arrival of ,roger        

,williams with the ,charter             
#di      8,mr4 ,cotton's ,letter ,lately
 ,printed0                              
#eb      8,the ,bloudy ,tenent1 444     
discussed0                              
#ec      ,roger ,williams' ,reference to
 8,an ,humble ,supplication0     in ,his
 8,bloudy ,tenent0                      
#ed      8,christenings make not        
,christians0                            
#fc      ,first ,baptist ,church of     
,providence                             
#fe      ,roger ,mowry's 8,ordinarie40  
,built #afec1 ,demolished #aijj         
#fe      ,interior of ,first ,baptist   
,church1 ,providence                    
#fi      ,bell of ,first ,baptist       
,church1 ,providence                    
#gc      8,the ,fourth ,paper1 444 by   
,maior ,butler0                         
#hb      8,the ,bloudy ,tenent1 ,washed0
                                        
#hd      8,the ,bloody ,tenent yet ,more
 ,bloody0                               
#he      8,the ,hireling ,ministry0     

#hg      8,experiments of ,spiritual    
,life and ,health0                      
#hh      8,george ,fox ,digg'd out of   
his ,burrowes0                          
#ij      ,models of ,indian ,village in 
,roger ,williams ,park ,museum          
#ia      8,a ,new-,england ,fire-,brand 
,quenched0                              
#id      ,rhode ,island ,historical     
,society ,museum                        
#ie      ,apple ,tree ,root from the    
,grave of ,roger ,williams              
#ie      ,grave of ,roger ,williams     
#ie      ,new ,testament ,title-page of 
,roger ,williams' ,indian ,bible        
#ih      ,indian ,bible ,used by ,roger 
,williams1 the ,pioneer ,missionary     
to the ,american ,indians               
#ii      ,original ,home of ,brown      
,university1 in ,providence1 ,r4 ,i4    
#aji      ,brown ,university in ,early  
,nineteenth ,century                    
#aji      ,capitol ,building in         
,providence1 ,where the ,charter is     
,kept        #aac      ,city ,hall1     

,providence1 ,where the ,compact1       
,indian ,deed1 and     ,letter of       
,transference ,are ,kept                
#aac      ,order ,banishing the         
,founders of the ,first ,baptist ,church
     in ,boston                         
#abc      8,ill ,newes from             
,new-,england0                          
#abe      ,john ,clarke ,memorial1      
,first ,baptist ,church of ,newport1 ,r4
 ,i4     #abg      ,grave of ,john      
,clarke                                 
#abg      ,the ,law in ,william ,penn's 
,colony                                 
#abi      ,the ,law ,concerning         
,religious ,toleration in ,maryland     
,colony                                 
#acj      ,puritan-,religious-,liberty6 
#aca      ,william ,rogers              
#acc      ,james ,manning               
#acc      ,isaac ,backus                
#acc          ,i    ,,the ,,apostle ,,of
 ,,soul-,,liberty     ,that             
body-killing1 soul-killing1             
state-killing doctrine of not           

permitting but persecuting all other    
consciences and ways of worship   but   
his own in the civil state4444 ,whole   
nations and generations of   men have   
been forced 7though unregenerate and    
unrepentant7 to pretend   and assume the
 name of ,jesus ,christ1 which only     
belongs1 according to   the institution 
of the ,lord ,jesus1 to truly regenerate
 and repentant   souls4 ,secondly1 that 
all others dissenting from them1 whether
 ,jews or   ,gentiles1 their countrymen 
especially 7for strangers have a        
liberty71   have not been permitted     
civil habitation in this world with     
them1   but have been distressed and    
persecuted by them4--,roger ,williams'  
,estimate of ,religious ,persecution4   
,the principle of religious liberty did 
not assert itself1 save in one          
instance1 at once that ,american        
colonization was begun4 ,for the most   
part1 the founders of these colonies    
came to this country imbued with   the  
ideas concerning the relations between  

government and religion1   which had    
been universal in ,europe4444 ,this     
makes the attitude of our   ,american   
exception1 ,roger ,williams1 the more   
striking and significant4   ,more than  
one hundred years in advance of his     
time1 he denied the   entire theory and 
practice of the past4--,sanford ,cobb4  
,roger ,williams advocated the complete 
separation of ,church and   ,state1 at a
 time when there was no historical      
example of such   separation4--,newman4 
,,the ,,apostle ,,of ,,soul-,,liberty   
,a government of the people1 formed by  
the people for the people1 with  ,church
 and ,state completely separate1 and    
with political privileges  not dependent
 on religious belief1 was organized and 
maintained  successfully for the first  
time in ,christendom in ,rhode ,island1 
the  smallest of the ,american          
,colonies4 ,its inspiration and founder 
was  ,roger ,williams1 the apostle of   
soul-liberty4 ,because he was the first 
asserter of the principle which has     

since been recognized as the            
distinctive character of our national   
greatness1 he has been called  8,the    
,first ,american40    ,little is known  
of the personal appearance of ,roger    
,williams4 ,his  contemporaries describe
 him as a man of 8no ordinary parts10   
with 8a  never-failing sweetness of     
temper and unquestioned piety40 ,they   
also  said he was a man of 8unyielding  
tenacity of purpose1 a man who could    
grasp a principle in all its bearings   
and who could incorporate it in  a      
social compact40 8,he was no crude1     
unlearned agitator1 but a scholar  and  
thinker40 ,governor ,bradford speaks of 
him as 8having many precious  parts40   
,governor ,winthrop refers to him as 8a 
godly minister40    ,the artist's       
conception1 based upon these            
characteristics1 is best  expressed by a
 monument in ,roger ,williams ,park1    
,providence1 ,r4 ,i4  ,it is the work of
 ,franklin ,simmons1 and was erected by 
the city of  ,providence in #ahgg4 ,in a

 beautiful park of over four hundred    
acres  with hills and drives and lakes1 
surrounded by trees and shrubbery1  and 
on land originally purchased from the   
,indians by ,williams1 the  illustrious 
pioneer of a new order is seen in heroic
 form4 ,he seems to  be looking out over
 the very colony he formed4 ,in his hand
 he holds a  volume1 entitled           
8,soul-,liberty1 #afcf10 a title which  
has since become  synonymous with his   
name4 ,history is seen writing 8#afcf10 
the birth  year of soul-liberty in      
,america4 ,she continues to write with  
increasing  appreciation of the         
far-reaching influence of this          
illustrious hero of  religious and      
political democracy4    ,illustration3  
,copy of ,shorthand ,found on ,fly-leaf 
of ,roger ,williams'  ,indian ,bible    
,for many years scholars thought that   
,roger ,williams was born at the  close 
of the sixteenth century at ,gwinear1   
,cornwall1 ,england4 ,now it  is        
generally believed that he was born in  

,london1 ,england1 in the  opening years
 of the seventeenth century4 ,he had two
 brothers and a  sister4 ,his father was
 a tailor4 ,about this time ,timothy    
,bright and  ,peter ,bales introduced   
into ,england a new method of writing   
which was  called 8shorthand40 ,the boy 
,roger ,williams learned it and visited 
the  famous ,star ,chamber to put it    
into practice4 ,the judge noticed the   
lad  and inspected his work4 ,to his    
amazement1 the record was complete and  
accurate4 ,this judge1 ,sir ,edward     
,coke1 the most distinguished lawyer    
and jurist of his day1 immediately took 
an interest in the lad1 and  became his 
patron1 securing for ,williams admission
 to the ,charterhouse  ,school4 ,this   
was the school where ,john ,wesley1     
,thackeray1 ,addison1 and  others were  
educated4 ,he was admitted as a         
pensioner1 in ,june1 #afba4  ,later1    
through ,coke's influence1 he was       
admitted to ,pembroke ,college1         
,cambridge1 in ,june1 #afbc4 ,he was    

graduated with the degree of bachelor   
of arts in #afbg1 and the year following
 was admitted to holy orders4  ,about   
this time he was disappointed in a love 
affair1 the lady of his  choice being   
,jane ,whalley4 ,he sought permission of
 her aunt1 ,lady  ,barrington1 to marry 
her4 ,when refused1 he wrote a striking 
letter  in which he predicted for ,lady 
,barrington a very unhappy hereafter    
unless she repented4    ,illustration3  
,sir ,edward ,coke ,courtesy of         
8,providence ,magazine0    ,in #afbi1 we
 find him at ,high ,laves1 ,essex1 not  
far from ,chelmesford1  where ,thomas   
,hooker1 later the founder of ,hartford 
,colony1 was  minister4 ,here he also   
met ,john ,cotton4 ,men's views at that 
time were  changing4 ,the people of the 
,established ,church were divided into  
three  classes4 ,one stood by the       
,established ,order in all things2      
another  class of ,puritans sought to   
stay by the ,church1 but aimed to purify
 the  movement2 the third class was for 

absolute separation4 ,williams1 with    
hundreds of others1 was disturbed4 ,the 
anger of ,lady ,barrington and the      
suspicions of ,archbishop ,laud started 
a persecution which drove him out  of   
,england4 ,he said3     ,i was          
persecuted in and out of my father's    
house4 ,truly it was as   bitter as     
death to me when ,bishop ,laud pursued  
me out of the land1   and my conscience 
was persuaded against the national      
church1 and   ceremonies and bishops4444
 ,i say1 it was as bitter as death to me
 when   ,i rode ,windsor way to take    
ship at ,bristol4    ,many years later  
he wrote3     ,he 7,god7 knows what     
gains and preferments ,i have refused in
   universities1 city1 country1 and     
court in old ,england1 and something    
in ,new ,england1 to keep my soul       
undefiled in this point and not to act  
with a doubting conscience4    ,before  
leaving ,england1 he was married4 ,the  
only information we have  in regard to  
his wife1 up to that time1 is that her  

name was ,mary  ,warned4 ,they sailed on
 the ship ,lyon1 from ,bristol1         
,england1 ,december  #a1 #afcj4 ,after a
 tempestuous journey of sixty-six days  
they arrived off  ,nantasket1 ,february 
#e1 #afca4 ,judge ,durfee speaks thus of
 this flight3     ,he was obliged to fly
 or dissemble his convictions1 and for  
him1 as   for all noblest natures1 a    
life of transparent truthfulness was    
alone   an instinct and a necessity4    
,this absolute sincerity is the key to  
his character1 as it was always the     
mainspring of his conduct4 ,it was      
this which led him to reject indignantly
 the compromises with his   conscience  
which from time to time were proposed to
 him4 ,it was this   which impelled him 
when he discovered a truth to proclaim  
it1 when he   detected an error to      
expose it1 when he saw an evil1 to try  
and remedy   it1 and when he could do a 
good1 even to his enemies1 to do it4    
,upon his arrival in ,boston he was     
invited to become the teacher in  the   

,boston church1 succeeding ,mr4 ,wilson 
who was about to return to  ,england4   
,to his surprise1 he discovered that the
 ,boston church was a  church           
unseparated from the ,established       
,church of ,england1 and he  felt       
conscientiously bound to decline their  
invitation4 ,the ,boston  people1 who   
believed their church to be the 8most   
glorious on earth10  were astonished at 
his refusal4 ,williams would not act as 
their teacher  unless they publicly     
repented of their relation to the       
,established  ,order4 ,it was perfectly 
natural that a soul with convictions1   
such as  ,williams possessed1 should    
desire to be absolutely separated from  
the  ,established ,order4 ,one incident 
from many will show the spirit of the   
,established ,church in ,england toward 
those within its ranks who had  become  
,puritan1 let alone ,separatist4 ,neal1 
in his 8,history of the  ,puritans10    
tells1 of ,doctor ,leighton's           
persecution in ,england4 ,he was        

arrested by ,archbishop ,laud and the   
following sentence was passed upon  him3
 ,that he be     committed to the prison
 of the ,fleet for life1 and pay a fine 
of ten   thousand pounds2 that the ,high
 ,commission should degrade him from his
   ministry1 and that he should be      
brought to the pillory at ,westminster1 
while the court was sitting and be      
publicly whipped2 after whipping   be   
set upon the pillory a convenient time1 
and have one of his ears   cut off1 one 
side of his nose split1 and be branded  
in the face with a   double ,s4 ,s4 for 
a sower of sedition3 that then he should
 be carried   back to prison1 and after 
a few days be pilloryed a second time in
   ,cheapside1 and have the other side  
of his nose split1 and his other   ear  
cut off and then be shut up in close    
prison for the rest of his   life4      
,in the district in which ,roger        
,williams lived this sentence was       
carried  out in all its hellish cruelty 
just prior to ,williams' banishment from

  ,england4 ,do we blame the exile      
,williams for repudiating the movement  
which at that hour was so wicked in its 
persecutions8 ,he meant to  have a sea  
between him and a thing so hateful4     
,john ,cotton said that  ,williams      
looked upon himself as one who 8had     
received a clearer  illumination and    
apprehension of the state of ,christ's  
kingdom1 and  of the purity of church   
communion1 than all ,christendom        
besides40  ,cotton ,mather said that    
,williams had 8a windmill in his head40 
,well for  ,america that such a windmill
 was there and that he was a prophet    
with  clear visions of truth4           
,illustration3 ,charterhouse ,school    
,courtesy of 8,providence ,magazine0    
,after refusing the ,boston church1     
,roger ,williams was invited by the     
,salem church to be assistant to ,mr4   
,skelton1 their aged teacher4  ,he      
accepted their invitation and became    
,teacher1 ,april #ab1 #afca4  ,the      
,general ,court in ,boston remonstrated 

with the ,salem church4 ,the            
persecution of this court led doubtless 
to his retirement from ,salem at  the   
close of that summer4    ,he left the   
,massachusetts ,bay ,colony and became  
assistant to ,ralph  ,smith1 the pastor 
at ,plymouth4 ,the ,plymouth people1    
being strict  ,separatists1 were more   
congenial company1 since they had       
withdrawn  from the ,established ,order 
to form a church after the pattern of   
the  ,primitive ,church model4 ,williams
 remained in ,plymouth for about two    
years4 ,governor ,bradford soon detected
 his advanced positions1 relative  to   
separation of ,church and ,state1 but   
considered it 8questionable  judgment40 
,he praised his qualities as a minister1
 writing thus of him3     ,his teaching1
 well approved1 for e benefit whereof ,i
 still bless   ,god1 and am thankful to 
him1 even for his sharpest admonitions  
and   reproofs1 so far as they agreed   
with truth4    ,governor ,winthrop1 with
 ,mr4 ,wilson1 teacher of the ,boston   

church1  visited ,plymouth at this time4
     ,they were very kindly treated and 
feasted every day at several houses4    
,on the ,lord's ,day1 there was a       
sacrament which they did partake in2    
and1 in the afternoon1 ,mr4 ,roger      
,williams 7according to their custom7   
propounded a question1 to which the     
,pastor1 ,mr4 ,smith1 spoke briefly2    
then ,mr4 ,williams prophesied2 and     
after the ,governor of ,plymouth spoke  
to the question4 ,then the elder 7,mr4  
,william ,brewster7 desired the         
,governor of ,massachusetts and ,mr4    
,wilson to speak to it1 which they      
did4 ,when this was ended1 the deacon1  
,mr4 ,fuller1 put the congregation   in 
mind of their duty of contribution2     
whereupon the ,governor and all   the   
rest went down to the deacon's seat1 and
 put into the box and then   returned4  
,williams came in contact with the      
,indians who visited ,plymouth from     
time to time1 and gained the confidence 
of ,massasoit1 the father of  the famous

 ,philip4 ,he studied their language and
 cultivated their  friendship4 ,he      
writes in one of his letters1 8,my      
soul's desire was  to do the natives    
good60 ,near the close of his life he   
referred to  this early experience3     
8,god was pleased to give me a painful  
patient  spirit1 to lodge with them in  
their filthy smoke1 to gain their       
tongue40 ,surely the ,providence of ,god
 was thus preparing the way for  the    
founding of a new colony1 to be made    
possible through these very  ,indians   
who had implicit confidence in this man 
of ,god4    ,illustration               
,a ,,key into the                       
,,language                              
,,of                                    
,,america3                              
,,or1                  ,an help to the  
,language of the ,natives               
in that part of ,,america1 called       
,,new-,,england4             ,together1 
with briefe ,observations of the        
,customes1                    ,manners  

and ,worships1 c4 of the                
aforesaid ,natives1 in ,peace and       
,warre1                            in   
,life and ,death4               ,on all 
which are added ,spirituall             
,observations1               ,generall  
and ,particular by the ,authour1 of     
chiefe and speciall use 7upon all       
occasions17 to                 all the  
,english ,inhabiting those parts2       
yet pleasant and profitable to          
the view of all men3                    
,,by ,,roger ,,williams                 
of ,providence in ,new-,england4        
,,london1                    ,printed by
 ,gregory ,dexter1 #afdc4               
,illustration3 ,boston1 #afcb ,from an  
old print    ,illustration3 ,the ,fort  
and ,chapel on the ,hill ,where ,roger  
,williams  ,preached ,used by permission
 of ,a4 ,s4 ,burbank1 ,plymouth1 ,mass4 
,williams was ,pauline in his           
self-supporting ministry4 ,he wrote3    
8,at  ,plymouth ,i spake on the ,lord's 
,day and week days and worked hard at my

  hoe for my bread 7and so afterward at 
,salem until ,i found them to be  an    
unseparated people740 ,his ministry made
 friends and foes4 ,his foes  feared he 
would run the same course of ,anabaptist
 behavior as did ,john  ,smith1 the     
,se-,baptist1 at ,amsterdam4 ,early in  
,august his first child  was born1 and  
was named ,mary after her mother4 ,later
 in the same month1  he became for a    
second time the assistant to ,mr4       
,skelton1 at ,salem4 ,a  number of      
choice spirits1 who had been attracted  
to his ministry1 went  with him4 ,he    
requested a letter of dismission from   
the ,plymouth church  to unite with the 
,salem church4 ,this was granted1 but   
with a caution  as to his advanced      
views4 ,to advocate the separation of   
,church and  ,state placed a man at that
 time with the 8,anabaptists10 as this  
was  considered their great distinctive 
doctrine4    ,he commenced his labors at
 ,salem under this cloud and also with  
the  ,general ,court in ,boston very    

suspicious of his work4 ,already there  
was  the distant rumbling of a storm    
which would eventually drive him into   
exile4    ,the ministers of the ,bay    
,colony1 from the churches of ,boston1  
,newtowne  7,cambridge71 ,watertown1    
,roxbury1 ,dorchester1 ,salem1 and      
elsewhere1 were  accustomed to meet for 
discussion and common interest4 ,roger  
,williams  feared that this might lead  
to a presbytery or superintendency1 to  
the  prejudice of local church liberty4 
,he loathed everything which might  make
 for intolerance4    ,in ,december1     
#afcc1 he forwarded to the governor and 
his assistants a  document which he had 
prepared at ,plymouth1 in which he      
disputed their  right to have the land  
by the king's grant4 ,williams claimed1 
8they  have no title except they        
compounded with the natives40 ,he also  
accused  ,king ,james of telling a lie  
in claiming to be 8the first ,christian 
prince to discover this new land40 ,this
 treatise had never been  published or  

made public4 ,its appearance now        
terrified the governor and  the         
assistants1 for at that very time they  
were holding the possession  to their   
colony on a charter originally given for
 a different purpose4  ,it had been     
granted in ,england to a trading        
company1 and its transfer  was          
questionable4 ,they feared the king     
might withdraw it4 ,this treatise  of   
,williams would be considered treason by
 the king4 ,they met on  ,december      
twenty-seventh and counseled with       
,williams4 ,seeing the grave  danger to 
the colony1 he agreed to give evidence  
of loyalty4 ,today we  do not question  
the ethical correctness of the advanced 
position held  by ,williams4    ,it was 
not long before this pioneer of         
soul-liberty raised a new  question     
concerning 8the propriety of            
administering an oath1 which  is an act 
of worship1 to either the unwilling or  
the unregenerate40  ,williams' position 
was peculiarly obnoxious to the         

magistrates who  were then on the point 
of testing the loyalty of the colonists 
by  administering an oath of allegiance 
which was to be1 in reality1  allegiance
 to the colony instead of to the king4  
,the ,court was called  to discuss the  
new objection to its policy4 ,mr4       
,cotton informs us that  the position   
was so well defended by ,williams that  
8it threatened the  court with serious  
embarrassment40 ,the people supported   
,williams'  position1 and the court was 
compelled to desist4 ,on the death of   
,skelton1 in ,august1 #afcd1 the ,salem 
church installed ,roger ,williams  as   
their teacher4 ,this act gave great     
offense to the ,general ,court in       
,boston4 ,williams commenced anew his   
agitation against the right to own  land
 by the king's patent4 ,the ,salem      
church and ,williams were both  cited to
 appear before the ,general ,court1     
,july #ah1 #afce1 to answer  complaints 
made against them4    ,the elders gave  
their opinion3     ,he who would        

obstinately maintain such opinions      
7whereby a church   might run into      
heresy1 apostasy1 or tyranny1 and yet   
the civil   ,magistrates may not        
intermeddle7 ought to be removed1 and   
that the   other churches ought to      
request the ,magistrates so to do4      
,the church and the pastor were notified
 8to consider the matter until  the next
 ,general ,court1 and then to recant1 or
 expect the court to take  some final   
action40 ,at this same court1 the ,salem
 people petitioned  for a title to some 
land at ,marblehead ,neck1 which was    
theirs1 as they  believed1 by a just    
claim4 ,the court refused even to       
consider this  claim1 8until there shall
 be time to test more fully the quality 
of  your allegiance to the power which  
you desire should be interposed on  your
 behalf40 ,professor ,knowles says3     
,here is a candid avowal that justice   
was refused to ,salem1 on the   question
 of civil right1 as a punishment for the
 conduct of church and   pastor4 ,a     

volume could not more forcibly          
illustrate the danger of a   connection 
between the civil and ecclesiastical    
power4    ,illustration3 ,pembroke      
,college ,reduced from ,loggan's print1 
taken  about #afhh    ,teacher and      
people at ,salem were indignant1 and a  
letter was addressed  to the churches of
 the colony in protest against such     
injustice4 ,the  churches were asked to 
admonish the magistrates and deputies   
within  their membership4 ,these        
churches refused or neglected to do     
this4 ,in  some cases the letters never 
came before the church4 ,williams then  
called on his own church to withdraw    
communion with such churches4 ,it       
declined to do this1 and he withdrew    
from the ,salem church1 preaching  his  
last sermon1 ,august #ai1 #afce4 ,here  
was a repetition of the first  conflict4
 ,straus writes3     ,here stood the one
 church already condemned1 with sentence
   suspended over it4 ,against it were  
arrayed the aggregate power of   the    

colony--its nine churches1 the priests1 
and the magistrates4   ,what could the  
,salem church and community do1         
threatened with   disfranchisement1 its 
deputies excluded from the ,general     
,court1 and   its petition for land to  
which it was entitled1 denied8          
,dragooned into   submission it had to  
abandon its persecuted minister to      
struggle alone   against the united     
power of ,church and ,state4 ,to deny   
,williams the   merit of devotion to a  
principle in this contest1 wherein there
 was   no alternative but retraction or 
banishment1 is to belie history in      
order to justify bigotry1 and to convert
 martyrdom into wrong-headed            
obstinacy4 ,this is exactly what ,cotton
 sought to do in his version of   the   
controversy given ten years later in    
order to vindicate himself   and his    
church brethren from the stigma of their
 acts in the eyes of   a more           
enlightened public opinion in ,england4 
,williams pursued no   half-hearted or  

half-way measures4 ,he stood unshaken   
upon the firm   ground of his           
convictions1 and declared to the ,salem 
church that he   could no longer commune
 with them1 thereby entirely separating 
himself   from them and them from him4  
,he went so far as to refuse to commune 
with his own wife in the new  communion 
which he formed in his own home1 until  
she would completely  withdraw from the 
,salem church4    ,the time for the next
 ,general ,court drew near4 ,the ,salem 
church letter  and ,williams' withdrawal
 from his church made his foes          
determined to  crush him4 ,they had     
thoughts of putting him to death4       
,illustration3 ,fac-simile from         
,original ,records of the ,order for the
  ,banishment of ,roger ,williams4      
,sidenote3 #afce4 #crd ,sept4           
,whereas ,mr4 ,roger ,williams1 one of  
the elders of the church of ,salem1     
hath broached and divulged dyvers newe  
and dangerous opinions against   the    
aucthorite of magistrates1 as also with 

others of defamcon1   both of the       
magistrates and churches here1 and that 
before any   conviccon1 and yet         
maintaineth the same without retraccon1 
it is   therefore ordered1 that the said
 ,mr4 ,williams shall depte out of      
this jurisdiccon within sixe weekes nowe
 nexte ensueing1 wch if hee   neglect to
 pforme1 it shall be lawfull for the    
,gouv'r and two of the   magistrates to 
send him to some place out of this      
jurisdiccon1 not to   returne any more  
without licence from the ,court4    ,the
 ,general ,court convened in the rude   
meeting-house of the church  in         
,newtowne 7,cambridge71 on the corner of
 ,dunster and ,mill ,streets4  ,williams
 maintained his positions4 ,he was asked
 if he desired a month  to reflect and  
then come and argue the matter before   
them4 ,he declined1  choosing 8to       
dispute presently40 ,thomas ,hooker1    
minister at ,newtowne1  was appointed to
 argue with him on the spot1 to make him
 see his  errors4 ,williams' positions  

had a 8rockie strength0 and he was      
ready1  8not only to be bound and       
banished1 but to die also in ,new       
,england2 as  for the most holy truths  
of ,god in ,christ ,jesus40 ,he would   
not recant4  ,so the ,court met the     
following day1 ,friday1 ,october #i1    
#afce1 and passed  the following        
sentence3     ,whereas ,mr4 ,roger      
,williams1 one of the elders of the     
church of ,salem1   hath broached and   
divulged dyvers newe and dangerous      
opinions against   the aucthorite of    
magistrates1 as also with letters of    
defamcon1   both of the magistrates and 
churches here1 and that before any      
conviccon1 and yet maintaineth the same 
without retraccon1 it is   therefore    
ordered1 that the said ,mr4 ,williams   
shall depte out of   this jurisdiccon   
within sixe weekes nowe nexte ensueing1 
wch if hee   neglect to pforme1 it shall
 be lawfull for the ,gouv'r and two of  
the   magistrates to send him to some   
place out of this jurisdiccon1 not to   

returne any more without licence from   
the ,court4    ,illustration3 ,original 
,church at ,salem1 ,mass4               
,illustration3 ,site of ,home of ,roger 
,williams in ,providence1 ,r4 ,i4       
,although ,williams had withdrawn from  
the church at ,salem1 yet his  character
 was such that the town was indignant at
 this decree of the  court4 ,about this 
time1 his second child was born4 ,like  
the prophets  of old1 he gave the child 
a significant name1 calling her         
8,freeborn40  ,mr4 ,williams' health at 
this time was far from being robust4 ,a 
stay  of sentence was therefore granted1
 and he was to be allowed to remain     
until the following spring4 ,he did not 
refrain from advocating his  opinions1  
and soon the authorities heard of       
meetings in his house at  ,salem and of 
twenty who were prepared to go with him 
to found a new  colony at the head of   
the ,narragansett ,bay4 ,at its ,january
 meeting1  the ,court decided to send   
him to ,england at once in a ship then  

about  to return4 ,he was cited to      
appear in ,boston1 but reported         
inability  due to his impaired health4  
,they then sent a pinnace for him by    
sea4  ,being forewarned1 he fled to the 
wilderness in the depths of which1 for  
fourteen weeks1 he suffered the         
hardships of a ,new ,england winter4    
99       99       99       99       99  
,the original ,roger ,williams ,church  
is still preserved at ,salem4 ,the      
first church in the first town of the   
,massachusetts ,bay ,colony was at  the 
corner of ,washington and ,essex        
,streets4 ,there is a brick structure   
there now and a marble tablet marks it  
as the site of the first church  in the 
,massachusetts ,bay ,colony4 ,on another
 tablet1 is the inscription3     ,the   
frame of the first ,meeting ,house in   
which the civil affairs of the   ,colony
 were transacted1 is preserved and now  
stands in the rear of   ,plummer ,hall4 
,plummer ,hall is on ,essex ,street not 
very far from the ,first ,church4  ,in  

the rear is the ,roger ,williams        
,church1 a small building1 measuring    
twenty feet long by seventeen wide by   
twelve high at its posts4  ,originally  
it had a gallery over the door at the   
entrance and a  minister's seat in the  
opposite corner4 ,on the wall opposite  
to the  entrance is a list of its       
succession of pastors and the years of  
their  service3      ,francis ,higginson
                 #afbi-afcj    ,samuel  
,skelton                    #afbi-afcd  
,roger ,williams                        
#afca-afce    ,hugh ,peters             
#afcf-afda etc41 etc4    ,it could      
accommodate about one hundred people4   
,there were only forty  families in     
,salem in #afcb4 ,there were only six   
houses1 besides that  of ,governor      
,endicott1 when ,higginson arrived in   
#afbi4 ,here in this  ancient           
meeting-house ,roger ,williams preached 
those truths which led to  his          
banishment4 ,from its pulpit came1      
clearly stated1 the ideals that         

millions have since accepted4 ,the glory
 of the ,sistine ,chapel in ,rome1  or  
the ,royal ,sancte ,chapella1 of ,paris1
 can never equal the glory of  this     
crude edifice1 the cradle of religious  
liberty in the ,new ,world4    ,the     
,roger ,williams ,home at ,salem is     
still preserved4 ,it is better known  as
 8the ,witch ,house0 because it was     
occupied by ,judge ,carwin1 one of  the 
judges connected with the tragedy of    
#afib4 ,it stands at the western  corner
 of ,essex and ,north ,streets4 ,it was 
built by the founder of ,rhode  ,island 
and was at that time second only to the 
,governor's home4 ,though  it has been  
altered and repaired1 the original rooms
 in this building  are as follows3 ,the 
eastern room on the first floor1 #ah    
#ba1 and  the room directly over it1 #bj
  #ba2 the western room on the first    
floor1 #af  #ah1 and the room over it1  
#af  #bj4 ,the chimney is #h   #ab4 ,the
 part of the house which retains its    
original appearance is the  projecting  

corner of the western part1 fronting on 
,essex ,street4 ,roger  ,williams       
mortgaged this house1 8for supplies10 to
 establish the colony  at ,providence4  
,mr4 ,upham1 in his report to the ,essex
 ,institution1 says of this  wonderful  
house3     ,here1 within these very     
walls1 lived1 two hundred and fifty     
years   ago1 that remarkable and truly  
heroic man1 who1 in his devotion to     
the principle of free conscience1 and   
liberty of belief1 untrammeled   by     
civil power1 penetrated in midwinter in 
the depths of an unknown   wilderness to
 seek a new home1 a home which he could 
find only among   savages1 whose respect
 for the benevolence and truthfulness of
 his   character made them1 then and    
ever afterward1 his constant friends4   
,from this spacious and pleasant        
mansion1 he fled through the deep       
snows of a ,new ,england forest1 leaving
 his wife and young children to   the   
care of ,providence1 whose silent       
8voice0 through the conscience1   was   

his only support and guide4 ,the ,state 
which he founded may ever   look back   
with a just pride upon the history of   
,roger ,williams4          ,,ii    ,,the
 ,,founding ,,of ,,providence     ,a    
community on the unheard-of principles  
of absolute religious liberty   combined
 with perfect civil                     
democracy4--,professor ,mason4     ,thus
 for the first time in history a form of
 government was adopted   which drew a  
clear and unmistakable line between the 
temporal and the   spiritual power1 and 
a community came into being which was an
 anomaly   among the nations4--,prof4   
,j4 ,l4 ,diman4     ,no one principle of
 political or social or religious policy
 lies   nearer the base of ,american    
institutions and has done more to shape 
our career than this principle inherited
 from ,rhode ,island1 and it   may be   
asserted that the future of ,america was
 in a large measure   determined by that
 ,general ,court which summoned ,roger  
,williams to   answer for 8divers new   

and dangerous opinions10 and his        
banishment   became a pivotal act in    
universal history4--,prof4 ,alonzo      
,williams4     ,in summing up the       
history of the struggle for religious   
liberty it   may be said that papal     
bulls and ,protestant creeds have       
favored   tyranny4 ,theologians of the  
sixteenth century and philosophers of   
the seventeenth1 ,descartes1 ,spinoza1  
and ,hobbes1 favored the ,state         
churches4 ,it was bitter experience of  
persecution that led jurists1   and     
statesmen of ,holland and ,france1 in   
face of the opposition of   theologians 
and philosophers1 to enforce the        
toleration of dissent4   ,while there   
was toleration in ,holland and ,france1 
there was1 for the   first time1 in the 
history of the world in any             
commonwealth1 liberty   and equality and
 separation of ,church and ,state in    
,rhode ,island4--,w4   ,w4 ,evarts1 in  
8,the ,long ,road to ,freedom of        
,worship40     ,in the code of laws     

established by them1 we read for the    
first time   since ,christianity        
ascended the throne of the ,csars1 the  
declaration   that conscience should be 
free and men should not be punished for 
worshiping ,god in the way they were    
persuaded he requires4--,judge   ,story4
          ,,the ,,founding ,,of         
,,providence      ,roger ,williams left 
,salem on or about ,january #ae1 #afcf1 
making the  journey alone through the   
forests4 ,with a pocket compass1 and a  
sun-dial to tell the hours1 he set out1 
probably taking the road to  ,boston for
 some distance4 ,nearing ,boston1       
presumably at ,saugus1 he went  west for
 a while and then straight south until  
he reached the home  of ,massasoit1 the 
,wampanoag sachem1 at ,mount ,hope1 near
 ,bristol4 ,the  ground was covered with
 snow1 and he must have suffered sorely 
on this  journey of eighty or ninety    
miles4 ,thirty-five years later in a    
letter  to ,major ,mason1 he refers to  
this experience3     ,first1 when ,i was

 unkindly and unchristianly1 as ,i      
believe1 driven   from my house and     
land1 and wife and children 7in the     
midst of a ,new   ,england winter1 now  
about thirty-five years past71 at       
,salem1 that   ever-honored ,governor1  
,mr4 ,winthrop1 privately wrote me to   
steer my   course to ,narragansett ,bay 
and the ,indians1 for many high and     
public   ends1 encouraging me1 from the 
freeness of the place from any ,english 
claims or patents4 ,i took his prudent  
notion as a hint and voice from   ,god1 
and waving all other thoughts and       
notions1 ,i steered my course   from    
,salem 7though in winter snow1 which ,i 
feel yet7 unto those parts   wherein ,i 
may say 8,peniel02 that is1 ,i have seen
 the face of ,god4    ,he also wrote3   
8,i was sorely tossed for one fourteen  
weeks1 in a bitter  winter season1 not  
knowing what bread or bed did mean60 ,in
 his old  age he exclaimed1 8,i bear to 
this day in my body the effects of that 
winter's exposure40 ,in one of his books

 he refers to 8hardships of sea  and    
land in a banished condition40    ,the  
precious relics of this flight are the  
sun-dial and compass1 now in  the       
possession of the ,rhode ,island        
,historical ,society4    ,williams      
finally reached ,seekonk ,cove1 about   
the twenty-third of  ,april4 ,the spot  
was at ,manton's ,neck1 near the cove1  
where there was  a good spring of water4
 ,here he was joined by four companions1
 his  wife1 and two children4 8,i gave  
leave to ,william ,harris1 then poor and
  destitute10 said ,williams1 8to come  
along in my company4 ,i consented to    
,john ,smith1 miller at ,dorchester     
7banished also71 to go with me1 and1  at
 ,john ,smith's desire1 to a poor young 
fellow1 ,francis ,wickes1 as also  a lad
 of ,richard ,waterman's40 ,the latter  
was doubtless ,thomas ,angell4  ,joshua 
,verein came later4 ,some historians    
think that others joined them  at the   
,seekonk before they were compelled to  
leave4 ,here they remained  for two     

months4 ,after providing rude shelters  
and sowing seeds1 they  received a      
warning to move on4 8,i received a      
letter10 said ,williams1     from my    
ancient friend1 ,mr4 ,winslow1 the      
,governor of ,plymouth1   professing his
 own and others' love for me1 yet       
lovingly advising me1   since ,i was    
fallen into the edge of their bounds1   
and they were loathe   to displease the 
,bay1 to remove to the other side of the
 water1 and   there1 he said1 ,i had the
 country free before me1 and might be   
free as   themselves1 and we should be  
loving neighbors together4              
,illustration3 ,sun-dial and ,compass   
,used by ,roger ,williams in ,his       
,flight ,courtesy of 8,providence       
,magazine0    ,his removal cost him the 
8loss of a harvest that year40          
,historians are  agreed that about the  
end of ,june he left ,seekonk4 ,the two 
hundred and  fiftieth anniversary was   
celebrated1 ,june #bc and #bd1 #ahhf4   
,embarking  in a crude ,indian canoe1   

,williams and his companions1 six in    
all1  crossed over the river to a little
 cove on the west side1 where they  were
 halted by a party of ,indians1 with the
 friendly interrogation1  8,what cheer80
 ,here the party landed on a rock which 
has been known ever  since as 8,what    
,cheer ,rock40 ,the cove is now filled  
and the rock covered  from sight4 ,a    
suitable monument has been erected over 
the rock4 ,it  is in an open park space 
at the corner of ,roger and ,williams   
,streets1  ,providence4 ,a piece of this
 rock is preserved at the ,first        
,baptist  ,church of ,providence1 and   
another has recently been placed in     
cross  form in the lobby floor of the   
new ,central ,baptist ,church of the    
same  city4 ,it is hoped that a piece of
 this rock will be worked into the      
,national ,baptist ,memorial in our     
country's capital4    ,illustration3    
,spring at the ,seekonk ,settlement     
,illustration3 ,tablet ,marking ,seekonk
 ,site    ,illustration3 ,what ,cheer   

,rock4 ,landing-place of ,roger         
,williams    ,after friendly salutations
 with the ,indians1 they reembarked and 
made  their way down the river around   
the headland of ,tockwotten and past    
,indian and ,fox points1 where they     
reached the mouth of the ,moshassuck    
,river4 ,rowing up this beautiful       
stream1 then bordered on either side    
with a dense forest1 they landed on the 
east side of the river1  where there was
 an inviting spring4 ,here1 on the      
ascending slopes  of the hill1 they     
commenced a new settlement1 which       
,williams called  8,providence10 in     
gratitude to ,god's merciful ,providence
 to them in  their distress4 ,later1    
when they spread out in larger numbers  
and in  all directions from this place1 
it was called 8,providence              
,plantations40  ,they prepared shelters 
for their families1 probably wigwams    
made  of poles covered with hemlock     
boughs and forest leaves4 ,we can in    
imagination see them climb the hill to a

 point where ,prospect ,street  now     
runs1 to enjoy a wider view of their new
 territory4    ,from that height of     
almost two hundred feet they saw to the 
westward1  through openings in the      
forest1 the cove at the head of the     
great salt  river with broad sandy      
beaches on the eastern and northern     
shores  and salt marshes bordering the  
western and southern4 ,from the north   
the sparkling waters of the ,moshassuck 
,river came leaping over the  falls as  
it emptied itself into the estuary at   
its mouth4 ,bordering  this stream was a
 valley of beauty and fertility4 ,the   
clear waters  of the ,woonasquatucket   
threaded their way from the west through
  another fertile valley4 ,between these
 rivers and also southward 7of  the     
,woonasquatucket7 was a sandy plateau1  
covered with pine forests  stretching to
 the ,indian town of ,mashapaug on the  
southwest and  ,pawtuxet ,valley to the 
south4 ,between the edge of the tidal   
flow and  the open waters of the great  

salt river there was a salt marsh dotted
  with islands1 beyond which rose the   
bold peak of ,weybosset ,hill4  ,down   
the river to the south they saw the     
steep hills of ,sassafras  and ,field's 
,point1 beyond which could be seen the  
lower bay and its  forest-covered shores
 and islands4 ,the eastern slope of the 
hill  stretched a mile toward the shore 
of the ,seekonk4 ,to the northeast  the 
view was cut off by a higher eminence   
covered with oak and pine4  ,in all     
directions1 save that of the bay itself1
 the farther distances  were lost in an 
indistinguishable maze of forest-crowned
 heights4 ,at  the feet of the          
spectators was the place of their       
immediate settlement1  where the western
 slope of the hill gradually diminished 
in height  toward the south4 ,at its    
lowest extremity1 ,fox ,point projected 
into the  bay4 ,this slope was covered  
with a growth of oak and hickory4       
,a ,,purchased ,,possession    ,roger   
,williams differed from the ordinary    

colonists of his age1 who  held that the
 ,indian1 being heathen1 had no real    
ownership of the  land4 ,it belonged to 
the ,christians who might first claim it
 by right  of discovery4 ,williams1 who 
8always aimed to do the ,indians only   
good10 recognized ,indian ownership and 
secured his colony from them  by        
purchase4 ,here among them he first     
sought to apply his doctrine of         
soul-liberty4 ,to him they were humans  
with equal rights and privileges4  ,he  
bitterly fought the ,puritan position   
that the pagan heathen had  no property 
rights which the ,christian1 with his   
superior culture1  was bound to respect4
 ,roger ,williams insisted that the land
 should be  purchased from the ,indians1
 the original owners4 ,he gained the    
lasting  respect of the ,indian and the 
undying animosity of the ,puritan for   
holding to ideals which have since come 
to be recognized as ,american4  ,he thus
 laid the foundation for the belief in  
,america that the weaker  and smaller   

powers have rights which the greater    
powers must respect1  a belief which led
 us into the recent great war4 ,while   
this principle  is receiving world-wide 
application1 let us not forget that     
,roger  ,williams was the pioneer of    
international justice in ,america1 if   
not  in the world4 ,the land viewed from
 the top of the hill was owned by  five 
distinct ,indian tribes4 ,the           
,narragansetts dominated over all the   
lands now occupied by ,rhode ,island1   
and ruled over all other lesser  tribes 
in this territory4 ,in the northern part
 of this ,state1 the  ,nipmucs lived in 
the place now occupied by ,smithfield1  
,glocester1 and  ,burrilville4 ,on the  
southern seacoast border dwelt the      
,niantics4 ,part  of the ,wampanoag     
tribe dwelt in ,cumberland and extended 
to the western  side of the river which 
we now call the ,blackstone4 ,the       
,pequots lived  in ,connecticut ,colony4
 ,indian government was monarchial1 and 
became  extinct with the slaughter of   

the last of the line of rulers or       
sachems  in the massacre of ,july #b1   
#afgf4 ,canonicus was the ruling sachem 
when  the ,english first came4 ,as he   
grew old he needed an assistant and his 
nephew1 ,miantonomo1 was appointed4     
,miantonomo worked well with the  elder 
chief4 ,he never succeeded to the       
position of ruling chief1 being         
murdered in #afdc4 ,roger ,williams     
secured his land from these sachems4    
,williams wrote in #affa as follows3    
,i was the procurer of the purchase1 not
 by monies1 nor payments1 the   natives 
being so shy and jealous1 that monies   
could not do it1 but   by that language1
 acquaintance1 and favor with the       
natives and other   advantages which it 
pleased ,god to give me1 and also bore  
the charges   and venture of all the    
gratuities which ,i gave to the great   
,sachems   and natives round about us1  
and lay engaged for a loving and        
peaceable   neighborhood with1 to my    
great charge and travel4                

,illustration3 ,original ,deed of       
,providence from the ,indians    ,he    
found ,indian gifts very costly4        
,presents were made frequently4  ,he    
allowed the ,indians to use his pinnace 
and shallop at command1  transporting   
and lodging fifty at his home at a time4
 ,he never denied  them any lawful      
thing4 ,canonicus had freely what he    
desired from ,roger  ,williams'         
trading-post at ,narragansett4 ,william 
,harris stated in #afgg  that ,roger    
,williams had paid thus one hundred and 
sixty pounds 7#hjj7  for ,providence and
 ,pawtucket4    ,mr4 ,williams          
generously admitted the first twelve    
proprietors of the  ,providence         
,purchase to an equal share with        
himself1 without exacting  any          
remuneration4 ,the thirty pounds which  
he received were paid by  succeeding    
settlers1 at the rate of thirty         
shillings each4 ,this was not  a payment
 for the land but what he called 8a     
loving gratuity40 ,straus  says3     ,he

 might have been like ,william ,penn1   
the proprietor of his colony1   after   
having secured it by patent from the    
rulers in ,england1 and thus   have     
exercised a control over its government 
and enriched himself and   family4 ,but 
this was not his purpose1 nor was it    
directly or remotely   the cause for    
which he suffered banishment and misery4
 ,principle--not   profit2 liberty--not 
power2 conviction--not ambition1 were   
his   impelling motives which he        
consistently maintained1 theoretically  
and   practically then1 and at all      
times4    ,williams' own words were3    
,i desired it might be for a shelter for
 persons distressed for   conscience4 ,i
 then considering the conditions of     
divers of my   distressed countrymen1 ,i
 communicated my said purchase unto my  
loving   friends 7whom he names7 who    
desired to take shelter with me4    ,he 
afterward purchased1 jointly with       
,governor ,winthrop1 the ,island of     
,prudence from ,canonicus4 ,he also     

purchased1 a little later1 the small    
islands of ,patience and ,hope1         
afterward selling his interest in them  
to  help pay his expenses to ,england on
 business for the colony4    ,following 
is a true copy of the ,original ,deed of
 ,land for ,providence  from ,canonicus 
and ,miantonomo3     ,at ,nanhiggansick1
 the #bdth of the first month1 commonly 
called ,march1   in the second year of  
the ,plantations of ,plantings at       
,mooshausick or   ,providence4          
,memorandum that we ,caunaunicus and    
,meauntunomo1 the two   chief sachems of
 ,nanhiggansick1 having two years since 
sold unto ,roger   ,williams1 the lands 
and meadows upon the two fresh rivers1  
called   ,mooshausick and               
,wanasquatucket1 do now by these        
presents1 establish   and confirm the   
bounds of those lands1 from the river   
and fields at   ,pawtucket1 the great   
hill of ,neotackonkonutt1 on the        
northwest1 and   the town of ,mashapauge
 on the west4 ,as also in consideration 

of the   many kindnesses and services he
 hath continually done for us1 both     
with our friends of ,massachusetts1 as  
also at ,quinickicutt and ,apaum1   or  
,plymouth1 we do now freely give unto   
him all the land from those   rivers    
reaching to ,pawtuxet ,river1 as also   
the grass and meadows upon   the said   
,pawtuxet ,river4 ,in witness whereof we
 have hereunto set our   hands4     ,in 
the presence of      ,the ,mark 99 of   
,setash1    ,the ,mark 99 of            
,assotenewit1    ,the ,mark 99 of       
,caunaunicus1    ,the ,mark 99 of       
,meauntunomo4    ,this original deed is 
preserved1 as a precious relic1 in the  
,city ,hall  at ,providence4            
,illustration3 ,williams' ,letter of    
,transference to ,his ,loving ,friends  
,,early ,,experiences ,,in ,,providence 
,the ,providence planters soon built    
their crude homes4 ,the ,indian  name of
 the plantation was ,notaquonchanet4 ,in
 their early records of  ,providence    
this name is spelt in at least forty-two

 different forms4  ,other settlers came 
and swelled their numbers4 ,the original
 six were  bound together by a compact4 
,it was verbal1 or if written1 the copy 
has  been lost4 ,when new settlers came 
and ,wickes and ,angell had reached     
majority1 a copy of the original        
agreement was drawn up and signed by    
those not included in the first compact4
 ,williams was familiar with the  great 
compact signed in the ,mayflower by the 
,pilgrims and probably it  suggested to 
his mind the need of one in ,providence4
 ,this ,providence  ,compact is as      
follows3     ,we1 whose names are       
hereunder written1 being desirous to    
inhabit in   the town of ,providence1 do
 promise to submit ourselves in active  
or   passive obedience1 to all such     
orders or agreements as shall be made   
for the public good of the body1 in an  
orderly way1 by the major   consent of  
the present inhabitants1 masters of     
families1 incorporated   together into a
 township1 and such others whom they    

shall admit unto   the same1 ,,only ,,in
 ,,civil ,,things4    ,edmund ,j4       
,carpenter says of this ,compact3     ,a
 compact of government1 which in its    
terms1 must be regarded as   the most   
remarkable political document           
theretofore executed1 not   even        
excepting the ,magna ,charta4 ,it was a 
document which placed a   government1   
formed by the people1 solely in the     
control of the civil   arm4 ,it gave the
 first example of a pure democracy1 from
 which all   ecclesiastical power was   
eliminated4 ,it was the first           
enunciation   of a great principle1     
which years later1 formed the           
corner-stone of   the great republic4   
,it was the act of a statesman fully a  
century in   advance of his time4    ,at
 the west entrance to the street        
railroad tunnel in ,providence a  bronze
 tablet commemorates the fact that there
 in the open air the  first town        
meetings were held4    ,roger ,williams'
 house was opposite the spring1         

forty-eight feet to the  east of the    
present ,main ,street and four feet     
north of ,howland ,street4  ,next1 to   
the north of his residence1 was the     
house and lot of ,joshua  ,verein4      
,north of this was ,richard ,scott's4   
,the first house south of  ,williams'   
was that of ,john ,throckmorton and1    
beyond1 that of ,william  ,harris4 ,at  
first the struggle for existence was    
hard1 more so because  of the loss of   
the crops planted at ,seekonk4 ,governor
 ,winslow1 of  ,plymouth1 conscious of  
the wrong ,plymouth ,colony had done to 
,williams1  visited the little          
settlement that first summer and left a 
gift of gold  with ,mrs4 ,williams4 ,in 
the spring and summer of the following  
year1 new  houses were built along the  
street4 ,the new settlers brought money 
with  them1 and ,williams enlisted      
outside capital to help develop the     
colony4    ,illustration3 ,the ,original
 ,providence 8,compact0     ,drawn up by
 the men of ,providence1 ,august #bj1   

#afch1 and now contained   in the ,city 
,hall4 ,one of the most valuable        
documents in existence1   under which   
,williams and his companions promised to
 subject themselves   in active and     
passive obedience1 but 8,only in ,civil 
,things40     8,you must look to the    
,magna ,charta1 for another such        
epoch-making   decree1 for these1 with  
the ,declaration and the ,emancipation  
,proclamation1 are the four great       
dynamic forces of ,american             
,freedom40--,r4 ,b4 ,,burchard4         
,courtesy of 8,providence ,magazine10   
,october1 #aiae    ,the number of town  
lots increased4 ,the land lay between   
the present  ,main ,street and ,hope    
,street4 ,each lot was of equal width   
and ran  eastward4 ,eventually there    
were one hundred and two of these lots  
extending from ,mile ,end ,brook1 which 
enters the river a little north  of ,fox
 ,point1 to ,harrington's ,lane1 now the
 dividing line between  ,providence and 
,north ,providence4 ,meeting and ,power 

,streets were the  dividing streets in  
those early days4 ,in addition to the   
home lot1 each  proprietor had an 8out  
six-acre lot0 assigned to him4          
,williams' 8out  lot0 was at 8,what     
,cheer ,rock40      ,,the ,,threatened  
,,indian ,,trouble    ,williams1        
although suffering from ,puritan        
persecution1 had an  opportunity that   
first year of doing good to his         
persecutors4 ,he became  the savior of  
all the ,new ,england ,colonies4 ,the   
,pequot ,indians planned  the           
annihilation of the ,english4 ,williams1
 hearing of this1 did his  utmost to    
break up an ,indian league1 and kept the
 ,narragansetts from  joining the       
,pequots and ,mohicans4 ,he describes   
this experience in the  following       
statement3     ,the ,lord helped me     
immediately to put my life into my      
hands1 and   scarce acquainting my wife1
 to ship alone1 in a poor canoe1 and to 
cut through a stormy wind1 with great   
seas1 every minute in hazard of   life1 

to the sachem's house4 ,three days and  
nights my business forced   me to lodge 
and mix with the bloody ,pequod         
ambassadors1 whose hands   and arms1    
methought1 reeked with the blood of my  
countrymen1 murdered   and massacred by 
them on the ,connecticut ,river1 and    
from whom ,i could   not but nightly    
look for their bloody knives at my own  
throat also4   ,god wondrously preserved
 me1 and helped me to break the         
,pequod's   negotiation and design2 and 
to make and finish1 by many travels and 
charges1 the ,english league with the   
,narragansetts and ,mohegans   against  
the ,pequods4    ,as a result of this1  
the tribe of ,pequots was obliterated   
completely  and a danger hanging over   
all the colonies was removed4    ,the   
,indian villages of southern ,new       
,england were composed at times of  as  
many as fifty houses or wigwams4 ,most  
of these wigwams were shaped  like the  
half of an orange1 with the flat or cut 
surface down4 ,they  were ten to twelve 

feet in diameter and could accommodate  
two families4  ,other houses were like  
the half of a stovepipe cut lengthwise1 
twenty  to thirty feet long1 and        
accommodated from two families in the   
summertime to fifty in the winter1 when 
the people crowded together  for the    
sake of warmth4 ,the council-chamber was
 often as long as  one hundred feet with
 a width of thirty feet4 ,it was used   
only for  councils4 ,a fortified        
stockade in the center of the village   
was made  of logs set into the ground4  
,such was the shelter afforded ,williams
  when he fled from ,salem1 and such was
 the place when he met the ,indian      
sachems in council seeking to avert the 
massacre of the whites4 ,in  these      
villages he preached the everlasting    
gospel of the ,son of ,god4  ,he had the
 constant confidence of ,indian sachems 
because he applied to  them the         
principle of soul-liberty which he      
sought to practise among  the whites4   
,in the autumn of #afch1 ,roger         

,williams' third child and first son was
  born and named 8,providence40 ,he was 
the first white male child born  in this
 colony4 ,in the year #afci-afdj the    
town grew and felt the need  of a system
 of town government4 ,on ,july #bc1     
#afdj1 an organization was  decided upon
 in which they vested the care of the   
general interests of  the town in five  
8disposers0 or arbitrators4 ,the people 
retained the  right to appeal from the  
8disposers0 to the general town meeting4
 ,they  were careful to provide that as 
8formerly hath been the liberties of    
the town1 so still to hold for the      
liberty of conscience40    ,in #afch a  
settlement had been made at ,portsmouth 
on ,rhode ,island4  ,john ,clarke and   
,mrs4 ,ann ,hutchinson were the leaders 
of this new band  who were looking for a
 place where they might have religious  
freedom1  which was denied them at      
,boston4 ,they went first to ,new       
,hampshire1  but1 finding it too cold   
there1 turned to the south4 ,by the     

friendly  assistance of ,mr4 ,williams1 
they secured from ,canonicus and        
,miantonomo1  for a consideration of    
forty fathoms of white beads1 ,aquidneck
 and  other islands in ,narragansett    
,bay4 ,the natives residing on the      
island  itself were induced to remove   
for a consideration of ten coats and    
twenty hoes4 ,the new settlers chose    
,mr4 ,coddington to be their judge  and 
united in a covenant with each other and
 with their ,god4 ,they made  ,mr4      
,coddington their governor in #afdj4    
,illustration3 ,,plan ,,showing ,,the   
,,first ,,division ,,of ,,home ,,lots   
,,in  ,providence1 ,r4,i4    ,about this
 same time a number of ,providence      
people settled in ,pawtuxet1  four miles
 south of ,providence in territory ceded
 to ,williams4 ,warwick  and ,shawomet  
were settled by ,samuel ,gorton and his 
friends4 ,gorton  was a strange         
character who did not find things       
congenial for him at  ,boston1          
,plymouth1 and ,newport in turn4 ,roger 

,williams1 however1 gave  him shelter in
 ,providence4 ,finally he went to       
,pawtuxet and later to  ,shawomet1 for  
which he paid four fathoms of wampum to 
the ,indians4 ,at  once ,boston ,colony 
claimed that ,shawomet was under their  
jurisdiction4  ,gorton and his          
associates refused to come to ,boston at
 the bidding of  the authorities4 ,forty
 soldiers came to ,shawomet and seized  
,gorton and  ten of his friends and     
imprisoned them in ,boston4 ,they were  
tried for  their lives1 escaping only by
 two votes4 ,they were then imprisoned  
in  the various towns4 ,each one was    
compelled to wear a chain fast bolted   
around his legs4 ,if they spoke to any  
person1 other than an officer of  the   
,church or of the ,state1 they were to  
be put to death4 ,they were  kept at    
labor that winter and then banished in  
the spring4 ,gorton  escaped to ,england
 and secured an order from the ,earl of 
,warwick and  the ,commissioners of the 
,colonies requiring ,massachusetts not  

to molest  the settlers at ,shawomet4   
,thereafter ,gorton and his friends     
occupied  their lands in peace4         
,gorton wrote his side of the question  
in 8,simplicities ,defence10 in  which  
he referred to his persecutors as 8,that
 ,servant so ,imperious in  his         
,master's ,absence ,revived40 ,this is  
another indictment against the          
persecuting ,puritans by one who found  
shelter in the ,baptist colony of       
,rhode ,island4    ,illustration        
,,simplicities ,,defence                
against                                 
,,seven-,,headed ,,policy4              
,,or                 ,innocency         
,vindicated1 being unjustly ,accused1   
and sorely ,censured1 by that           
,seven-headed ,church-,government       
,united in                              
,,new-,,england3                        
,,or               ,that ,servant so    
,imperious in his ,masters ,absence     
,revived1 and now thus re-acting in     
,,new-,,england4                        

,,or       ,the combate of the ,united  
,colonies1 not onely against some of the
    ,natives and ,subjects1 but against 
the ,authority also of the ,kingdme of  
,england1 with their execution of ,laws1
 in the name and ,authority of    the   
servant1 7or of themselves7 and not in  
the ,name and ,authority of             
the ,lord1 or fountain of the           
,government4        ,wherein is declared
 an ,act of a great people and ,country 
of the    ,indians in those parts1 both 
,princes and ,people 7unanimously7 in   
their voluntary ,submission and         
,subjection unto the ,protection and    
,government of ,old ,england 7from the  
,fame they hear thereof7 together       
with the true manner and forme of it1 as
 it appears under their own      hands  
and seals1 being stirred up1 and        
provoked thereto1 by the                
,combate and courses above-said4        
,throughout which ,treatise is secretly 
intermingled1 that great    ,opposition1
 which is in the goings forth of those  

two grand ,spirits1    that are and ever
 have been1 extant in the ,world        
7through the sons of              men7  
from the beginning and foundation       
thereof4        ,imprimatur1 ,aug4 #c4  
#afdf4 ,diligently perused1 approved1   
and     ,licensed to the ,presse1       
according to ,order by publike          
,authority4                             
,,london1      ,printed by ,john        
,macock1 and are to be sold by ,,luke   
,,favvne1 at his      shop in ,pauls    
,church-yard1 at the sign of the        
,parrot4 #afdf4      ,,the ,,story ,,of 
,,the ,,first ,,charter    ,as the      
colony grew1 it was found necessary that
 there should be some  vested authority 
which would command respect from the    
neighbors4  ,notwithstanding what       
,williams had done for the ,plymouth and
  ,massachusetts ,bay colonies in       
connection with the ,pequot ,war1 and   
the  personal friendships he had with   
the governors1 they would not consider  
that he or his had any separate colony  

rights whatever4 ,he had been  their    
,joseph driven from home and country by 
hostile brethren4 ,in  exile1 he became 
the savior of his brethren from a       
dreadful massacre  by the ,indians4     
,nevertheless1 ,plymouth claimed        
jurisdiction over all  the plantations  
in ,narragansett ,bay1 and              
,massachusetts claimed it over          
,providence1 ,pawtuxet1 and ,shawomet4  
,the ,dutch had formed a trading-post   
at ,dutch ,island and elsewhere and     
could strike a blow at the colony  at   
any time4 ,out of these conditions grew 
the demand for a charter4  ,roger       
,williams1 at a great personal          
sacrifice1 went to ,england from        
,manhattan1 now ,new ,york ,city1       
because the two colonies to the north   
forbade his departure from their ports4 
,arriving in ,england1 he found the     
country in the midst of the great       
,civil ,war4 ,king ,charles was         
powerless because ,parliament controlled
 the  realm4 ,parliament had placed     

colonial interest in charge of a        
committee  of which the ,earl of        
,warwick was chairman or 8,governor in  
,chief1 and  ,lord ,high ,admiral of the
 ,colonies40 ,from this council a       
charter was  granted1 ,march #ag1 #afdd4
 ,the colony was incorporated as        
8,providence  ,plantations0 and embraced
 the territory now covered by the ,state
 of  ,rhode ,island4 ,there was granted 
to the inhabitants of ,providence1      
,portsmouth1 and ,newport1 a     free   
and absolute charter of incorporation   
444 together with full   power and      
authority to govern themselves and such 
others as shall   hereafter inhabit     
within any part of said tract of land by
 such form   of civil government as by  
the voluntary consent of all or the     
greatest   part of them shall be found  
most serviceable to their estate and    
condition1 etc4    ,upon the return of  
,williams1 the inhabitants of           
,providence1 learning of  his approach1 
came out in fourteen canoes to meet him 

at the ,seekonk4  ,they traveled over   
the historic course which he had        
traveled six years  before when he was  
an exile4 ,now in triumph they escorted 
their beloved  leader to home and native
 town4 ,a picture of his return with the
  charter1 by ,grant1 is on the walls of
 the ,court ,house at ,providence4      
,illustration3 ,the ,arrival of ,roger  
,williams with the ,charter    ,the     
earliest published work of ,mr4         
,williams is entitled1     ,a ,,key     
,,into ,,the ,,language ,,of ,,america3 
or1 an help to the ,language of   the   
,natives in that part of ,america1      
called ,new-,england4 ,together1   with 
briefe ,observations of the ,customes1  
,manners and ,worships1 etc4   of the   
aforesaid ,natives1 in ,peace and       
,warre1 in ,life and ,death4 ,on   all  
which are added ,spirituall             
,observations1 ,generall and ,particular
   by the ,authour1 of chiefe and       
speciall use 7upon all occasions7 to all
   the ,english ,inhabiting those parts2

 yet pleasant and profitable to   the   
view of all men3 ,by ,roger ,williams of
 ,providence in ,new-,england4          
,london1 ,printed by ,gregory ,dexter1  
#afdc4    ,it was written at sea1 en    
route to ,england1 in the summer of     
#afdc4  ,copies of the original edition 
are in the ,bodleian ,library1 at       
,oxford1 the ,british ,museum1 also in  
the ,library of the ,massachusetts      
,historical ,society1 ,harvard ,college1
 ,brown ,university1 and the ,american  
,antiquarian ,society at ,worcester4 ,it
 comprises two hundred and sixteen      
small duodecimo pages1 including preface
 and table4    ,the second published    
work of ,roger ,williams is entitled1   
8,mr4 ,cottons  ,letter ,lately         
,printed1 ,examined and ,answered4 ,by  
,roger ,williams of  ,providence1 in    
,new-,england4 ,london1 ,imprinted in   
the ,yeere #afdd40 ,mr4  ,cotton had    
sought to 8take off the edge of ,censure
 from himself0--that  he was no procurer
 of the sorrow which came to ,williams  

in his flight  and exile4 ,it is a small
 quarto of forty-seven pages1 preceded  
by  an address of two pages4 ,the letter
 referred to was written by ,john       
,cotton1 and was published in ,london1  
#afdc4 ,the author vindicated the  act  
of the magistrates in banishing ,roger  
,williams from ,massachusetts4  ,he     
denies that he himself had any agency in
 it4 ,it consists of thirteen  small    
quarto pages4 ,good copies of both the  
,letter and the reply are  in the       
,library of ,brown ,university4 ,two    
copies of the reply are in  ,england1   
one in the ,british ,museum1 the other  
in ,bodleian ,library4 ,a  mutilated    
copy of the reply is also in the        
,library of ,yale ,college4    ,roger   
,williams wrote also1 when in ,england1 
securing the ,charter for  ,rhode       
,island1 a work entitled1 8,the ,bloudy 
,tenent1 of ,persecution for  cause of  
,conscience1 discussed40 ,it is         
considered the best written of  all his 
works4 ,these discussions were prepared 

in ,london1     for publike view1 in    
charge of roomes and corners1 yea1      
sometimes in   variety of strange       
houses1 sometimes in the fields1 in the 
midst of   travel1 where he hath been   
forced to gather and scatter his loose  
thoughts and papers4    ,it is written  
in an animated style and has the        
adornment of beautiful  imagery4        
,original copies are rare1 eight only   
are known to exist1 one  in the ,british
 ,museum1 one in ,bodleian ,library1 one
 in ,brown ,university  ,library1 one in
 ,harvard ,college ,library4            
,illustration                           
,m ,cottons                             
,,letter                                
,lately ,printed1                       
,,examined                              
,,and                                   
,,ansvvered3                      ,by   
,roger ,williams of ,providence         
,in                                     
,new,england4                           
,illustration                           

,,london1                               
,imprinted in the yeere #afdd4          
,illustration                           
,,the                                   
,,blovdy ,,tenent1                      
of ,,persecution1 for cause of          
,,conscience1 discussed1 in             
,a ,conference betweene                 
,,trvth and ,,peace4                    
,,who1                 ,in all tender   
,affection1 present to the ,high        
,court of ,parliament1 7as the ,result  
of                 their ,discourse7    
these1 7amongst other                   
,passages7 of highest consideration4    
,illustration                           
,printed in the ,year #afdd4    ,this   
work is based on a ,baptist publication1
 entitled 8,an ,humble  ,supplication to
 the ,king's ,majesty1 as it was        
presented #afbj40 ,this  latter was a   
clear and concise argument against      
persecution and  for liberty of         
conscience4 ,it was written by ,murton1 
or some other  ,london ,baptist1 who was

 imprisoned in ,newgate for conscience  
sake4  ,his confinement was so rigid    
that he was denied pen1 paper1 and ink4 
,a friend in ,london sent him sheets of 
paper1 as stoppers for the  bottles     
containing his daily allowance of milk4 
,he wrote his thoughts  on these sheets 
with milk1 returning them to his friends
 as stoppers  for the empty bottles4    
,they were held to the fire and thus    
became  legible4 ,roger ,williams based 
his book on the argument of this        
8,humble  ,supplication40               
,illustration3 ,roger ,williams'        
,reference to 8,an ,humble              
,supplication0  in ,his 8,bloudy        
,tenent0     ,in such ,paper written    
with ,milk nothing will appeare1 but the
 way   of reading it by fire being      
knowne to this friend who received   the
 ,papers1 he transcribed and kept       
together the ,papers1 although   the    
,author himselfe could not correct1 nor 
view what himselfe had   written4       
,it was in milke1 tending to soule      

nourishment1 even for ,babes   and      
,sucklings in ,christ4     ,it was in   
milke1 spiritually white1 pure and      
innocent1 like   those white horses of  
the ,word of truth and meeknesse1 and   
the white ,linnen or ,armour of         
rightousnesse1 in the ,army of   ,jesus4
 ,rev4 #f4  #ai4     ,it was in milke1  
soft1 meeke1 peaceable and gentle1      
tending both to   the peace of soules1  
and the peace of ,states and ,kingdomes4
     ,sidenote3 ,the ,answer writ in    
,bloud4     ,peace4 ,the ,answer 7though
 ,i hope out of milkie pure intentions7 
is   returned in bloud3 bloudy          
slaughterous conclusions2 bloudy   to   
the souls of all men1 forc'd to the     
,religion and ,worship   which every    
civil ,state or ,common-weale agrees on1
 and compells all   subjects to in a    
dissembled uniformitie4     ,bloudy to  
the bodies1 first of the holy witnesses 
of ,christ   ,jesus1 who testifie       
against such invented worships4         
,secondly1 of the ,nations and ,peoples 

slaughtering each other for   their     
severall respective ,religions and      
,consciences4           99       99     
99       99       99    ,the little band
 which settled ,providence on that ,june
 day1 #afcf1  had grown into a large    
town4 ,with other towns they suffered   
the  same injustice from neighboring    
colonies4 ,the assembly in ,newport1    
,september #ai1 #afdb1 which intrusted  
the work of securing a charter to       
,williams1 was in reality fusing        
together these separate groups1 which   
had a common enemy and common           
principles1 into a ,state4 ,the ,town of
  ,providence1 a great monument to      
,roger ,williams1 must now give way to  
the ,state of ,rhode ,island1 which was 
destined to become a still larger       
monument to the ideals of this great    
exponent of civil and religious         
liberty1 8a liberty which does not      
permit license in civil matters in      
contempt of law and order40             
,,iii    ,,the ,,historic ,,custodians  

,,of ,,soul-,,liberty     ,roger        
,williams must forever rank as one of   
the great epoch-makers   of the world1  
and to him impartial historians accord  
the honor of   being the first democrat4
 ,it was not until his expulsion from   
,salem   ,colony that he became a       
,baptist1 but the evidence is           
indisputable   that he had long been a  
,baptist at heart4 ,he had spent much   
time   among the ,baptists in ,england  
and was familiar with their doctrines   
and writings4 ,no sooner had ,williams  
set foot in ,america than he   found    
himself in conflict with the            
authorities1 both civil and             
religious4--,s4 ,z4 ,batten1 in 8,the   
,christian ,state40     ,there is not a 
confession of faith1 nor a creed1 framed
 by any of the   ,reformers1 which does 
not give the magistrate a coercive power
 in   religion1 and almost every one at 
the same time curses the resisting      
,baptists4--,e4 ,b4 ,underhill1 in      
8,struggles and ,triumphs40     ,godly  

princes may lawfully issue edicts for   
compelling obstinate and   rebellious   
persons to worship the true ,god and to 
maintain the unity   of the             
faith4--,calvin4     ,democracy1 ,i do  
not conceyve that ever ,god did ordeyne 
as a fit   government eyther for ,church
 or ,commonwealth4444 ,as for monarchy  
and   aristocracy1 they are both of them
 clearly approved1 and directed in      
,scripture4--,john ,cotton4     ,it is  
said that ,men ought to have ,liberty of
 their ,conscience1 and   that it is    
,persecution to debar them of it2 ,i can
 stand amazed than   reply to this3 ,it 
is an astonishment to think that the    
brains of   men should be parboiled in  
such impious ignorance4--,rev4          
,nathaniel   ,ward1 ,lawyer ,divine1 of 
,ipswich1 who drew up the first legal   
code for   ,massachusetts ,bay ,colony4 
,,the ,,historic ,,custodians ,,of      
,,soul-,,liberty      ,roger ,williams1 
both minister and citizen1 probably led 
the ,providence  planters in their      

religious activities4 ,he was neither   
identified with  the ,established       
,church of ,england1 nor in sympathy    
with the intolerance  of the new        
established order at ,boston and ,salem1
 or even the one at  ,plymouth4 ,he was 
a ,separatist of the most pronounced    
type1 and that was  exactly the         
accredited ,baptist position4 ,he was   
one with the ,baptists  in his ideas    
concerning a complete separation from   
the ,state ,church  of ,england1 one    
with them in the absolute separation of 
,church and  ,state1 one with them in   
insisting upon a regenerate             
church-membership4  ,so according to the
 logic of the situation he turned to the
 ,baptist  movement4 ,he may have been  
instructed as to their position by ,mrs4
  ,scott 7the sister of the ,antinomian1
 ,mrs4 ,ann ,hutchinson71 who came to   
,providence shortly before the baptism  
of ,williams4 ,roger ,williams had  been
 accused of tendencies toward the       
,anabaptists while in ,plymouth1        

,salem1 and ,boston4 ,before he met     
,mrs4 ,scott1 however1 he held the      
,baptist positions of the time4 ,it is  
not unlikely that she1 being an         
intelligent ,baptist1 showed ,williams  
the remarkable similarity between  his  
position and that of the ,baptists4     
,some time before ,march1 #afci1        
,williams was baptized4 ,in the absence 
of a ,baptist minister1 ,ezekiel        
,holliman1 an exile from ,salem1        
baptized ,roger ,williams1 who in turn  
baptized ,mr4 ,holliman and some ten    
others4 ,like the disciple band of  old 
the ,baptist movement in ,providence and
 ,america commenced with a  band of     
twelve disciples4 ,their names are as   
follows3 ,roger ,williams1  ,ezekiel    
,holliman1 ,william ,arnold 7871#a      
,william ,harris1 ,stukely  ,westcott1  
,john ,green1 ,richard ,waterman1       
,thomas ,james1 ,robert ,cole1  ,william
 ,carpenter 7871 ,francis ,weston1 and  
,thomas ,olney4 ,thus was  organized the
 ,first ,baptist ,church in ,america4   

#a ,the 880 is after ,arnold's name in  
,first ,baptist ,church ,register4      
,great was the consternation in ,salem  
when news reached there of the  baptism 
of ,williams and others who had been    
members of their church4  ,the ,puritan 
church took action at once4 ,the letter 
announcing to the  church at ,dorchester
 the exclusion of the offenders is      
interesting3     ,,reverend ,,and       
,,dearly ,,beloved ,,in ,,the ,,lord3   
,we thought it our bounden duty to      
acquaint you with the names of such     
persons1 as have had the great censure  
passed upon them1 in this our   church1 
with the reasons thereof1 beseeching you
 in the ,lord1 not   only to read their 
names in public to yours1 but also to   
give us the   like notice of any dealt  
with in like manner by you1 so that we  
may   walk toward them accordingly1 for 
some of us here have had communion      
ignorantly with some of other churches4 
#b ,thess4 #c3ad4 ,we can do no   less  
than have such noted as disobey the     

truth4     ,roger ,williams and his     
wife1 ,john ,throckmorton and his wife1 
,thomas   ,olney and his wife1 ,stukely 
,westcott and his wife1 ,mary ,holliman1
   ,widow ,reeves4     ,these wholly    
refused to hear the church1 denying it1 
and all the   churches in the ,bay1 to  
be true churches1 and 7except two7 are  
all   rebaptized4    ,after some time   
,roger ,williams left the ,baptist      
church he had organized  in ,providence4
 ,because of this fact many have asked  
the question1  8,was ,roger ,williams   
after all a ,baptist80 ,his life-story  
reveals the  fact that he held the      
,baptist views before he left ,plymouth4
 ,elder  ,brewster detected the ,baptist
 heresy in his teaching to the people of
  the ,pilgrim colony and warned the    
leaders of the ,bay ,colony of this     
tendency to 8,anabaptistery40 ,williams'
 ministry in the ,bay ,colony  reveals  
the fact that he was against everything 
which was related to  the ,episcopacy or
 that might even lead to a 8presbytery40

 ,he refused to  minister to the ,boston
 church because it was related to the   
,episcopal  ,state ,church of ,england4 
,he also questioned the propriety of the
  ministers' conference in ,new         
,england1 for fear they might establish 
a presbytery which would rob the local  
church of its congregational            
privileges4 ,his whole life in ,america 
was universally true to the  accepted   
,baptist position relative to church    
polity4    ,at the time of ,williams'   
baptism1 ,english ,baptists were        
agitated  in regard to the proper       
administrators of ,christian baptism4   
,many  crossed to the ,continent and    
were baptized by ministers in ,holland4 
,williams was soon troubled also in     
regard to the same question4 ,was  he   
properly baptized8 ,that was the        
question which confronted him4 ,he      
would not juggle with his conscience4   
,he knew of no ,baptist minister  or    
baptized believer ordained to the       
ministry in ,america when he was        

baptized4 ,his own baptism was by an    
unbaptized person4 ,he made diligent    
study of the question and could not     
satisfy his mind that there was a  real 
succession of proper administrators4 ,in
 the awful decline of the  church he was
 convinced that the sacred succession   
had been broken4  ,he believed that     
either that succession must be in       
existence1 or  ,god must raise up a new 
8apostolate10 to commence again the     
sacred  succession4 ,true to principle1 
he felt he must withdraw from the church
  at ,providence4 ,in the years which   
followed nothing which he said or  did  
ever changed the facts that he was the  
first recognized pastor  of the first   
,baptist church that was organized in   
,america1 that he  was the first known  
case in ,america of a believer being    
immersed upon  profession of faith into 
the fellowship of a local ,baptist      
church1 and  that he was the organizer  
of the first ,baptist church in         
,america4    ,in the years which        

followed his separation from the church 
at  ,providence1 he left no uncertainty 
as to his ,baptist views on every       
question save that of the proper        
administrator of baptism and its        
kindred subject of ordination4 ,in all  
other views he was a loyal  ,baptist    
until his death4 ,in his day1 the       
,baptists were divided into  two        
recognized divisions1 namely1           
,particular and ,general ,baptists4 ,dr4
  ,henry ,m4 ,king1 of ,providence1 one 
of the successors of ,roger ,williams   
in the pastorate of the ,providence     
church1 describes ,roger ,williams as  a
 8,high-church ,baptist40    ,the late  
,reuben ,a4 ,guild1 for many years      
librarian of ,brown ,university         
,library1 and a thorough student of the 
original sources of information1  writes
 thus of ,roger ,williams in his history
 of ,brown ,university3     ,in regard  
to the other great doctrines held by the
 ,baptists1 liberty   of conscience1 or 
soul-liberty1 the entire separation of  

,church and   ,state1 the supreme       
headship of ,christ in all spiritual    
matters1   regeneration through the     
agency of the ,holy ,spirit1 and a      
hearty   belief in the ,bible as ,god's 
divinely inspired and miraculously      
preserved word and the all-sufficient   
rule for faith and practice1   he was   
throughout life a sincere believer in   
them all and an earnest   advocate of   
them1 as his letters and published works
 abundantly show4    ,in ,williams'     
book1 8,christenings make not           
,christians10 we have the most  radical 
,baptist teaching in regard to the      
errors of infant sprinkling4  ,he       
attacked the very foundation of the     
pedobaptists4 ,he insisted that  only   
the regeneration of the heart1 through  
the ministry of the ,holy  ,spirit1     
could make any person a ,christian4     
,he believed that believers' immersion  
is the ,new ,testament baptism4 ,in  a  
letter to ,governor ,winthrop1 dated    
,december #aj1 #afdi1 he writes3        

,mr4 ,john ,clarke hath been here lately
 and hath dipped them4 ,i believe       
their practice comes nearer the practice
 of our great ,founder1 ,jesus          
,christ1 than any other practices of    
religion do4    ,in his debate with     
,fox1 he writes thus1 eleven years prior
 to his death3     ,that gallant and    
heavenly and fundamental principle of   
the true   matter of a ,christian       
congregation1 flock or society1 namely1 
actual   believers1 true disciples and  
converts1 such as can give an account of
   how the grace of ,god hath appeared  
unto them4    ,we should think of ,roger
 ,williams as a man chosen of ,god to be
 champion  of a great distinctive       
,baptist doctrine held by the ,baptists 
centuries  prior to his day and taught  
by the ,baptists after his time until it
  was made an essential part of our     
national ,constitution4 ,released from  
pastoral duties1 ,roger ,williams gave  
himself completely to the task of       
establishing and guarding the sacred    

fires of soul-liberty which he  had     
kindled in ,rhode ,island4 ,for this    
sacred cause he sacrificed his          
comfortable home at ,salem and devoted  
the earnings of a lifetime in  trips to 
,england to secure parliamentary        
protection for the colony when  envious 
neighbors on all sides were coveting his
 purchased possessions4  ,he sacrificed 
his opportunity to become wealthy and   
died a poor man4  ,all honor to ,john   
,clarke1 physician and pastor at        
,newport1 for the  splendid cooperation 
which he gave to ,williams4 ,they were  
comrades1 not  rivals for fame in those 
days4 ,they were happy in life and      
should not  be made enemies in death4   
,their names should be linked together  
as  the pioneers and perfecters of      
soul-liberty in ,rhode ,island4         
,illustration                           
,christenings                           
make not                                
,,christians1                           
,,or                      ,a ,briefe    

,discourse concerning that              
name ,heathen1 commonly given to        
the ,,indians4                 ,as also 
concerning that great point of their    
,,conversion4                           
,illustration                           
,published according to ,order4         
,london1 ,printed by ,iane ,coe1 for ,i4
 ,h4 #afde4      ,,the ,,history ,,of   
,,the ,,first ,,baptist ,,church    ,the
 early ,providence ,baptists met at     
first in a grove under the trees4  ,in  
inclement weather they would meet in    
private homes4 ,they adopted no         
articles of faith1 and to this day the  
,first ,church of ,providence has  been 
without a formal creed or covenant4 ,for
 sixty years the church  founded by     
,roger ,williams had no house of        
worship4 ,pardon ,tillinghast1  its     
sixth pastor1 built them a house of     
worship in #agjj and deeded it  to the  
,society in #agaa4 ,it stood on the     
corner of ,north ,main and ,smith       
,streets4 ,a larger church1 forty feet  

square1 built in #agbf1 succeeded  this 
first edifice4 ,the present edifice was 
built in #agge1 and was  dedicated 8for 
the worship of ,almighty ,god and to    
hold commencements  in40 ,it cost       
#ce1jjj1 a part of which was raised by a
 lottery1  authorized by the ,state4    
,the building was designed by ,joseph   
,brown  and ,james ,sumner1 who used as 
a model ,gibb's church in ,london1 ,st4 
,martin-in-the-,fields4 ,it is          
recognized as one of the finest examples
  of colonial architecture in ,america4 
,it has a beautiful interior4 ,the upper
 gallery at the west end was  originally
 set apart for slaves and colored       
people4 ,it was removed to  give place  
for the pipe-organ in #ahcb4 ,the same  
year the old-fashioned  square pews were
 exchanged for the present ones2 the    
lofty pulpit and  sounding-board were   
taken down4 ,the beautiful crystal      
chandelier1  imported from ,england in  
#agib was lighted for the first time    
when ,hope  ,brown1 daughter of         

,nicholas ,brown1 was married to ,thomas
 ,poynton ,ives4  ,it was the bride's   
gift to the church4    ,the bell in the 
tower weighs two thousand five hundred  
pounds1 and bore  originally this       
inscription3      ,for freedom of       
conscience the town was first planted2  
,persuasion1 not force1 was used by the 
people2    ,this church is the eldest1  
and has not recanted1      ,enjoying and
 granting bell1 temple1 and steeple4    
,it has been cracked three times and    
recast in this country4 ,it now  bears  
the date of the origin of the church1   
and the name of ,roger  ,williams1 8its 
first pastor and the first asserter of  
liberty of  conscience40 ,the bell is   
rung at sunrise1 at midday1 and at nine 
o'clock as in the days of old4          
,illustration3 ,first ,baptist ,church  
of ,providence    ,illustration3 ,roger 
,mowry's 8,ordinarie40 ,built #afec1    
,demolished #aijj    ,in the vestries   
are pictures of many of the former      
leaders of this  historic church4 ,in   

the hallway1 in a glass case1 is a piece
 of the  original 8,what ,cheer ,rock10 
the landing-place of ,williams4 ,at the 
entrance to the church a bronze tablet  
commemorates the fact that  the ,first  
,baptist ,church of ,providence was the 
first ,baptist church  established in   
,america and that ,roger ,williams was  
its first pastor4    ,the present       
organization1 known as the ,first       
,baptist ,church of  ,providence1 has   
every valid reason for claiming to be   
the true  successor of the original     
church1 organized before #afci1 by      
,roger  ,williams4 ,in the ,rhode       
,island ,baptist ,state ,annual the date
 of the  church's organization is given 
as #afch4 ,a committee appointed by the 
church1 when reporting1 on ,march #af1  
#ahii1 the reasons for claiming  that   
the present organization is the true    
successor of the first  ,baptist church 
organized in ,america1 quoted in defense
 of this position  the following        
writers3 ,arnold1 8,history of ,rhode   

,island02 ,caldwell1  8,history of the  
,first ,baptist ,church02 ,guild1       
8,history of ,brown  ,university and    
,manning02 ,prof4 ,geo4 ,p4 ,fisher1 of 
,yale1 8,in ,colonial  ,era02 ,cramp1   
8,baptist ,history02 ,dexter1 8,as to   
,roger ,williams02 ,morgan  ,edwards1   
8,materials for a ,history of ,baptists 
in ,rhode ,island40 ,in the  following  
fall this report was also presented to  
the ,warren ,association  and was       
ordered printed in the ,minutes of the  
,association4    ,in the 8,historical   
,catalogue0 of this church1 a book      
prepared by a  committee consisting of  
,rev4 ,h4 ,m4 ,king1 ,d4 ,d41 ,pres4 ,w4
 ,h4 ,p4 ,faunce1  ,prof4 ,wm4 ,c4      
,poland1 and others1 a committee        
familiar with the original  sources of  
information1 we find ,roger ,williams   
listed as the first  member in its list 
of members and as the first pastor in   
its list of  pastors4 ,the bronze tablet
 in front of the present meeting-house  
and  the inscription on the bell both   

state that ,roger ,williams was the     
first pastor4      ,,roger ,,williams'  
,,ideal1 ,a ,,distinctive ,,baptist     
,,principle    ,we have already noted   
the fact that ,roger ,williams was      
accused of  ,anabaptist tendencies4 ,the
 ,baptists1 or ,anabaptists1 throughout 
the  ages have stood for the most       
advanced principles of ,protestantism4  
,they existed long before ,luther4 ,many
 historians claim for them a  historic  
continuity from the days of the early   
,christians4 ,their                     
principles--democracy of the local      
church1 sovereignty of the  ,lord ,jesus
 ,christ1 and the authority of the      
,scriptures--have been  perpetuated by  
local distinct bodies rather than by the
 historic  continuity of a general      
denomination with a common name and a   
common  governing body4    ,the ,master1
 in the parable of the ,tares1 taught   
the principle advocated  by the         
,baptists and by ,roger ,williams4 ,the 
field is the world2 the good  seed1 the 

children of the kingdom2 the tares are  
the evil-doers4 ,wheat  and tares should
 be allowed to grow together in the     
world 7not in the  church7 until the end
 of the age1 when the angels1 the       
reapers of ,god1  will gather them      
together for reward or punishment4      
,force must never be  used to make      
disciples for ,christ4    ,in the early 
,christian centuries1 the church longed 
for liberty to live  for ,christ and    
preach his gospel4 ,ten great general   
persecutions were  launched by the      
,roman emperors to crush the church4    
,the promise that  the gates of hell    
would not prevail against it was        
realized4 ,the ,edict  of ,milan1 issued
 in #cac1 by ,constantine and ,licinius1
 joint emperors1  gave the church an    
opportunity to grow and prosper and it  
was soon in  the lead throughout the    
,roman ,empire4 ,then the church turned 
persecutor  and put to death those who  
differed from the ruling order1 which   
now  had lost its democratic ideals4    

,when the ,montanists1 the ,donatists1  
the  ,paulicians1 the ,albigenses1 and  
the ,waldenses in turn resisted the evil
  tendencies and assumptions of a       
corrupt church1 they were persecuted    
with a fierceness greater than that     
formerly waged by the pagans  against   
the church4 ,the principle of religious 
liberty was almost  lost4 ,it became the
 far-off dream of idealists4 ,these     
dreamers were  usually called           
,anabaptists4 ,at first they were       
dissenters from ,roman  ,catholicism1   
but afterward they were also dissenters 
from the dominant  forms of             
,protestantism4    ,illustration3       
,interior of ,first ,baptist ,church1   
,providence    ,the ,protestant         
,reformation was a case of arrested     
development4 ,it was  like the exodus   
from the ,egyptian bondage4 ,there was a
 long lingering  in the wilderness      
before the day dawned with full         
religious liberty4  ,henry ,melville    
,king says3     ,the absolute supremacy 

of the word of ,god1 the spiritual      
nature of the   ,christian church1 the  
,christian ordinances for believing     
souls1 the   divorce of ,church and     
,state1 full1 unrestricted religious    
freedom for   every man1 these essential
 truths of the gospel of ,christ found  
no   room at the inn of the sixteenth   
century1 and were thrust aside into     
the manger 444 the inn was not open for 
it1 but the manger was4 ,the   principle
 of religious liberty did not fail to   
get born4    ,the ,anabaptists of       
,europe kept alive the ideals of        
religious liberty4  ,they sought to     
carry out the principles of the         
,protestant ,reformation  to its        
scriptural and logical conclusion4      
,many1 called by this name1  had little 
in common with the movement which now   
bears the ,baptist  name4 ,the actions  
of the fanatics under ,mnzer have been  
cited since  ,williams' day as an       
argument against his principles4 ,mnzer1
 who  8never submitted to1 nor          

administered rebaptism1 who persisted in
  baptizing infants1 and who sought to  
set up the kingdom of ,christ by  carnal
 warfare1 was not correctly classed40   
,cornelius1 ,roman ,catholic  historian 
of the ,mnzer uprising1 shows that the  
,anabaptists repudiated  the actions of 
this fanatic4     ,the only crime of    
which they 7the ,baptists7 were accused 
as a body   by their contemporaries1 and
 which is substantiated by evidence1    
the crime for which they were inhumanly 
persecuted by ,catholics and            
,protestants alike1 and for which they  
went cheerfully and in large   numbers  
to death by drowning or the stake1 was  
the crime of advocating   soul-liberty4 
,they claimed the right to interpret the
 ,scriptures for   themselves4 ,they    
demanded freedom of faith and worship   
for all men4   ,they apprehended the    
sublime doctrine of civil and religious 
liberty1   and they were the only men   
who did apprehend it4    ,most of the   
creeds and confessions of the           

,reformation gave to the  magistrate a  
coercive power in religion1 and included
 a curse for the  despised ,baptists4   
,luther1 in the early years of his      
,reformation work1  said3     ,no one   
can command or ought to command the soul
 except ,god1 who alone   can show it   
the way to heaven4 ,it is futile and    
impossible to command1   or by force to 
compel any man's belief4 ,heresy is a   
spiritual thing1   which no iron can hew
 down1 no fire burn1 no water drown444  
,whenever   the temporal power presumes 
to legislate for the soul1 it           
encroaches4    ,luther1 when he was     
successful1 turned his back upon this   
noble  utterance and compromised with   
error4 ,he stopped short of full victory
  and failed to secure the 8full        
splendor of a complete triumph40 ,he    
wrote differently in after days3        
,since it is not good that in one parish
 the people should be exposed   to      
contradictory preaching1 he 7the        
magistrate7 should order to be   silent 

whatever does not consist with the      
,scriptures4    ,thus the civil ruler   
was made the final judge of truth and   
given power  to suppress what he would  
condemn4 ,this was a case of tyranny    
changing  hands4 ,luther wrote to       
,menius and ,myconius in #aecj3     ,i  
am pleased that you intend to publish a 
book against the ,anabaptists   as soon 
as possible4 ,since they are not only   
blasphemous but also   seditious men1   
let the sword exercise its rights over  
them1 for it is   the will of ,god1 that
 he shall have judgment who resisteth   
the power4    ,melanchthon1 in a letter 
to the ,diet at ,hamburg1 in #aecg1     
advised  death by the sword to all who  
professed ,anabaptist views4 ,zwingli1  
the  ,swiss ,reformer1 whose statue in  
,zurich pictures him with a ,bible in   
his right hand and a sword in his left1 
also persecuted the ,baptists4  ,on     
,january #e1 #aebg1 ,felix ,mantz became
 the first ,swiss ,anabaptist  martyr by
 drowning at ,zurich4 ,this was a       

hideous parody of his belief  in        
believers' baptism by immersion4        
,heinrich ,bullinger1 in his book       
against the ,anabaptists1 specifies     
thirteen distinct sects among the       
,anabaptists4 ,he mentions twenty-five  
points of agreement among them1         
including the following3     ,that      
secular authority has no concern with   
religious belief2 that   the ,christian 
resists no evil and therefore needs no  
law-courts2 nor   should ever make use  
of the tribunals2 that ,christians do   
not kill   or punish with imprisonment  
or the sword1 but only with exclusion   
from the body of believers2 that no man 
should be compelled by   force to       
believe1 nor should any be slain on     
account of his faith2   that ,christians
 do not resist1 and hence do not go to  
war2 that   ,christians may not swear2  
that all oaths are sinful2 that infant  
baptism is of the pope and devil2 that  
rebaptism1 or better1 adult   baptism1  
is the only true ,christian baptism4    

,in #aebg1 the ,swiss ,anabaptists      
issued a confession of faith at         
,schaffhausen4 ,its writer was ,michael 
,sattler1 an ex-monk who was  martyred  
that same year4 ,it was the first       
confession 8in which  ,christian men    
claimed absolute religious freedom for  
themselves1 and  guaranteed absolute    
religious freedom to others40 ,this     
,baptist movement  was the target of    
,protestant and ,catholic persecution   
alike and its  brave1 spiritual men and 
women were driven to the martyr's crown 
or to  exile4 ,many fled to ,holland4   
,the torch of truth1 the advanced ideas 
which they had received from the        
,waldensians and other pre-,reformation 
movements1 were handed over to the      
,anabaptists of ,holland4 ,these        
increased in number rapidly under the   
toleration afforded them in  that       
country4 ,menno ,simons1 a ,roman       
priest1 set to thinking by the          
martyrdoms about him1 espoused their    
cause and doctrines4 ,baptized at  the  

age of forty-four1 he fled to ,holland1 
where he became the leader  of a host1  
which afterward bore his name1 being    
called ,mennonites4  ,charles ,v        
persecuted these ,baptists1 and fully   
fifty thousand were  martyred4 ,they    
were not exterminated1 however1 for     
,god1 as in other  days1 preserved a    
remnant to pass the torch of religious  
liberty on to  others4    ,illustration3
 ,bell of ,first ,baptist ,church1      
,providence    ,baptist refugees from   
,holland crossed over to ,england4      
,henry ,,viii1 when  he made himself    
head of the ,church1 ordered their      
arrest and banishment  from the kingdom1
 8on pain to suffer death1 if they      
abide1 and be  apprehended and taken40  
,the fires of ,smithfield and the       
inquisition  of the ,protestants could  
not crush this movement destined of     
,god1 at  a later date1 to change the   
world4 ,considered an obnoxious sect in 
the reigns of ,edward ,,vi1 ,mary1 and  
,elizabeth1 they carried on their       

meetings secretly4 ,they were an        
industrious class of skilled mechanics  
and introduced into ,england that which 
afterward gave that nation its          
commercial and manufacturing supremacy4 
,the ,english passed a law that  each   
foreign workman should take and train   
one ,english apprentice4  ,as a result1 
fifty thousand ,english lads were       
trained1 not only  mechanically1 but    
also in the principles of these ,dutch  
,anabaptists4  ,this spiritual training 
led to the ,puritan revolution in       
,england and  to the greater movement   
across the seas4 ,each of these ,dutch  
,baptist  churches was a republic in    
itself1 independent with its popularly  
elected officers1 deacons1 and elders4  
,they held1 as a cardinal  doctrine1 the
 separation of ,church and ,state4 ,from
 the sections in  which these ,dutch    
,anabaptists lived came fully fifty per 
cent of the  early colonists to the ,new
 ,world4 ,fourteen ,english towns1 in   
which  they formed a large proportion of

 the population1 are duplicated by  ,new
 ,england towns of the same name4 ,from 
the same district ,cromwell  recruited  
his invincible ,ironsides4 ,back of all 
that was good and noble  in the         
settlements at ,plymouth and ,boston and
 in ,connecticut was the  leaven of the 
,dutch ,baptists in that part of        
,england from which these  early        
colonists came4    ,robert ,browne1 who 
is the reputed founder of ,english      
,congregationalism1  advocated his      
peculiar views after dwelling for some  
time in a ,dutch  ,anabaptist community4
 ,here he promulgated his ideas4 ,a part
 of his  congregation fled to           
,middleburg1 a ,baptist stronghold4     
,after two years  he quarreled with     
these folks and returned to ,england1   
where he became  reconciled to the      
,established ,church and for forty years
 afterward  administered to an          
,established ,church parish4 ,the       
,baptist principle1  however1 had been  
stamped upon the few years of his       

ministry when he  started a new order4  
,at the close of the sixteenth century  
most of the ,anabaptists in  ,england   
were ,dutch4 ,slowly1 however1 ,english 
,baptists were coming into  existence1  
and they soon formed themselves into    
small groups4 ,browne  did not go so far
 as the ,baptists1 but in church        
government he took  their ,new          
,testament position4 ,as far as is      
known1 the first definite  ,english     
,baptist church was organized in ,london
 in #afaa1 with ,thomas  ,helwys as     
pastor4 ,the members had been exiles in 
,holland and were  baptized there by    
,rev4 ,john ,smith1 the famous          
,se-,baptist1 formerly a  ,church of    
,england clergyman4    ,this ,english   
,baptist church formulated a confession 
which contains the  first declaration of
 faith to include1 as the teaching of   
,christ1 the  absolute separation of    
,church and ,state4     ,the magistrate 
by virtue of his office1 is not to      
meddle with religion   or matters of    

conscience1 nor to compel men to this or
 that form of   religion or doctrine2   
but to leave the ,christian religion    
free to   every man's conscience4       
,prof4 ,mason says3     ,it was1 in     
short1 from their little dingy          
meeting-house1 somewhere in   old       
,london1 that there flashed out1 first  
in ,england1 the absolute   doctrine of 
religious liberty4    ,these of whom    
mention has just been made1 were called 
,general ,baptists4    ,in #afdd1 the   
,particular ,baptists issued a          
confession1 equally  explicit and clear4
 ,religious liberty to them was the     
right1 and  good citizenship the duty1  
of every ,christian man4 ,their historic
  confession1 a confession of seven     
associated churches1 was the first      
declaration1 in ,england or in          
,christendom1 by a body of associated   
churches on the question of absolute    
religious liberty4 ,many of these       
,baptists were imprisoned4    ,many     
denominations which today favor         

religious liberty1 were opposed to  it  
in those days of ,baptist persecution4  
,for example1 the ,presbyterian         
ministers of ,lancashire declared1 8,a  
toleration would be putting a  sword in 
a madman's hands1 a cup of poison into  
the hand of a child1  a letting loose of
 madmen with firebrands in their hands1 
etc40 ,the  ,presbyterians1 then1 would 
gladly have been a national church4 ,the
  ,puritans of the ,bay ,colony had no  
higher thought than a theocracy  for    
themselves4 ,to insure uniformity of    
worship in their colony they  resorted  
to whippings1 banishments1 fines1 and   
hangings4 ,the ,pilgrim  ,fathers were  
farther advanced1 but historians fail to
 find that  they had a higher ideal than
 to secure a freedom to worship ,god for
  themselves4 ,they certainly never     
dreamed of extending an equal freedom   
to all who differed from them in        
religious opinions4 ,john ,robinson1    
the renowned pastor of the ,pilgrims1   
defended earnestly the use of the       

magistrate's power 8to punish religious 
actions1 he 7the magistrate7  being the 
preserver of both tables1 and so to     
punish all breaches of  both40    ,by   
,protestants1 with the exception of the 
,baptists1 full religious  toleration   
and liberty was feared and hated4 ,the  
most advanced were  far from the        
,baptist position4 ,this explains the   
bitterness of the  persecution against  
,roger ,williams and the ,baptists4 ,in 
fact1 ,roger  ,williams was so far in   
advance of his age1 and that in common  
with  the noble host of martyred        
,baptists1 that he seemed dwarfed in the
  distance4 ,the future even more than  
the present time will enable us to      
value his and their worth4          ,,iv
    ,,soul-,,liberty ,,at ,,home ,,in ,a
 ,,commonwealth     ,it is his unique   
title to preeminence and fame that he   
was the first   to found an absolutely  
free church in an absolutely free       
,state1 and   ,rhode ,island and        
,providence ,plantations remain a       

monument of his   sagacity and daring   
and penetration1 a center from which the
 light of   soul-liberty has radiated   
far and wide till it has flooded a whole
   continent1 and shines with           
concentrated splendor in the            
constellation   of ,states which now    
form the great ,western ,republic4--,j4 
,gregory1 a   ,british writer on        
,puritanism4     ,against the somber    
background of early ,new ,england1 two  
figures   stand above the rest--,john   
,winthrop and ,roger ,williams4 ,the    
first--astute1 reactionary1             
stern--represented ,moses and the law4  
,the   second--spontaneous1 adaptable1  
forgiving--represented ,christ and the  
individual4 ,it is needless to say with 
which lay the promise and the           
dawn4--,i4 ,b4 ,richman4     ,he was the
 first man in modern ,christendom to    
establish civil   government on the     
doctrine of the liberty of conscience1  
the equality   of opinions before the   
law1 and in its defence he was the      

harbinger   of ,milton1 the precursor   
and the superior of ,jeremy ,taylor4444 
,let   then the name of ,roger ,williams
 be preserved in universal history   as 
one who advanced moral and political    
science1 and made himself a   benefactor
 of his race4--,george ,bancroft1 in    
8,history of the ,united   ,states40    
,in the seventeenth century there was no
 place but the wilderness for   such a  
,john the ,baptist of the distant future
 as ,roger ,williams4   ,he did not     
belong among the diplomatic builders of 
churches1 like   ,cotton1 or the        
political founders of ,states1 like     
,winthrop4 ,he was but   a babbler to   
his own time1 but the prophetic voice   
rings clear and   far1 and ever clearer 
as the ages go on4--,edward ,eggleston1 
in 8,the   ,beginners of a ,nation40    
,,soul-,,liberty ,,at ,,home ,,in ,a    
,,commonwealth      ,portsmouth1        
,newport1 and ,rhode ,island1 with      
common interests and  ideals1 were      
protected and throve under the original 

charter granted in  #afdd4 ,charles ,i  
was surrendered to the ,parliamentary   
forces in ,january1  #afdg4 ,the colony1
 therefore1 felt strong to act under the
 ,parliamentary  charter granted them4  
,a general assembly of the people was   
called1  and the charter was adopted4   
,shawomet1 settled by the ,gortonists1  
had  also received a charter from the   
same source and1 in honor of ,warwick1  
their protector1 they changed the name  
of their town to ,warwick4  ,they were  
admitted also to the ,general ,assembly4
 ,the first meeting  of the ,assembly   
declared that the form of government in 
,providence  ,plantations was           
8democratical10 that is to say1         
8government held by  the free and       
voluntary consent of all or of the      
greater part of the  free inhabitants40 
,the seal of the colony was an anchor4  
,the executive  branch of the government
 was vested in a president of the colony
 and  four assistants1 one from each    
town4 ,these officers1 elected by the   

,general ,assembly1 had no part in      
legislation4 ,the ,assembly at that time
  was not composed of delegates1 but    
included all the freemen of the  colony4
 ,each town had a court of commissioners
 composed of six members4  ,these four  
town courts combined became a ,general  
,court of ,trials1  having to do with   
the weightier offenses1 and also acted  
as a ,court of  ,appeals from the town  
courts4 ,there was also a general       
treasurer1 a  general recorder1 a       
general sergeant1 and later a general   
solicitor4    ,a code of laws was drawn 
up4 ,one1 the ,statute of ,archery1     
shows the  isolation of this colony4 ,it
 required that every man between        
seventeen  and seventy should keep a bow
 and four arrows4 ,fathers should       
furnish  each of their sons1 between the
 ages of seven and seventeen1 with 8a   
bow1 two arrows1 and a shaft1 and to    
bring them up to shooting40 ,this  was  
done because the colony could not get   
gunpowder for firearms1  since the other

 colonies refused to sell them any1 or  
allow it to be  exported through their  
posts to them4    ,illustration         
,the ,fourth ,paper1                    
,presented by                           
,maior ,butler1                         
,to the ,honourable ,committee of       
,parliament1 for the ,propagating the   
,gospel of ,christ ,,jesus4             
,v,vhich ,paper was humbly owned1 and   
was1 and is attended to be made good    
,major ,butler4       ,mr4 ,jackson4    
,by  ,mr4 ,charles ,vane4   ,mr4        
,v,vall4 ,and                   ,col4   
,danvers4       ,mr4 ,turner4           
,,also                      ,a ,letter  
from ,mr4 ,goad1 to ,major              
,,butler1 upon occasion of the said     
,,paper and ,,proposals4                
,together with                     ,a   
,testimony to the said fourth ,paper1   
,by way or ,explanation upon the four   
,,proposals of it4                      
,,by ,r4 ,w4                 ,unto which
 is subjoyned the ,fifteen ,proposals   

of the ,,ministers4    ,london1 ,printed
 for ,giles ,calvert1 at the            
,black-spred-,eagle at the              
,west-end of ,pauls4 ,m ,,dc ,,lii4     
,,roger ,,williams' ,,second ,,visit    
,,to ,,england    ,the ambitious designs
 of ,coddington in seeking to divide the
 colony  were such that ,williams and   
,clarke were obliged to go to ,england  
in  #afea4 ,coddington had secured a    
charter making him governor for life  of
 ,rhode ,island1 then the richest       
portion of the ,state4 ,williams and    
,clarke in #afeb secured an             
order-in-council nullifying             
,coddington's  commission4 ,williams    
remained in ,england until the summer of
 #afed and  labored there for the       
interests of the colony and also for the
 general  benefit of all oppressed      
people1 including the ,jews4 ,in his    
appeal to  the ,parliament1 found as a  
comment in the tract entitled 8,butler's
  ,fourth ,paper10 an original copy of  
which is in the ,john ,carter ,brown    

,library1 at ,providence1 he says3      
,oh1 that it would please the ,father of
 ,spirits to affect the heart   of      
,parliament with such a merciful sense  
of the ,soul-,bars and ,yokes   which   
our fathers have laid upon the neck of  
this nation1 and at last   to proclaim a
 true and absolute ,soul-,freedom to all
 the people of   the land impartially1  
so that no person be forced to pray nor 
pay1   otherwise than as his ,soul      
believeth and consenteth4    ,he plead  
especially that permission be granted   
the ,jews 8to live freely  and peaceably
 amongst them40    ,he was on intimate  
terms with ,milton1 to whom he read and 
from whom he  received instruction in   
certain languages4 ,he also was         
associated with  ,sir ,henry ,vane4     
,returning to his colony in #afed1 he at
 once exercised  his influence in       
smoothing out its many and varied       
difficulties4    ,during this second    
visit to ,england he issued three       
publications4 ,john  ,cotton had written

 a reply to the 8,bloody ,tenent10      
publishing it in  ,london1 in #afdg4 ,it
 had the following title3     ,the      
,bloudy ,tenent1 washed1 and made white 
in the bloud of the ,lambe3   being     
discussed and discharged of             
bloud-guiltinesse by just ,defence4     
,roger ,williams in #afeb printed his   
rejoinder to ,cotton's book4 ,its  title
 is descriptive of its contents3        
,the ,bloody ,tenent yet ,more ,bloody3 
by ,mr ,cottons endevour to wash   it   
white in the ,blood of the ,lambe2 of   
whose precious ,blood1 spilt   in the   
,blood of his ,servants2 and of the     
blood of ,millions spilt in   former and
 later ,wars for ,conscience sake1 that 
,most ,bloody ,tenent of   ,persecution 
for cause of ,conscience1 upon a second 
,tryal1 is found now   more apparently  
and more notoriously guilty1 etc41 etc4 
,by ,r4 ,williams   of ,providence in   
,new-,england4 ,london1 ,printed for    
,giles ,calvert1 and   are to be sold at
 the black-spread-,eagle1 at the        

,west-end of ,pauls1   #afeb4    ,it is 
a small quarto of three hundred and     
seventy-three pages4 ,two  copies are in
 the ,library of ,brown ,university1    
one1 a presentation copy  from ,williams
 to his friend1 ,dr4 ,john ,clarke1 of  
,newport4    ,illustration              
,,the                                   
,,bloudy ,,tenent1                      
,,washed1                      ,and made
 white in the bloud of the              
,lambe3 being discussed and discharged  
of                    bloud-guiltinesse 
by just ,defence4                       
,,wherein                 ,the great    
,questions of this present time are     
handled1 viz4 ,how farre ,liberty of    
,conscience      ought to be given to   
those that truly feare ,god8 ,and how   
farre       restrained to turbulent and 
pestilent persons1 that not onely       
raze the foundation of ,godlinesse1 but 
disturb the ,civill     ,peace where    
they live8 ,also how farre the          
,magistrate may proceed        in the   

duties of the first ,table8 ,and that   
all ,magistrates       ought to study   
the word and will of ,god1 that they may
 frame                     their        
,government according to it4            
,,discussed4              ,as they are  
alledged from divers ,scriptures1 out of
          the ,old and ,new ,testament4 
,wherein also the practise of           
,princes is debated1 together with the  
,judgement of ,ancient                  
and late ,writers of most precious      
esteeme4                 ,whereunto is  
added a ,reply to ,mr4 ,,williams       
,answer1 to ,mr4 ,,cottons ,letter4     
,,by ,,john ,,cotton ,batchelor in      
,divinity1 and       ,teacher of the    
,church of ,christ at ,boston in        
,new-,england4                          
,,london1    ,printed by ,matthew       
,symmons for ,hannah ,allen1 at the     
,crowne in                              
,popes-,head-,alley4 #afdg4             
,illustration                           
,,the                                   

,,bloody ,,tenent                       
,,yet                                   
,more ,bloody3                          
,,by                 ,mr ,cottons       
endevour to wash it white in the        
,,blood of the ,,lambe2                 
,of whose precious ,blood1 spilt in the 
,blood of his ,servants2 and            
,of the blood of ,millions spilt in     
former and                      later   
,wars for ,conscience sake1             
,,that                ,most ,bloody     
,tenent of ,persecution for cause of    
,conscience1 upon a second ,tryal1 is   
found now more                          
apparently and more notoriously guilty4 
,in this ,rejoynder to ,mr ,cotton1 are 
principally                     ,i4     
,the ,nature of ,persecution1           
,examined2                   ,,ii4  ,the
 ,power of the ,civill ,sword           
in ,spirituals                          
,,iii4 ,the ,parliaments permission of  
,justified4                             
,dissenting ,consciences                

,also 7as a ,testimony to ,m ,clarks    
,narrative7 is added    a ,letter to ,mr
 ,endicot ,governor of the ,massachusets
 in ,n4 ,e4               ,by ,r4       
,,williams of ,providence in            
,new-,england4         ,london1 ,printed
 for ,giles ,calvert1 and are to be sold
 at         the black-spread-,eagle at  
the ,west-end of ,pauls1 #afeb4         
,roger ,williams published his fifth    
work in #afeb4 ,it was a pamphlet of    
forty-four small quarto pages1 entitled3
     ,the ,hireling ,ministry ,none of  
,christs1 or ,a ,discourse touching the 
,propagating the ,gospel of ,christ     
,jesus4 ,humbly ,presented to such      
,pious   and ,honourable ,hands1 whom   
the present ,debate thereof concerns4   
,by   ,roger ,williams1 of ,providence1 
in ,new ,england4 ,london ,printed in   
the   second ,moneth1 #afeb4    ,the    
purpose of this work was to oppose a    
legal establishment of  religion1 and   
the compulsory support of the clergy4   
,an original copy  is in the ,library of

 ,brown ,university1 two copies are in  
the ,american  ,antiquarian ,society    
,library at ,worcester1 and one in the  
,john ,carter  ,brown ,library1         
,providence1 ,r4 ,i4    ,the same year  
he issued a pamphlet entitled3          
,experiments of ,spiritual ,life        
,health1 ,and their ,preservatives1 ,in 
which the weakest ,child of ,god may get
 ,assurance of his ,spirituall   ,life  
and ,blessednesse1 and the ,strongest   
may finde proportionable   ,discoveries 
of his ,christian ,growth1 and the means
 of it4 ,by ,roger   ,williams of       
,providence in ,new-,england4 ,london1  
,printed1 in the ,second   ,month1      
#afeb4    ,this book is in the form of a
 letter addressed to his wife1 upon her 
recovery from a dangerous sickness4 ,a  
limited edition was published1          
comprising sixty small quarto pages4    
,for years no original copy has  been   
found4 ,there is an original copy now in
 the ,john ,carter ,brown  ,library at  
,providence1 ,r4 ,i4    ,illustration   

,the                                    
,hireling ,ministry                     
,none of                                
,,christs1                              
,,or                     ,a ,discourse  
touching the ,propagating               
the ,gospel of ,,christ                 
,,jesus4                        ,humbly 
,presented to such ,pious               
and ,honourable ,hands1 whom            
the present ,debate thereof concerns4   
,by ,,roger ,,williams1 of ,providence  
in ,new ,england4                       
,london ,printed in the second          
,moneth1 #afeb4    ,illustration        
,,experiments                           
,,of                                    
,spiritual ,life  ,health1              
,and their                              
,,preservatives                   ,in   
which the ,weakest ,child of ,god may   
get ,assurance of his ,spirituall ,life 
and ,blessednesse          ,and the     
,strongest may finde proportionable     
,discoveries             of his         

,christian ,growth1 and the means of it4
                    ,by ,roger ,williams
 of ,providence in                      
,new-,england4                          
,illustration                           
,london1 ,printed1 in the ,second       
,month1                                 
#afeb4    ,from time to time local      
difficulties arose in the various towns4
  ,ambitious men1 seeking their personal
 welfare1 rather than the  public weal1 
disturbed the serenity of the colony4   
,certain settlers  at ,pawtuxet sought  
to be part of the ,bay ,colony2         
,coddington1 at  ,newport1 desired to be
 governor for life of the ,islands of   
,rhode ,island  and ,conanicut4 ,two    
rival assemblies were organized at      
,newport and  ,providence4 ,roger       
,williams used his influence and greatly
 helped to  solve the vexing problems4  
,a new colony1 with a new and           
revolutionary  ideal1 was being born1   
and the birth-throes were great1 owing  
to the  fact that they were pioneers in 

this work of building a democracy4      
,they had no illustrious precedent to   
follow4 ,it is a marvel that their      
difficulties were not more and greater4 
,in #afef1 the ,united ,colonies urged  
the ,providence ,colony to banish all   
,quakers from their realm4 ,they replied
 that 8,,freedom of ,conscience is  the 
ground of our charter1 and it shall be  
maintained40 ,in #afeh1 the  ,united    
,colonies threatened the ,providence    
,colony with exclusion from  all        
intercourse or trade with all the rest  
of the colonies1 if they did  not banish
 the ,quakers4 ,meanwhile the ,bay      
,colony was unrelenting in its          
persecution of the ,quakers4 ,some were 
banished1 and a few were put to  death4 
,in ,september1 #afeh1 ,cromwell died4  
,his son ,richard succeeded him1  and   
after a short time retired4 ,charles    
,,ii ascended the ,english  throne in   
,june1 #affj4 ,immediately all acts of  
the ,parliament under  ,cromwell were   
repealed1 and ,providence ,plantations  

lost its charter4  ,the ,massachusetts  
,bay and ,connecticut colonies          
immediately asserted  anew their claims 
for the territory about the             
,narragansett ,bay4 ,dr4  ,john ,clarke1
 of ,newport1 was in ,england           
representing the claims of  the         
,providence ,colony1 and1 in #affc1     
secured for it a new royal  charter4    
,the old ,colony of ,providence         
,plantations ceased to exist4  ,the new 
colony was called 8,rhode ,island and   
,providence ,plantations40  ,the charter
 defined the bounds of the colony1 gave 
it freedom in all  religious matters1 a 
system of government1 a power to        
organize courts  and to enforce their   
decisions1 power to raise a standing    
army of  defense1 and other essential   
things4 ,the new seal of the colony was 
8,rhode ,island and ,providence         
,plantations0 with an anchor and the    
word1  8,hope10 above it4               
,illustration                           
,george ,fox                            

,digg'd out of his                      
,burrovves1                             
,or an ,offer of                        
,,disputation        ,on fourteen       
,proposalls made this last ,summer #afgb
 7so call'd7                unto ,g4    
,fox then present on ,rode-,island      
in ,new-,england1 by ,r4,w4        ,as  
also how 7,g4 ,fox slily departing7 the 
,disputation went on       being managed
 three dayes at ,newport on             
,rode-,island1 and      one day at      
,providence1 between ,john ,stubs1 ,john
 ,burnet1 and       ,william ,edmundson 
on the one part1 and ,r4,w4 on the      
other4       ,in which many ,quotations 
out of ,g4 ,fox  ,ed4 ,barrowes ,book   
in ,folio are alleadged4                
,,with ,,an                             
,,apendix      ,of some scores of ,g4   
,f4 his simple lame ,answers to his     
,opposites                    in that   
,book1 quoted and replyed to            
,by ,r4 ,w4 of ,providence in ,n4,e4    
,roger ,williams                        

,,boston                      ,printed  
by ,john ,foster1 #afgf4                
,illustration3 ,models of ,indian       
,village in ,roger ,williams ,park      
,museum  ,courtesy of 8,providence      
,magazine0    ,the ,model of a ,southern
 ,new ,england ,indian ,village    ,oval
 ,house of ,birch ,bark and ,mats       
,corn-field    ,women ,smoking ,fish    
,round ,house of ,grass ,long ,council  
,chamber ,making a ,long ,house         
,indian ,men ,feeding ,dogs    ,roger   
,williams protected the ,quakers by     
granting them in his colony a  shelter  
from persecutions4 ,however1 he was     
never friendly to their  peculiar tenets
 and assailed them in debates and       
pamphlets4 ,when ,george  ,fox1 their   
founder1 was in ,america in #afgb1      
,williams challenged him  to a debate4  
,a delay in getting the challenge to    
,fox1 who had sailed  for ,england1 did 
not leave the debate unaccepted4 ,three 
,rhode ,island  ,quakers undertook the  
task4 ,roger ,williams rowed the thirty 

miles  to ,newport and for three days   
debated with all the characteristic     
bitterness of debates of that period4   
,they adjourned to complete the  debate 
at ,providence4 ,williams is seen in the
 worst light here and has  been greatly 
criticized for the strong language he   
used in opposing  these ,quakers4 ,we   
should never forget that the ,puritans  
went far beyond  strong language1 in    
persecuting some to death and in exiling
 others4  ,both sides claimed a victory 
in the debate1 which was perpetuated in 
pamphlets1 issued at its completion4    
,williams wrote one1 entitled1  8,george
 ,fox ,digg'd out of his ,burrowes40    
,fox replied with one1  entitled1 8,a   
,new-,england ,fire-,brand ,quenched40  
,fox's book is a quarto  of #dhi pages4 
,williams' book1 a small quarto of #cbg 
pages1 was printed  in ,boston1 #afgf4  
,the only original copy known to exist  
is the one in  the ,library of ,harvard 
,college4    ,roger ,williams wrote many
 letters1 the originals of which were   

widely  scattered4 ,many of these have  
been collected and printed in a volume  
by the ,rhode ,island ,historical       
,society4 ,in one of these letters1 to  
,governor ,bradford1 of ,boston1 he     
refers to a collection of discourses    
which he had reduced to writing4 ,these 
sermons1 with treatises written  prior  
to his banishment1 are probably lost    
forever4      ,,king ,,philip',s ,,war  
,canonicus died1 ,june #d1 #afdg4       
,massasoit died in #affj1 leaving two   
sons1 ,wamsutta and ,metacon1 or as they
 were nicknamed by the ,english1        
,alexander and ,philip4 ,the former     
succeeded his father4 ,on a return from 
,plymouth ,alexander died suddenly1 and 
,philip suspected that he was  poisoned4
 ,this1 however1 was not the fact4 ,the 
,narragansetts had not  forgotten the   
death or murder of ,miantonomo1 and the 
,indians generally  felt that the       
,english were gradually crowding them   
out of their own  domains4 ,philip took 
advantage of this feeling and organized 

a war  which had for its object the     
complete extermination of all the       
,english settlements4 ,this war1 opening
 in ,plymouth1 #afge1 lasted more  than 
a year4 ,twelve out of the ninety ,new  
,england towns were completely          
destroyed and forty others were the     
scene of fire and slaughter4 ,a         
thousand strong men lost their lives in 
addition to a large number of  helpless 
women and children who were tomahawked4 
,rhode ,island1 for the  first time1 was
 exposed to the hostile attacks of the  
,indians4 ,many of  the inhabitants1    
fearing the impending disaster1 had     
joined the army  of attack against the  
,indians4 ,in retaliation for this1     
,providence was  attacked1 and          
twenty-nine houses were burned4 ,one of 
them contained the  town records1 part  
of which were saved by being thrown into
 a pond1  from which they were afterward
 recovered4 ,when the ,indians appeared 
on the heights above ,providence1 ,roger
 ,williams1 unarmed1 went out to        

counsel with them4 ,he urged them to    
stop the warfare1 telling them that  the
 ,english king would come to the        
assistance of the colonists and1  with  
greater numbers1 overpower the ,indians4
 ,they replied3     ,let them come1 we  
are ready for them4 ,but as for you1    
,brother   ,williams1 you are a good    
man1 you have been kind to us many      
years1 not   a hair of your head shall  
be touched4    ,he returned to a house  
which had been converted into a fort4   
,it was not  touched1 but the town      
otherwise was destroyed4 ,most of the   
citizens of  the mainland fled to ,rhode
 ,island and ,newport4 ,the doom of the 
,indians  was sounded1 the war was put  
down1 and the leaders were captured or  
slain4 ,immediately after the war the   
work of rebuilding commenced4  ,houses  
were built larger and more              
substantially4    ,illustration         
,a ,,new-,,england-                     
,fire-,brand ,quenched1                 
,being an                               

,,answer                                
,,unto ,a                    ,slanderous
 ,book1 ,entituled2 ,,george ,,fox      
,digged out of his ,burrows1 c4 ,printed
 at ,boston in the ,year        #afgf1  
by ,roger ,williams of ,providence in   
,new-,england4         ,which he        
,dedicateth to the ,,king1 with         
,desires1 ,that1 if     the ,most-,high 
please1 ,old and ,new-,england may      
,flourish1 when     the ,pope  ,mahomet1
 ,rome  ,constantinople are in their    
,ashes4         ,of a ,,dispute upon    
,,xiv4 of his ,proposals held and       
debated       betwixt him1 the said     
,roger ,williams1 on the one part1 and  
,john ,stubs1 ,william ,edmundson and   
,john ,burnyeat on the other4     ,at   
,providence and ,newport in             
,rode-,island1 in the ,year #afgb4      
,,in which his ,cavils are ,refuted1    
his ,reflections ,reproved4             
,in ,two ,parts4                        
,,as ,,also1                     ,an    
,,answer to ,r4 ,w's ,,appendix1 c4     

,,with ,a              ,,post-,,script  
,confuting his ,blasphemous ,assertions1
       viz4 ,of the ,blood of ,christ1  
that was ,shed1 its being               
,corruptible and ,corrupted2 and that   
,salvation was by a ,man1               
that was ,corruptible1                  
c4 ,where-unto is added a               
,,catalogue of his ,railery1 ,lies1     
,scorn  ,blasphemies3 ,and              
,his ,,temporizing ,,spirit made        
manifest4 ,also1 ,the      ,,letters of 
,w4 ,coddington of ,rode-,island1 and   
,r4 ,scot of    ,providence in          
,new-,england concerning ,r4,w4 ,and    
,lastly1 ,some         ,,testimonies of 
,antient  ,modern ,authors concerning   
the ,,light1 ,,scriptures1 ,,rule 1 the 
,,soul of ,man4                     ,by 
,,george ,,fox and ,,john ,,burnyeat4   
,printed in the ,year ,,mdc4 ,,lxxix4   
,illustration3 ,rhode ,island           
,historical ,society ,museum            
,illustration3 ,apple ,tree ,root from  
the ,grave of ,roger ,williams          

,illustration3 ,grave of ,roger         
,williams    ,roger ,williams for many  
years had a trading-place1 where he did 
business with the ,indians4 ,this store 
was near the present village of         
,wickford4 ,his profits1 he tells us1   
were five hundred dollars a year4  ,the 
foundations of this old building are    
still intact1 with a new  superstructure
 over them4 ,late in life he made       
monthly preaching visits  to this place4
 ,when too old to do this1 he planned   
the publication of  his sermons for the 
natives4 ,roger ,williams was the       
original missionary  to the ,north      
,american ,indians1 antedating the      
illustrious ,eliot by  thirteen years4  
,williams' ,indian ,bible is in the     
,john ,hay ,library1  ,providence1 ,r4  
,i4    ,illustration3 ,new ,testament   
,title-page of ,roger ,williams' ,indian
 ,bible                                 
,,wusku                                 
,,wuttestamentum                        
,,nullordumun                           

,,jesus ,,christ                        
,nuppoquohwussuaeneumun4                
,illustration                           
,,cambridge3              ,printed by   
,samuel ,green and ,marmaduke ,johnson1 
,,mdclxi4    ,illustration3 ,indian     
,bible ,used by ,roger ,williams1 the   
,pioneer  ,missionary to the ,american  
,indians                                
,,the                                   
,,holy ,,bible3                         
,,containing ,,the                      
,,old ,,testament                       
,,and ,,the ,,new4                      
,translated into the                    
,,indian ,,language                     
,,and        ,ordered to be ,printed by 
,commissioners of the ,united ,colonies 
in ,,new-,,england1                  ,at
 the ,charge1 and with the ,consent of  
the                                     
,,corporation ,,in ,,england            
,for the ,propagation of the ,gospel    
amongst the ,indians                    
in ,new-,england4                       

,,cambridge4              ,printed by   
,samuel ,green and ,marmaduke ,johnson4 
,,mdclxiii4    ,in #afhc1 ,roger        
,williams died4 ,all the inhabitants of 
,providence turned  out to honor his    
memory4 ,the coffin was carried on the  
shoulders of his  friends1 and his      
earthly remains were laid to rest on his
 own property1  on the slope of the hill
 east of his residence and the spring4  
,an  apple tree grew above the grave4   
,the roots drew from the remains their  
nourishment and followed the shape of   
the skeleton and the legs4 ,today  these
 same roots are preserved in the ,rhode 
,island ,historical ,society's          
collection4 ,reuben ,a4 ,guild describes
 this in the following manner3          
,still further up the hill among the    
trees of his orchard1 was the   family  
burial ground4 ,crossing ,benefit       
,street and passing into the   rear of  
the house of the late ,sullivan ,dorr1 a
 few feet from the   stable door1 is the
 original grave of ,roger ,williams4 ,it

 is covered   by a finished cap of a    
heavy stone pillar4 ,here for nearly two
   hundred years slept the remains of   
the ,apostle of ,religious ,liberty4    
,in ,march1 #ahfj1 the grave was opened1
 and the dust1 for that was all   that  
remained of the mortal body1 was        
carefully placed in an urn and          
deposited in ,mr4 ,randall's family tomb
 in the ,north ,burial ,ground4   ,mrs4 
,williams' grave was also visited1 and a
 lock of braided hair was   all that was
 discovered4 ,at the bottom of ,roger   
,williams' grave the   root of an apple 
tree had turned out of its way to enter 
in at the   head4 ,following the        
position of the body to the thighs1 it  
had turned1   now divided1 to follow    
each leg to the feet1 tender fibers     
shooting   out in various directions4   
,roger ,williams died a poor man4 ,his  
interest in the needy and  distressed   
had kept him constantly poor4 ,ambition 
formed no part  of his personal life4   
,his ambitions were for the larger group

 of  distressed souls4 ,a prophet is    
rarely appreciated in his own age by    
his contemporaries4 ,posterity1 in later
 days1 usually discovers the  greatness 
and genius of the man and the ideal he  
realized4 ,today that  ideal is the     
secret of ,america's greatness and one  
that has given her  distinction among   
the nations4 ,shortly before ,williams' 
death there was  a discussion relative  
to dividing up the common lands4        
,williams wrote  to the ,town of        
,providence a plea1 which is            
characteristic of the spirit  of the    
man3     ,for all experience tells us   
that public peace and love is better    
than   abundance of corn and cattle4 ,i 
have only one motion and petition       
which ,i earnestly pray the town to lay 
to heart1 as ever they look for   a     
blessing from ,god upon the town1 on    
your families1 your corn and   cattle1  
and your children after you2 it is this1
 that after you have   got over the     
black brook of some soul bondage        

yourself1 you tear not   down the bridge
 after you1 by leaving no small pittance
 for distressed   souls that may come   
after you4          ,v    ,,from        
,,soul-,,liberty ,,to ,,absolute ,,civil
 ,,liberty      ,,rhode ,,island',s     
,,gift      ,last of the thirteen1      
smallest of them all1    ,what canst    
thou bring to this world's festival1    
,where all thy sisters come with pride  
and power1    ,and bring each one a     
princess' generous dower    ,of gold and
 gems1 and fruits and precious woods1   
,and joyous tribute of their costly     
goods8    ,what can we bring8 ,no       
outward show of gain1    ,no pomp of    
state2 we bring the sons of men6        
,bring gold1 fair sisters1 yellow gold1 
,and gems1 and all that's fair and fine1
    ,and heap them all1 the new1 the    
old1    ,before our country's stately   
shrine4    ,bring hardihood from north  
and east1    ,bring beauty from the     
south and west1    ,bring valor to adorn
 the feast1    ,bring all that has      

withstood time's test4    ,we grudge you
 not the riches rare1    ,we grudge you 
not your acres broad1    ,we bring you  
for our noble share    ,,the ,,liberty  
,,to ,,worship ,,god4    --,caroline    
,hazard1 ,poem read on 8,rhode ,island  
,day0 at ,world's  ,columbian           
,exposition1 ,chicago1 ,october #e1     
#ahic4          ,,from ,,soul-,,liberty 
,,to ,,absolute ,,civil ,,liberty       
,the ideal of democracy grew in all the 
,new ,england colonies and led          
eventually to the ,american ,revolution 
and the establishment of the  ,united   
,states of ,america4 ,rhode ,island1    
however1 in the century prior  to the   
,revolution1 had never given up her     
advocacy of soul-liberty1 and  thus the 
,revolution was to her a greater        
struggle than to the other  colonies4   
,this distinct feature will be seen in a
 study of the real  successors of ,roger
 ,williams1 in the struggle for         
religious liberty4  ,therefore it is    
interesting to note some of the         

outstanding events in  the history of   
,rhode ,island and ,providence          
,plantations1 previous to the           
,revolutionary ,war4    ,in ,june1      
#agjj1 a lot was set aside for a        
training-ground1 a  burial-ground1 and  
other public uses4 ,thus originated the 
,north ,burial  ,ground1 the first      
public burial-ground in the colony4     
,before this each  family had buried on 
its own land4 ,not until #agfj1 when    
,benefit ,street  was laid through the  
burial-grounds of many of the citizens1 
including  the land where ,roger        
,williams first settled1 did they come  
to use in a  general way this ,north    
,burial ,ground4 ,then many bodies were 
removed to  the new place for burial4   
,the second house of worship to be      
erected in the colony1 in #agjd1  was   
the ,friends' ,meeting ,house1 in what  
is now ,lincoln4 ,it is still  standing1
 although with an extensive addition4   
,the ,friends' ,meeting  ,house in      
,providence was erected about the same  

time4 ,the ,first  ,congregational      
,church was organized in #agbj1 a       
meeting-house being  erected in #agbc4  
,it was on the site of the present      
county court-house4  ,in #agbb1 the     
,episcopalians erected their first      
church building4 ,it was  called ,king's
 ,church1 and was on the site of the    
present ,st4 ,john's  ,church on ,north 
,main ,street4 ,in #agih1 the           
,methodists organized their  first      
church1 building their first            
meeting-house in #ahaf at the corner  of
 ,aborn and ,washington ,streets4 ,the  
,roman ,catholics commenced their  work 
in #ahbg1 meeting in ,mechanics' ,hall1 
afterward in the old ,town  ,house4     
,from the very start no discouragement  
was given to any church to  organize in 
,rhode ,island4 ,during this same period
 of time ,baptists were  hindered in    
other colonies4    ,in #affj1 the       
proprietors of the colony ordered the   
setting aside of  one hundred acres of  
upland and six of meadows to be reserved

 for the  maintenance of a school4 ,in  
#afif1 a piece of land on ,dexter ,lane1
  or ,stamper's ,hill1 was set apart for
 a school4 ,this schoolhouse was  built 
about the year #afig1 about fifty feet  
north of ,olney ,street1 on  the east   
side of ,stamper's ,street4 ,it was used
 for about fifty years4  ,the           
schoolmaster probably received all of   
his compensation from the  scholars4 ,a 
lot on the end of the ,court ,house     
,parade was left for a  school building4
 ,the first reference to a school house 
on this lot is  found in the town       
records for #ageb4 ,the town leased this
 schoolhouse  to a schoolmaster4 ,in    
#agfi1 the first free school was        
established on  ,king's ,street1 now    
,meeting ,street4 ,this building is used
 now as a  fresh-air school4            
,,brown ,,university    ,as early as    
#agfb a movement was instituted by      
,james ,manning of ,scotch  ,plains1    
,new ,jersey1 to establish in ,rhode    
,island a university on the  broad basis

 of religious freedom1 but under the    
special care of the  ,baptists4 ,a      
charter1 to be presented to the ,general
 ,assembly in #agfc1  was prepared by   
,rev4 ,ezra ,stiles1 a ,congregational  
minister at ,newport4  ,when the        
document was ready for presentation1 it 
was noticed that the  governing power   
was to be given to a presbyterian body4 
,that occasioned  postponement4 ,a      
charter was granted1 however1 in        
,february1 #agfd1 under  the name of    
8,the ,trustees and ,fellows of the     
,college or ,university in  the ,english
 ,colony of ,rhode ,island and          
,providence ,plantations in ,new        
,england in ,america40 ,the corporation 
was given power to change its  name4 ,it
 organized with ,james ,manning as      
president4 ,active teaching  work was   
commenced at ,warren in #agff4 ,the     
founding of this university  was an     
event touching not only the life of     
,rhode ,island1 but of the  whole       
country4 ,as a ,baptist movement1 it was

 first proposed by ,morgan  ,edwards in 
#agfb1 at the ,philadelphia ,baptist    
,association4 ,james  ,manning came from
 the little church at ,scotch ,plains1  
,new ,jersey1 and  from a ,baptist      
,association to the only place in       
,america1 at that time1  where a        
,baptist university could be            
established4 ,the ,baptists desired  the
 controlling power1 but not the whole   
power of administration1 in  order to   
preserve their great principle of       
religious freedom4 ,according  to the   
original charter1 twenty-two of the     
thirty-six trustees were  to be         
,baptists1 five ,quakers1 four          
,congregationalists1 and five           
,episcopalians4 ,of the twelve fellows1 
eight were to be ,baptist1 the  rest    
indefinitely of any or all              
denominations4 ,the following extract   
shows the ,baptist ideal3     into this 
liberal and catholic institution shall  
never be admitted   any religious tests1
 but1 on the contrary1 all the members  

hereof1   shall forever enjoy full1     
free1 absolute1 and uninterrupted       
liberty   of conscience2 and that the   
places of professors1 tutors1 and all   
other officers1 the ,president alone    
excepted1 shall be free and open   for  
all denominations of ,protestants1 and  
the youths of all religious             
denominations shall and may be admitted 
to the equal advantages1   emoluments1  
and honors of the university2 and that  
the sectarian   differences shall not   
make any part of the public and         
classical   instructions4    ,its early 
history is interesting4 ,there was but  
one student during  its first year1 the 
,rev4 ,william ,rogers1 of ,newport1    
then fourteen  years old4 ,in #agfg1    
four new students enrolled4 ,the first  
years of the  college were spent at     
,warren1 where ,dr4 ,james ,manning1 the
 president1  was the acting pastor of a 
,baptist church recently organized4 ,in 
#agfi1 the first class of seven was     
ready for graduation and the first      

commencement was held on ,september #g1 
#agfi4    ,the various towns of the     
colony contended earnestly to have the  
college  permanently located with them4 
,newport considered that her large gifts
  to the college were sufficient to give
 her the preference4 ,providence1  being
 a stronger center for the ,baptists1   
won1 and1 in #aggj1 the  college was    
moved to that city4 ,the old brick      
schoolhouse1 near the  foot of ,meeting 
,street1 was the first building used by 
the college4 ,the  students boarded in  
private families at a dollar and a      
quarter a week4  ,the building committee
 soon selected a better location for the
 school  and a better place for housing 
the student body4 ,morgan ,edwards said 
of  the site finally selected3          
,commanding a prospect of the ,town of  
,providence below1 of the               
,narragansett ,bay and ,island and of an
 extensive country1 variegated   with   
hills and dales1 woods and plains4444   
,surely this spot was made   for a seat 

of the ,muses4    ,the first building1  
one sufficient for the needs of the     
college for the  following fifty years1 
was ,university ,hall1 modeled after    
,nassau ,hall  of ,princeton4 ,the upper
 two stories were added after the       
,revolutionary  war4 ,for six years1    
during that great struggle1 the hall was
 used as  barracks and hospital for the 
combined ,american and ,french troops4  
,in  #agge1 the present ,first ,baptist 
,church ,meeting ,house was erected1    
8for  the public worship of ,almighty   
,god and to hold commencements in40     
,since  #agge until the present time1   
with the exceptions of the years #ahjd  
and  #ahcb1 this church has been used   
for the commencement exercises4 ,on its 
platform illustrious students have      
received their degrees and have gone    
forth to bless the world4 ,the          
presidents of ,brown ,university1 seated
  in the ,james ,manning chair1 have    
presided at the commencements in the    
historic ,baptist ,meeting ,house1 and  

have given public honor to men  who in  
turn have honored the university and    
city4 ,george ,washington  received the 
honorary degree of ,,ll4 ,d4 in #agij4  
,among her illustrious  graduates none  
is greater than ,adoniram ,judson1 our  
pioneer ,american  and ,baptist foreign 
missionary4    ,doctor ,manning died in 
#agia1 and was buried in the ,north     
,burial ,ground4  ,the corporation voted
 that same year1     ,that the children 
of the ,jews may be admitted into this  
institution   and entirely enjoy the    
freedom of their own religion1 without  
any   constraint or imposition whatever4
    ,the name of the college was changed
 from ,rhode ,island to ,brown          
,university1 in #ahjd1 in honor of      
,nicholas ,brown1 whose liberal gifts to
  the college were much appreciated4 ,he
 was a trustee and in his lifetime  gave
 about #ajj1jjj to the college4 ,in     
#ahba the increasing number of  students
 made another building imperative1 and  
,nicholas ,brown gave this  needed      

structure1 ,hope ,college1 as a gift to 
the institution4    ,illustration3      
,original ,home of ,brown ,university1  
in ,providence1 ,r4 ,i4                 
,illustration3 ,brown ,university in    
,early ,nineteenth ,century    ,the     
second president of ,brown ,university  
was ,jonathan ,maxcy1 who served  from  
#agib until #ahjb4 ,in these ten years  
two hundred and twenty-seven  were      
graduated1 sixty-six claiming law as    
their profession1 and  fifty-six        
entering the ministry4 ,asa ,messer was 
the third president1  serving from #ahjb
 until his resignation in #ahbf4 ,his   
membership was in  the ,first ,baptist  
,church1 but his views1 after #ahae1    
were ,unitarian4  ,acts of vandalism1   
such as breaking into the library1      
beating down the  pulpit1 and breaking  
windows1 were such that he took it as a 
protest  against his position and       
finally resigned4    ,the next president
 was ,francis ,wayland4 ,he completely  
reorganized the  ,university4 ,he       

introduced the elective system1 and     
offered several  practical courses4 ,the
 college grounds were laid out4 ,two new
 buildings  were erected4 ,manning      
,hall1 a gift of ,nicholas ,brown1 and  
named  in honor of the first president1 
was built in #ahdj4 ,in this ,doric     
structure the library found a home on   
the first floor and the chapel on  the  
second4 ,rhode ,island ,hall was erected
 shortly afterward1 #aj1jjj  being      
raised by ,rhode ,island men and women1 
and the balance of #ab1ejj  being       
largely the gift of ,nicholas ,brown4   
,doctor ,wayland's presidency  came to  
an end by his death in #ahee4 ,he was   
buried in ,north ,burial  ,ground4      
,following him came ,barnes ,sears1     
,alexis ,gaswell1 ,ezekiel ,gilman      
,robinson1 ,elisha ,benjamin ,andrews1  
and the present president1 ,w4 ,h4 ,p4  
,faunce1 since ,june1 #ahii4 ,today the 
college has more than a thousand        
students1 about thirty buildings1 and an
 endowment of more than four  million   

dollars4 ,brown ,university was the     
pioneer of the hundreds of  schools1    
colleges1 and universities which the    
,baptists were destined to  have in the 
years that followed4 ,these are not     
limited to one ,state1  but are         
scattered all over our country4         
,pilgrims to ,providence1 the birthplace
 of religious liberty in ,america1      
should not fail to visit those buildings
 which contain sacred relics of  the    
long and hard struggle for soul-liberty 
and political freedom in  ,america4     
,the present million-dollar ,,city      
,,hall1 at the west end of ,exchange    
,place1 in ,providence1 was erected in  
the period #ahgd to #ahgh4 ,in the      
office of the ,recorder of ,deeds can be
 seen 8the original deeds0  from the    
,indian chiefs to ,roger ,williams in   
#afcf1 also his letter  transferring to 
his loving friends1 8a share of the new 
territory40 ,the  original ,compact of  
,government is here also1 and there is a
 bust of  ,roger ,williams over the     

entrance4    ,,the ,,old ,,state        
,,house1 situated on ,benefit ,street1  
is a building which  can well vie with  
,faneuil ,hall in ,boston and           
,independence ,hall in  ,philadelphia as
 a 8,cradle of ,liberty40 ,built in     
#agfc1 it was originally  occupied by   
the ,rhode ,island ,colonial ,assembly1 
who here on ,may #d1  #aggf1 two months 
previous to the ,declaration of         
,independence1 in  ,philadelphia1       
adopted the famous act renouncing       
allegiance to ,great  ,britain4 ,this   
fact is commemorated by a bronze tablet 
and also by an  annual commemoration in 
all the public schools of ,providence4  
,,the ,,new ,,state ,,house1 or 8,marble
 ,palace10 on the crest of ,capitol     
,hill1  completed in #aijb at a cost of 
#c1bjj1jjj1 is built of white ,georgia  
marble1 and has for a distinguishing    
feature one of the few marble  domes    
existing in the world4 ,this inscription
 is on the south front of  the ,capitol3
     ,to hold forth a lively experiment1

 that a most flourishing civil state    
may stand and best be maintained1 with  
full ,liberty in ,religious             
,concernments4    ,on the north side1 we
 read1     ,providence ,plantations1    
,founded by ,roger ,williams1 #afcf1    
,providence1   ,portsmouth1 ,newport1   
incorporated by ,parliament1 #afdc1     
,rhode ,island1   ,providence           
,plantations1 obtained ,royal ,charter  
#affc4 ,in ,general   ,assembly declared
 a ,sovereign ,state1 ,may #dth1 #aggf4 
,the inscription around the interior of 
the dome is a ,latin quotation  from    
,tacitus4 ,translated it is3     ,rare  
felicity of the times when it is        
permitted to think as you like1   and   
say what you think4    ,in the ,state   
,chamber is ,gilbert ,stuart's rare     
full-length portrait of  ,general       
,washington4 ,in the ,secretary of      
,state's office is the original         
charter1 granted in #affc1 under which  
the colony and ,state were  governed    
until #ahdc4 ,in a subbasement there is 

a collection of ,state  historical      
exhibits1 originally collected for the  
,jamestown ,exposition4  ,on the dome of
 the ,state ,house there is a colossal  
bronze statue of  8,independent ,man1 or
 the ,genius of ,religious ,liberty10   
designed by  ,brewster4                 
,illustration3 ,capitol ,building in    
,providence1 ,where the ,charter is     
,kept    ,illustration3 ,city ,hall1    
,providence1 ,where the ,compact1       
,indian ,deed1  and ,letter of          
,transference are ,kept    ,,the ,,court
 ,,house is on the corner of ,benefit   
and ,college ,streets4 ,in its  corridor
 there is a historical painting by ,c4  
,f4 ,grant1 picturing  8,the return of  
,roger ,williams with the first charter 
for the ,colony in  #afdd40      ,,rhode
 ,,island ,,in ,,the ,,revolutionary    
,,war    ,rhode ,island was the first to
 strike a blow for civil liberty as she 
was the first in the struggle for       
religious liberty4 ,she was last1       
however1 to adopt the ,constitution of  

the ,united ,states4 ,she hesitated  to 
surrender to the federal government the 
liberties enjoyed under her  charter1   
the most liberal ever granted to a      
colony4 ,she has a right to  be proud of
 her record1 before1 during1 and after  
the ,revolutionary  war4 ,e4 ,benjamin  
,andrews opened his case for ,rhode     
,island's recognition  with these words3
     ,states are great or small         
according to their miles1 and as the    
little   birth town of the ,christ1     
,bethlehem1 in the land of ,judah1 was  
not   least among the princes of ,judah1
 so ,rhode ,island1 diminutive as she   
is physically1 is far from least among  
the princely ,constituents of   this    
republic4    ,the history of ,rhode     
,island proves that the best compatriot 
political  liberty ever had was absolute
 religious liberty4    ,rhode ,island   
was the first to strike the name of king
 from the charter  of her liberties1    
thus becoming the first sovereign       
independent ,state  in all the ,new     

,world4    ,rhode ,island was the first 
to recommend the permanent establishment
 of  a ,continental ,congress1 in town  
meeting assembled1 ,may #ag1 #aggd1 and 
in ,general ,assembly1 ,june #ae1 #aggd1
 she appointed ,samuel ,ward and ,ezek  
,hopkins her first delegates thereto4   
,rhode ,island was also the first1 by   
overt act1 to renounce allegiance  to   
,george ,,iii of ,england4 ,she was     
first to instruct her officers to       
disregard the ,stamp ,act and to ensure 
them indemnity for so doing4 ,in  #agfe1
 she explicitly declared that in herself
 alone was vested the  right of local   
taxation4    ,rhode ,island was first to
 fire a gun against the dominion of     
,england4  ,the first blood of the      
,revolutionary war was spilt in         
,narragansett  ,bay4 ,lexington was     
fought ,april #ai1 #agge2 the ,boston   
,tea ,party was on  ,december #af1      
#aggc2 ,providence men1 after perfecting
 their plans at the  ,sabin ,tavern1    
,planet and ,south ,main ,streets1 rowed

 down the river1 and  on ,june #aj1     
#aggb1 sent up the ,gaspee in flames4   
,on ,july #ai1 #agfi1 the men of        
,newport sunk ,his ,majesty's sloop1    
,liberty4  ,rhode ,island was the first 
to establish an ,american navy4 ,she    
gave the  command to ,abraham ,whipple1 
who forthwith captured the first war    
prize  7the tender of the frigate ,rose1
 then off ,newport74 ,after the war of  
independence was under way1 ,rhode      
,island was the first to recommend  and 
urge upon ,congress the establishment of
 a ,continental navy4  ,congress chose a
 ,rhode ,islander to work out the plans4
 ,ezek ,hopkins1 a  ,providence man1 was
 appointed commander-in-chief4          
,three-fourths of all  the officers were
 from ,rhode ,island4 ,these men were   
the vikings of the  ,american           
,revolution4 ,ezek ,hopkins' home is    
still preserved on ,admiral  ,street4   
,there is a monument to him at his grave
 in ,hopkins ,square1  corner ,branch   
,avenue and ,charles ,street4    ,in    

proportion to her size none of the other
 ,states can compare with  ,rhode       
,island in the amount given to the      
,continental loan4 ,her citizens1       
unlocking their purses1 freely furnished
 the sinews of war4 ,she  contributed   
seven times as much as ,south ,carolina1
 whose population was  three times as   
large2 one and a half times as much as  
,maryland1 whose  population was four   
times as great2 twice as much as        
,virginia1 with a  population eight     
times larger4    ,rhode ,island         
contributed proportionately her share of
 men to the great  struggle4 ,rhode     
,island men were in every great battle  
under ,washington4  ,rhode ,island has  
been greatly criticized for not quickly 
adopting the  ,constitution4 ,she was   
the last to adopt it4 ,her conception of
 religious  and civic liberty in        
combination was such that she was not   
willing to  lose easily the liberty     
which she had obtained for herself and  
which  she freely advocated for others4 

,her part in the great struggle was so  
great that her motive for delay in      
adopting the ,constitution should  never
 be questioned4 ,her ideal of liberty1  
unique to ,rhode ,island then1  is the  
generally accepted one now throughout   
,america and back of every  great       
politicial reform in lands beyond our   
borders4    ,ex-,governor ,russell      
,brown1 on ,rhode ,island ,day at the   
,world's ,columbian  ,exposition1 said3 
,the history of our ,state is a         
birthright which neither lands nor gold 
can buy1 for full as it is of stirring  
and passionate events1 there   is not an
 incident in our annals that can bring  
the scarlet of shame   to the cheek of  
civilized man4 ,roger ,williams the     
first settler1 the   thrice-exiled      
friend of the weak and oppressed1 by his
 revolt against   ,puritan intolerance  
and his sacrifice for soul liberty1     
baptized ,rhode   ,island's early days  
with glory sufficient for any ,state4   
,,vi    ,,the ,,torch-,,bearers ,,of    

,,the ,,ideal ,,of ,,roger ,,williams   
,,until ,,liberty  ,,enlightened ,,the  
,,world     ,i believe all our ,baptist 
ministers in town1 except two1 and most 
of   our brethren in the country were on
 the side of the ,americans in the      
late dispute4444 ,to this hour we       
believe that the independence of        
,america will1 for a while1 secure the  
liberty of this country1 but   if that  
continent had been reduced1 ,britain    
would not have long been                
free4--,doctor ,rippon1 of ,london1     
,england1 to ,president ,manning1 of    
,rhode ,island ,college1 written in     
#aghd4     ,nor need any one dream that 
,jefferson and ,madison could have      
carried   this measure by their genius  
and influence4 ,they were opposed by    
many   men whose transcendent services1 
or unequalled oratory1 or wealth1       
position1 financial interests1 or       
intense prejudices would have   enabled 
them easily to resist their unsupported 
assaults4 ,like a   couple of           

first-class engineers on a tender with a
 train attached1 but   no locomotive1   
would ,jefferson and ,madison have      
appeared without the   ,baptists4 ,they 
furnished the locomotive for these      
skilled engineers   which drew the train
 of religious liberty through every     
persecuting   enactment in the penal    
code of ,virginia4--,wm4 ,cathcart1 ,d4 
,d41 in   8,the ,baptists and the       
,american ,revolution40     ,the        
,baptists were the first and only       
religious denomination that   struck for
 independence from ,great ,britain1 and 
the first and only   one that made a    
move for religious liberty before       
independence was   declared4444 ,of     
those who took part in the struggle for 
religious   liberty1 the ,baptists were 
the only denomination that maintained a 
consistent record and held out without  
wavering until the end--until   every   
vestige of the old establishment had    
been obliterated by the   sale of the   
glebes4--,dr4 ,charles ,james1 in       

8,documentary ,history of   the         
,struggle for ,religious ,liberty in    
,virginia40          ,,the              
,,torch-,,bearers ,,of ,,the ,,ideal    
,,of ,,roger ,,williams ,,until         
,,liberty  ,,enlightened ,,the ,,world  
,we have seen the early struggles of    
,roger ,williams4 ,we have seen the     
halo of glory which clusters about the  
,state he founded4 ,we have seen  his   
place in the plans of a ,divine         
providence4 ,we have also seen his      
place in the procession of heroes who   
held aloft the torch of religious  and  
soul-liberty throughout the ages4 ,when 
by death1 he was compelled  to drop that
 torch1 others took it up and continued 
the procession  until the first         
amendment to our ,national ,constitution
 became a fact  of history4 ,the        
,baptists led the historic movement in  
all the colonies  which stood for this  
principle of 8,religious ,liberty40     
,oscar ,s4 ,straus  says3     ,the      
,baptists 444 had a much more           

enlightened and advanced view3 they     
held that ,christianity should propagate
 itself by its own spiritual   force2   
that the civil government was entirely  
apart and distinct and   should have no 
control over conscience1 or power to    
inflict punishment   for spiritual      
censures4    ,professor ,gervinus1      
professor at ,heidelberg1 ,germany1     
about the year  #ahej1 published a work1
 in which he referred to ,williams and  
his ideal3     ,roger ,williams urged an
 entire liberty of conscience in        
,massachusetts4   ,he was obliged to fly
 from the country1 and in #afcf he      
founded a small   new society in ,rhode 
,island upon the principles of entire   
liberty of   conscience4 ,it was        
prophesied that the democratic attempts 
to obtain   a general elective franchise
 and entire religious liberty would be  
of short duration4 ,but these           
institutions have spread from that      
petty state over the whole union4 ,they 
superseded the aristocratic             

commencements of ,carolina and ,new     
,york1 the ,high-church part of         
,virginia1 the theocracy in             
,massachusetts1 and the monarchy        
throughout   ,america2 they have given  
laws to one quarter of the globe2 and1  
dreaded for their moral influence1 they 
stand in the background of   every      
democratic struggle in ,europe4    ,for 
the publication of such sentiments1     
,professor ,gervinus was tried  at      
,mannheim and sentenced to four months' 
imprisonment and to have his  books     
publicly burned4    ,back of political  
progress there must be spiritual        
strength4 ,back of  the final victory of
 religious liberty in ,america there was
 not only  the glorious example of      
,rhode ,island as a political           
demonstration but  the persistent       
propagation of the ideals in all the    
,states4 ,this was  chiefly the task of 
the ,baptists1 many of whose churches   
could trace  their origin to settlers   
from ,rhode ,island4    ,during the     

,colonial period1 the laws of           
,massachusetts and ,virginia  relating  
to soul-liberty were most severe2 those 
in ,maryland and  ,pennsylvania1 the    
most lenient1 outside of ,rhode ,island4
    ,illustration3 ,order banishing the 
,founders of the ,first ,baptist ,church
  in ,boston4    ,sidenote3 #afdd4 ,nov4
 #ac4     ,whereas ,thomas ,gold 7and   
others7 obstinate and turbulent         
,annabaptists1   have some time since   
combined themselves wh others in a      
pretended   church estate xxxxx to the  
great griefe and offence of the godly   
orthodox xxxxxxxx and about two years   
since were enjoyned by this   ,court to 
desist from said practise and to returne
 to our allowed   ,church ,assemblies1  
xxxxxx this ,court doe judge it         
necessary that   they be removed to some
 other part of this country or          
elsewhere3 and   accordingly doeth order
 that 7they7 doe before the twentieth of
 ,july   next remove themselves out of  
this jurisdiccon4    ,in ,massachusetts 

the ,baptist sentiment did not die out  
with the  banishment of ,roger          
,williams4 ,in #afdj1 ,rev4 ,mr4        
,chauncey advocated the  immersion of   
believers and also of infants4 ,later   
,president ,dunster1  of ,cambridge     
,college1 went further and denounced the
 whole system  of infant baptism4 ,about
 the same time1 ,lady ,moody1 of ,lynn1 
denied  infant baptism4 ,in #afdd1 a    
poor man by the name of ,painter1       
reaching  the same conclusion1 refused  
to have his child baptized4 ,the court  
interfered and the man was tied up and  
whipped4 ,on ,november #ac1 #afdd1  two 
months after ,williams arrived in       
,boston1 en route to ,providence1  with 
the charter1 the ,massachusetts ,bay    
,colony passed a law against  the       
,baptists1 in which they were described 
as 8,the incendiaries of  commonwealths1
 the troublers of churches40 ,they      
ordered that all who  8openly condemn or
 oppose the baptizing of infants shall  
be sentenced  to banishment40 ,the      

,general ,court issued an order in #afdd
 banishing the  founders of the ,boston 
,baptist ,church4 ,in #afea1 ,obadiah   
,holmes1 ,john  ,clarke1 and ,john      
,crandall came to ,lynn1 ,massachusetts1
 from ,newport1  ,rhode ,island4 ,they  
were holding a service in ,mr4 ,witter's
 house1 about  two miles out from ,lynn4
 ,mr4 ,clarke was preaching from        
,revelation  #c3aj4 ,the service was    
broken up by the arrival of two         
constables1 who1  with clamorous        
tongues1 interrupted the discourse and  
arrested the  preachers4 ,the prisoners 
were held in ,lynn until the morning1   
when they  were taken to the ,boston    
prison4 ,two weeks later1 they were     
sentenced  to pay heavy fines4 ,the     
fines of ,clarke and ,crandall were paid
 by  friends4 ,holmes refused any       
assistance in paying his fine of thirty 
pounds and was publicly whipped with    
thirty lashes from a three-corded  whip4
 ,thirteen others1 who sympathized with 
these brethren1 were  arrested and were 

ordered to pay a fine of forty shillings
 each or  take ten lashes4 ,john ,hazel1
 an old man from ,rehoboth1 was whipped 
and died a few days afterward4 ,clarke  
published the story of this  incident in
 8,ill ,newes from ,new-,england0--an   
original copy is in the  ,john ,carter  
,brown ,library1 ,providence1 ,r4 ,i4   
,cotton was the religious  leader in    
,boston1 back of this persecution4 ,in  
#afhj the doors of the  ,baptist        
meeting-house in ,boston were nailed up 
by the authorities4  ,finally the       
,baptists in ,boston won some freedom1  
which1 however1 was  denied to other    
,baptist churches throughout the ,state4
 ,isaac ,backus  was the leader among   
the ,massachusetts ,baptists for        
soul-liberty4 ,with  ,president         
,manning1 he appealed to the            
,massachusetts delegates at the         
,continental ,congress to provide in the
 ,constitution for separation  of       
,church and ,state4 ,john ,adams replied
 to them3 8,they might as well  turn the

 heavenly bodies out of their annual and
 diurnal courses as  to expect they     
would give up their establishment40     
,this spirit of  opposition was         
continued until #ahcc1 in which year the
 last vestige of  oppressive religious  
intolerance was removed from the        
statute-books of  ,massachusetts4       
,illustration                           
,,ill                                   
,,newes                                 
,,from                                  
,,new-,,england                         
,,or                         ,a         
,narative of ,new-,englands             
,,persecution4                          
,,wherein ,,is ,,declared               
,that while old ,england is becoming    
new1                       ,new-,england
 is become ,old4      ,also four        
,proposals to the ,honoured ,parliament 
and ,councel of ,state1     touching the
 way to ,propagate the ,gospel of       
,christ 7with small          charge and 
great safety7 both in ,old ,england and 

,new4      ,also four conclusions       
touching the faith and order of the     
,gospel of    ,christ out of his last   
,will and ,testament1 confirmed and     
justified             ,by ,,john ,,clark
 ,physician of ,rode ,island in         
,america4                   ,revel4 #b4 
#be4 ,hold fast till ,i come4           
#c4 #aa4 ,behold ,i come quickly4       
#bb4 #bj4 ,amen1 even so come ,lord     
,jesus4                                 
,,london1      ,printed by ,henry ,hills
 living in ,fleet-,yard next door to the
                    ,rose and ,crown1 in
 the year #afeb4    ,in ,virginia1 the  
opposition to the ,baptist movement was 
bitter and  unrelenting4 ,the early     
settlers of ,virginia left ,england1    
when their  church1 the ,established    
,church of ,england1 had won a complete 
victory  over all other persuasions4    
,the ,virginians sought to duplicate in 
the  new land the spirit of the victors 
across the sea and make religion        
uniform in their colony4 ,laws were     

passed against popish recusants as      
early as #afdc4 ,other laws were passed 
by their assembly between the  years    
#afei and #affc against those who failed
 to have their children  baptized4 ,the 
,quakers especially found these laws    
most severe4 ,the  early ,baptists of   
,virginia were of the common people2    
their ministers  were illiterate2 and   
for a while they escaped notice4 ,the   
first  imprisonment of ,baptists was in 
the county of ,spottsylvania1 ,va41     
,june  #d1 #agfh4 ,three ,baptists1     
,john ,waller1 ,lewis ,craig1 and ,james
 ,childs1  with others1 were arrested   
for disturbing the peace4 7,there was no
  law against preaching47 ,the opposing 
lawyer in the court-room made this      
charge3     ,may it please your         
worships1 these men are great disturbers
 of the   peace2 they cannot meet a man 
on the road1 but they ram a text of     
,scripture down his throat4    ,mr4     
,waller so defended himself and his     
brethren that their enemies were        

somewhat puzzled to know how to proceed 
against them4 ,they offered  to release 
them on promise to refrain from         
preaching in the county  for a year and 
a day4 ,the defendants refused the offer
 and were sent  to prison4 ,other       
,baptist ministers were arrested1 and   
soon thirty  were under arrest4 ,the    
prisons became ,baptist pulpits1 and    
multitudes  gathered around them to hear
 the preachers4 ,their opponents engaged
  drummers to drown the preaching2 high 
enclosures were in some cases  erected  
before prison windows1 and suffocating  
materials were burned  near the prisons4
 ,baptists from the beginning were      
unremitting in their  struggle to secure
 religious liberty4 ,they secured the   
support of  ,patrick ,henry1 a member of
 the ,established ,church1 but a firm   
friend of  all who stood for liberty1   
civil and religious4 ,he helped the     
,baptists  to win the complete victory4 
,the ,baptist cause was destined to have
 a more congenial atmosphere  in        

,pennsylvania when we remember that     
,william ,penn1 its illustrious         
founder1 had an ,english ,baptist father
 and a ,dutch mother1 undoubtedly  of   
,anabaptist descent4 ,he received his   
charter in #afha1 forty-five  years     
after ,roger ,williams' banishment from 
,massachusetts4 ,penn  possessed broad  
and liberal ideas and was opposed to any
 church  establishment4 ,he provided    
that all persons who confess and        
acknowledge the ,almighty and ,eternal  
,god to be the ,creator1 ,upholder1 and 
,ruler of the world1 444 should   in no 
ways be molested1 nor compelled to      
frequent or maintain any   religious    
worship4    ,yet only those confessing  
faith in ,jesus ,christ could become    
freemen in  ,penn's domain4 ,the        
separate ,quakers in the colony of      
,pennsylvania were  arrested1 fined1 and
 imprisoned for dissent4                
,illustration3 ,john ,clarke ,memorial  
,first ,baptist ,church of ,newport1 ,r4
  ,i4    ,illustration3 ,grave of ,john 

,clarke    ,the first company of        
,baptists in this colony came from      
,rhode ,island4  ,william ,dugan came   
there in #afhd1 three years after ,penn 
received  his charter4 ,he settled at   
,cold ,spring1 in ,bucks ,county4 ,the  
first  church in ,philadelphia was      
founded by ,john ,holmes in #afhf4 ,the 
first  meeting-place was at the corner  
of ,second and ,chestnut ,streets4      
,illustration3 ,the ,law in ,william    
,penn's ,colony4 ,no ,absolute          
,soul-liberty in ,pennsylvania in ,those
 ,days4     ,sidenote3 ,two ,thirds of  
the ,members have the ,power of a full  
,house4   ,no ,member to vote c4 in the 
,house till qualified4 ,the             
,qualification   of every ,member of    
,assembly4 ,altered by an ,act pass'd in
 the ,,ii ,geo4   ,i1 entitled ,an      
,act--prescribing the ,forms of         
,declaration of ,fidelity4   c4         
,,and if any ,county or ,part of this   
,province shall refuse or neglect to    
choose their respective ,representatives

 as aforesaid1 or if chosen1 do   not   
meet to serve in ,assembly1 those who   
are so chosen and met shall   have the  
full ,power of an ,assembly in as ample 
,manner as if all the   ,representatives
 had been chosen and met2 ,provided1    
they are not less   than two ,thirds of 
the ,whole that ought to meet4     ,,and
 ,,be ,,it ,,further ,,enacted by the   
,authority aforesaid1 ,that no   ,person
 who shall be hereafter a ,member of the
 ,assembly1 or ,house of                
,representatives of this ,province1     
shall be capable to vote in the said    
,house1 or sit there during any ,debate1
 after their ,speaker is chosen1   until
 he shall make and subscribe the        
following ,declarations and             
,profession his ,belief1 viz41     ,i   
,a4 ,b4 do sincerely promise1 and       
solemnly declare before ,,god   and the 
,world1 ,that ,i will be faithful and   
bear true ,allegiance to   ,queen ,anne4
 ,and ,i do solemnly profess and        
declare4 ,that ,i do1   from my ,heart1 

abbor1 detest and renounce as impious   
and heretical1   that damnable ,doctrine
 and ,position1 ,that ,princes          
excommunicated or   deprived by the     
,pope1 or any ,authority of the ,see of 
,rome1 may be   deposed or murdered by  
their ,subjects1 or any other           
whatsoever4     ,,and ,i do declare1    
,that no foreign ,prince1 ,person1      
,prelate1 ,state   or ,potentate hath1  
or ought to have1 any ,power1           
,jurisdiction1   ,superiority1          
,preeminence or ,authority              
ecclesiastical or spiritual1   within   
the ,realm of ,england1 or the          
,dominions thereunto belonging4         
,,and ,i ,a4 ,b4 do solemnly and        
sincerely1 in the ,presence of ,,god1   
profess1 testify and declare1 ,that ,i  
do believe that in the ,sacrament   of  
the ,,lord's ,supper there is not any   
,transubstantiation of the   ,elements  
of ,bread and ,wine into the ,body and  
,blood of ,,christ1 at or   after the   
,consecration thereof1 by any ,person   

whatsoever2 and that the   ,invocation  
or ,adoration of the ,virgin ,mary1 or  
any other ,saint1 and   the ,sacrifice  
of the ,mass1 as they are now used in   
the ,church of   ,rome1 are             
superstitions and ,idolatrous4     ,,and
 ,i do solemnly1 in the ,presence of    
,,god1 profess1 testify and   declare4  
,that ,i do make this ,declaration and  
every ,part thereof1 in   the plain and 
ordinary ,sense of the ,words read unto 
me1 as they are   commonly understood by
 ,english ,protestants1 without any     
,evasion1   ,equivocation or mental     
,reservation whatsoever and without any 
,dispensation already granted me for    
this ,purpose by the ,pope1 or any      
other ,authority or ,person whatsoever1 
or without any ,hope of any such        
,dispensation from any ,person or       
,authority whatsoever1 or without       
thinking ,i am or may be acquitted      
before ,,god1 or ,man1 or absolved of   
this ,declaration1 or any ,part thereof1
 although the ,pope1 or any other       

,person or ,persons1 or ,power          
whatsoever1 should dispense with or     
annull   the same1 or declare that it   
was null or void from the ,beginning4   
,,and ,i ,a4 ,b4 profess ,faith in ,,god
 the ,father1 and in ,,jesus   ,,christ1
 his eternal ,son1 the true ,,god1 and  
in the ,,holy ,,spirit1   one ,,god1    
blessed for evermore2 and do acknowledge
 the ,holy   ,scriptures of the ,old and
 ,new-,testament1 to be given by divine 
,inspiration4    ,lord ,baltimore1 the  
,roman ,catholic proprietor of          
,maryland1 was far in  advance of his   
,church4 ,he came to the ,new ,world to 
secure religious  liberty for himself   
and his friends4 ,the ,maryland ,act of 
,toleration1  issued in #afdi1 provided 
that     ,blasphemy against ,god1 and a 
denial of the ,trinity should be        
punished   with death and confiscation  
of lands and goods1 and blasphemy       
against   the ,virgin ,mary should first
 be punished by a fine of five pounds1  
and   if persisted in1 by a forfeiture  

of all possessions and banishment   from
 the colony4    ,illustration3 ,the ,law
 ,concerning ,religious ,toleration in  
,maryland  ,colony4 ,it is not          
,religious ,liberty4    ,sidenote3      
#afdi4     ,acts and ,orders of         
,,assembly1 assented to1 enacted and    
made1 at a   ,general ,session of the   
said ,assembly1 begun and held at ,st4  
,mary's   on the #b;d ,day of ,april    
#afdi1 and ended the #bast ,day of the  
same   ,month4     ,,william ,,stone1   
,esq2 ,governor4     ,,chap4 ,i4        
,illustration     ,sidenote3 ,passed    
#bast of ,april #afdi4     ,an ,act     
concerning ,religion4 ,lib4 ,c and ,,wh4
 fol4 #ajf4 ,lib4 ,,wh4   fol4 #aaa4 and
 ,lib4 ,,wh and ,l4 fol4 #a4            
,confirmed among the perpetual ,laws    
#afgf1 ch4 #b4     ,n4 ,b4 ,by this     
,law1 7#a47 ,blasphemy against ,,god1   
denying our ,saviour   ,,jesus ,,christ 
to be the ,son of ,,god1 or denying the 
,holy ,,trinity1 or the   ,godhead of   
any of the ,three ,persons1 c4 was to be

 ,punished with   ,death1 and           
,confiscation of ,lands and ,goods to   
the ,lord ,proprietary4   7#b47 ,persons
 using any reproachful ,words or        
,speeches concerning the   ,blessed     
,virgin ,mary1 ,mother of our ,saviour1 
or the ,holy ,apostles   or             
,evangelists1 or any of them1 for the   
#ast ,offence to forfeit #el4           
,sterling to the ,lord ,proprietary2 or1
 in default of ,payment1 to be          
publicly ,whipped1 and ,imprisoned at   
the ,pleasure of his ,lordship1 or   his
 ,lieut4 ,general4 ,for the #b;d        
,offence to forfeit #ajl4 ,sterling1    
or in default of ,payment to be publicly
 and severely ,whipped1 and             
,imprisoned as before directed4 ,and for
 the #c;d ,offence to forfeit ,lands    
and ,goods1 and be for ever ,banished   
out of the ,province4 7#c47 ,persons    
reproaching any other within the        
,province by the ,name or ,denomination 
of ,heretic1 ,schismatic1 ,idolater1    
,puritan1 ,independent1 ,presbyterian1  

,popish ,priest1 ,jesuit1 ,jesuited     
,papist1 ,lutheran1 ,calvinist1         
,anabaptist1 ,brownist1 ,antinomian1    
,barrowist1 ,round-,head1 ,separatist1  
or any other ,name or ,term in a        
reproach-    ,the ,baptist church at    
,chestnut ,ridge was formed in #agdb by 
,henry  ,sator1 a layman of the ,general
 ,baptist order1 who had recently come  
from ,england4 ,he invited ,baptist     
ministers to preach in his house4 ,they 
soon gathered a congregation2 proselytes
 were gained1 and a church  organized4  
,this church appealed to the governor   
and was taken under the  protection of  
the toleration laws4    ,illustration3  
,puritan-,religious-,liberty6 ,facsimile
 of original laws4  ,from 8,body of     
,liberties40 ,first legal code for the  
government of the  ,bay ,colony4 ,drawn 
up by ,rev4 ,nathaniel ,ward1           
,lawyer-divine of ,ipswich4     #id4    
,capitall ,laws4     #a4     ,sidenote3 
,dut4 #ac4 #f1 #aj4     ,dut4 #ag4 #b1  
#f     ,ex4 #bb4 #bj4     ,sidenote3 ,p4

 #ad4     ,s4 #a4     ,if any man after 
legall conviction shall have or worship 
any other   god1 but the lord god1 he   
shall be put to death4     #b4          
,sidenote3 ,ex4 #bb4 #ah4     ,lev4 #bj4
 #bg4     ,dut4 #ah4 #aj4     ,sidenote3
 ,s4 #b4     ,if any man or woeman be a 
witch1 7that is hath or consulteth with 
a   familiar spirit17 ,they shall be put
 to death4     #c4     ,sidenote3 ,lev4 
#bd4 #ae1 #af4     ,sidenote3 ,s4 #c4   
,if any man shall ,blaspheme the name of
 god1 the father1 ,sonne or ,holie      
ghost1 with direct1 expresse1           
presumptuous or high handed blasphemie1 
or shall curse god in the like manner1  
he shall be put to death4      ,,the    
,,final ,,victory ,,in ,,the ,,long     
,,struggle    ,two ,baptist             
organizations in close sympathy with    
each other contributed  much toward the 
final victory4 ,they made appeals to    
their immediate  constituency and also  
to the larger following of all ,baptists
 and other  lovers of religious liberty4

 ,these were the ,warren ,association in
 ,new  ,england1 and the ,general       
,committee in ,virginia4 ,each had a    
committee  of grievances4 ,the ,baptists
 were nobly assisted by ,presbyterians  
and  ,quakers in the final stages of the
 great conflict4 ,isaac ,backus wrote   
his immortal work on 8,a ,history of    
,new ,england1 with ,especial ,reference
  to the ,baptists40 ,he drafted appeals
 for the ,association and for the       
committee on grievances to the ,general 
,assembly1 published addresses on       
religious liberty1 and inserted         
advertisements in leading papers4 ,he   
believed that partial history and false 
statements regarding ,baptist  history  
and doctrines should be removed by      
scattering impartial and  true          
knowledge4 ,he was a ,baptist giant and 
had his share in forming  sentiment1    
which eventually made religious         
intoleration impossible in  ,america4   
,isaac ,backus1 with ,president         
,manning1 of ,brown ,university1 then   

,rhode  ,island ,college1 went to       
,philadelphia and with ,quakers and     
others  appealed to ,john ,adams and    
other ,massachusetts delegates in       
,carpenter  ,hall1 ,philadelphia4 ,these
 advocates of soul-liberty took the     
position  that to pay taxes to support a
 church clergy in which they did not    
believe was as much a wrong as to pay   
taxes for a government in which  they   
had no representation4 ,it was not the  
paltry tax of fourpence a  man that the 
colonists in ,massachusetts rebelled    
against4 ,it was the  principle that was
 back of paying the pence which they    
opposed4 ,they  were greatly amazed when
 ,john ,adams told them that their own  
colony1  ,massachusetts1 had 8the most  
mild and equitable establishment of     
religion that was known in the world40  
,illustration3 ,william ,rogers ,james  
,manning ,isaac ,backus ,these men were 
all connected with the opening of the   
first ,baptist college in ,america4     
,james ,manning was the first president2

 ,isaac ,backus1 a member of the        
original board of trustees2 ,william    
,rogers1 the first student4    ,the     
,virginia ,baptists1 through their      
,general ,convention1 organized in      
#aghd1 united the efforts of the        
,baptists there and in ,new ,england for
  the final phases of the war against   
religious tyranny4 ,for four years  they
 had worked for liberty in their ,state 
laws and had won a complete  victory4   
,then1 in #aghh1 they turned to the     
national issue4 ,the ,federal           
,constitution had provided in ,article  
,,vi1 8,no religious ,test shall ever   
be required as a qualification to any   
,office or public ,trust under the      
,united ,states40 ,this did not satisfy 
the ,baptists1 because religious  tests 
might be imposed for other purposes than
 those specified4 ,in a  noble letter1  
drafted by ,john ,leland1 a ,baptist    
minister1 they appealed  to ,washington4
 ,they paid a high compliment to his    
achievements and  then stated their     

grievance1 closing with these words3    
,if religious liberty is rather insecure
 in the ,constitution the               
administration will certainly prevent   
all oppression1 for a ,,washington      
will preside4 ,should the horrid evils  
that have been so pestiferous   in ,asia
 and ,europe1 faction1 ambition1 war1   
perfidy1 fraud1 and   persecution for   
conscience sake1 ever approach the      
borders of   our happy nation1 may the  
name and administration of our beloved  
,president1 like the radiant source of  
day1 scatter all the dark clouds   from 
the ,american hemisphere4    ,washington
 replied that his ideals were the same1 
assuring them of  this1 in the following
 words3     ,no one would be more       
zealous than myself to establish        
effectual   barriers against the horrors
 of spiritual tyranny and every species 
of   religious persecution4    ,he      
complimented the ,baptists and said that
 they     have been1 throughout         
,america1 uniformly and almost          

unanimously1 the   firm friends to civil
 liberty1 and the persevering promoters 
of our   glorious revolution4    ,his   
assurance was not empty words4 ,in a    
short time ,james ,madison1 with  the   
,president's approval1 submitted certain
 amendments4 ,article ,,vi was          
superseded by the ,first ,amendment to  
the ,constitution1 which specified3     
,congress shall make no law respecting  
an establishment of religion1 or        
prohibiting the free exercise thereof2  
or abridging freedom of speech1   or of 
the press2 or the right of the people   
peaceably to assemble1 and   to petition
 the ,government for a redress of       
grievances4    ,thus the long fight was 
won in ,america1 and now people         
generally  appreciate the importance of 
the victory gained4 ,rhode ,island may  
have hesitated to accept the imperfect  
,constitution1 with its lack of         
assurance for complete religious        
liberty4 ,in this connection we should  
not forget that ,massachusetts and      

,connecticut were the last to ratify    
the ,first ,amendment4          ,,vii   
,,the ,,world-,,wide ,,influence ,,of   
,,roger ,,williams' ,,ideal     8,the   
world must be made safe for democracy4  
,its peace must be planted   upon       
trusted foundations of political        
liberty40--,president ,wilson's   ,war  
,message to ,congress1 #aiag4      ,till
 the war-drum throbb'd no longer1 and   
the battle-flags were furl'd    ,in the 
,parliament of man1 the ,federation of  
the world4    ,there the common sense of
 most shall hold a fretful realm in awe1
    ,and the kindly earth shall slumber1
 lapt in universal law4    --,alfred    
,tennyson4     ,a day will come when    
bullets and bombs shall be replaced by  
ballots1   by the universal suffrages of
 the people1 by the sacred arbitrament  
of a great ,sovereign ,senate4444 ,a day
 will come when we shall face   those   
two immense groups1 the ,united ,states 
of ,america and the ,united   ,states of
 ,europe1 in face of each other1        

extending hand to hand over   the ocean1
 exchanging their products1 their       
commerce1 their industry1   their art1  
their genius clearing the earth1        
colonizing deserts1 and   ameliorating  
creation under the eye of the ,creator4 
,to you1 ,i appeal1   ,french1 ,english1
 ,germans1 ,russians1 ,slavs1           
,europeans1 ,americans1   what have we  
to do to hasten the coming of the great 
day8 ,,love ,,one   ,,another4--,victor 
,hugo4     ,i asked him 7,premier ,lloyd
 ,george7 what message he would send to 
,american ,baptists4 ,quick as a flash1 
he turned and said3 8,tell them   that  
it is ,baptist principles that we are   
fighting for in this   great struggle4  
,all that ,baptists count dear is at    
stake in this   issue40--,lloyd ,george 
to ,george ,coleman1 ,president1        
,northern ,baptist   ,convention4 ,from 
the latter's speech at ,atlantic ,city1 
,n4 ,j41 ,may1   #aiah4          ,,the  
,,world-,,wide ,,influence ,,of ,,roger 
,,williams' ,,ideal      ,roger         

,williams1 as a man of vision1 was      
experimenting with a new  idealism4 ,his
 ideas1 now generally accepted1 have    
made absolute  religious liberty1 with  
its complete separation of ,church and  
,state1 an  idea almost synonymous with 
the name of the ,united ,states of      
,america4  ,that lonely man1 in the     
smallest of the colonies1 set the pace  
for the  other twelve original          
commonwealths and established a national
 pattern  for the forty-eight ,states in
 the present ,union4 ,our cup of        
blessing  has overflowed1 and today the 
whole world is awaking to the blessings 
in store for them if they partake of the
 same privileges4    8,mankind has      
pursued liberty over mountain and across
 valley10 writes  ,pres4 ,e4 ,y4        
,mullins1     by land and by sea1       
through fire and through flood1 since   
the   first man caught a glimpse of     
liberty's white robes leading on to     
victory4 ,the love of victory is now a  
volcanic fire which breaks out   into   

revolution and consumes and destroys the
 ancient fabrics of   government1 and   
now it is a tide of life which rolls    
across the face   of nations1 causing   
them to burst into the beauty and       
fragrance of a   new springtime4 ,the   
spirit of liberty in its quest for the  
goal of its   desire has sounded all the
 notes in the gamut of human experience1
   from the minor notes of abject       
despair to the ringing pan of victory   
over every foe4    ,the ,baptist        
churches of ,america1 the torch-bearers 
of religious  or soul-liberty1 have     
grown from the one church which         
,williams  founded in ,providence into a
 mighty host4 ,from twelve members in   
one  church organization in #afci that  
denomination has grown in ,america      
until today1 according to the latest    
government statistics1 it has  the      
largest membership of any ,protestant   
denomination in ,america1  #g1bcf1fej4  
,its one preacher has become a great    
host of #ci1gcd1 serving  #ec1acc       

churches4 ,instead of one college with  
one student in #agfd1  it now has #dfc  
schools in ,america1 with #fh1eac       
students4 ,instead  of one lone         
missionary to the ,indians1 it now has a
 large army of  missionaries in the home
 and foreign fields4    ,doctor         
,masters1 ,secretary of ,publicity of   
the ,home ,mission ,board  of the       
,southern ,baptist ,convention1 in      
tabulating the figures from  the        
preliminary statistics furnished by the 
,united ,states ,census  ,department1   
calls our attention to the fact that the
 approximate  ,baptist population of    
,america1 including members and other   
adherents1  is twenty-two millions4 ,the
 ,baptists are thus in the lead of every
  denomination1 ,catholic or            
,protestant1 in ,america2 our net gain  
for ten  years is the greatest of all   
denominations1 #bh per cent1 compared   
with  #aj4h per cent of the ,roman      
,catholics4 ,he gives the comparative   
strength  of ,romanists and evangelicals

 in ,america as eighty million          
evangelicals  to #ae1gjj1jjj ,roman     
,catholics4    ,before the days of the  
great war1 ,pres4 ,e4 ,y4 ,mullins1 with
 prophetic  vision wrote3     ,we are   
approaching the ,baptist age of the     
world1 because we are   approaching the 
age of the triumph of democracy4 ,like a
 vine growing   in the darkness of some 
deep cavern1 and slowly stretching      
itself   toward the dim light shining in
 through the distant mouth of the       
cavern1 so has humanity slowly crept on 
toward freedom4 ,the mighty   hordes of 
the ,asiatic and ,european world1 weary 
and sad yet courageous   and resolute1  
are hastening forward with unresting    
feet toward the   gates of destiny4     
,toward those gates these hundreds of   
years the   ,baptists have been         
pointing1 and today in the foremost     
files of time   they lead the way4 ,as  
humanity enters they will shout with the
 full   knowledge that ,god in ,christ  
has led all the way4444 ,and the goal   

of human progress shall be realized in  
an eternal society wherein   absolute   
democracy is joined to absolute         
monarchy1 ,god the ,father   being the  
monarch1 and his people a vast family of
 free children4    ,true political      
liberty is the child of religious       
liberty4 ,it must  look to freedom of   
the soul as a child does to its mother  
for birth1  protection1 and provision4  
,political anarchy is the usual result  
of a  people seeking full liberty by    
ignoring or neglecting the support which
  religion brings to man's moral nature4
 ,it is a long road to political        
liberty1 but it is a road which has run 
parallel with religious  liberty4 ,it is
 interesting to note the                
,americanization of the world4  ,there  
were few democracies when our ,republic 
was born4 ,our victory over  tyranny was
 an inspiration to oppressed peoples4   
,the ,french followed  shortly          
afterward4 ,wherever ,napoleon went1 he 
held aloft the banner of  equality and  

liberty4 ,he granted the latter under a 
form of government  by which he became  
emperor4 ,after almost a century1       
,france gained  both4 ,napoleon's exile 
to ,st4 ,helena did not usher in a      
restoration  of the older ,european     
order4 ,national sovereignty and        
constitutional  government were the     
constituent parts of a liberty the      
people would  not be denied in almost   
all the countries of ,europe4 ,in       
,italy1 ,charles  ,albert1 ,king of     
,savoy1 ,sardinia1 and ,piedmont1 gave  
his people a  constitutional form of    
government4 ,though opposed by the papal
 ,states  and ,austria1 this movement   
grew until1 under ,king ,emmanuel1      
,cavour1 and  ,garibaldi1 all ,italy was
 united and free4 ,denmark followed in  
#ahdi1  ,greece in #ahff1 and ,spain the
 following year4 ,the ,christians of the
  ,balkan ,peninsula revolted from the  
,turks in #ahge1 and were recognized a  
power by the greater powers and were    
given a constitutional government4  ,in 

#aiaj ,portugal banished royalty and    
welcomed democracy4 ,russia1 in  #aiag1 
threw off the shackles of autocracy for 
those of anarchy4 ,when  she awakes from
 her delirium she will doubtless see the
 true light and  follow it4    ,the     
,americanization of ,asia is moving     
rapidly forward4 ,in #aheb  ,commodore  
,perry--by a strange providence from    
,rhode ,island--forced open  the door   
into ,japan4 ,the shoguns1 masters for  
centuries1 lost their  power4 ,then the 
,mikado for twenty years took their     
autocratic powers  to himself but was   
compelled after that to give his people 
a liberal  constitutional form of       
government4 ,the ,chinese nation1 hoary 
with age1  entered the list of          
democracies in #aiaa1 becoming the      
,united ,states  of ,china4 ,the ,shah  
of ,persia1 after a broken promise which
 brought  on a revolution1 gave his     
people1 in #aijf1 a constitutional form 
of  government4 ,the ,young ,turks in   
#aiji1 after compelling ,abdul ,hamid   

,,ii  to abdicate1 placed ,mohammed ,v  
on the throne as his successor4 ,prior  
to the ,great ,war they had what is at  
least an approach to the newer          
constitutional ideals of the modern     
world4    ,the lands to the south of us 
have their struggle toward the same     
desired goal4 ,the ,republic of ,mexico 
needs a religious and educational       
preparation which will largely solve1   
among that unassimilated  conglomeration
 of ,indians1 negroes1 and mestizos1 the
 problem of stable  government4 ,let the
 religious leaders of ,mexico1 who have 
tried for  centuries with their         
religious autocratic systems1 give way  
for a  single generation to the         
evangelical churches with their         
democratic  idealisms and the unchained 
,bible1 and then revolutions and        
immorality  will fade away1 and the     
land1 so desolated in recent years1 will
  blossom like the rose4    ,when       
,napoleon defeated the monarchs of      
,europe and their system1 he  shook the 

confidence of the people of ,central and
 ,south ,america in  their absent       
monarchs across the seas4 ,south        
,american nations followed  one by one  
into the class of democracies4 ,central 
,american ,states also  broke away from 
their ,european masters4 ,these lands   
need the open ,bible  of the evangelical
 ,christian churches more than our      
battleships and  marines4 ,when         
superstition is banished by the light   
which radiates from  the ,bible1 then   
the republics to the south of us will   
vie with us in  advancement and         
prosperity4    ,absolute monarchy is    
doomed in ,europe and throughout the    
world4 ,the  sword unsheathed by        
,america must not rest in its scabbard  
until  democracy is safe in the world   
and the world is made safe for          
democracy4 ,belgium outraged1 ,france   
desecrated1 ,great ,britain drained1    
,russia bleeding slowly to death1 and   
all ,europe a shambles1 may find in  the
 ideals of ,roger ,williams healing for 

their wounds and health for  the coming 
years4    ,due honor should be given to 
every colony builder of the ,new ,world4
  ,great were their suffering and       
sacrifices4      ,all praise to others  
of the vanguard then1    ,to ,spain1 to 
,france1 to ,baltimore and ,penn4    ,to
 ,jesuit1 ,quaker1 ,puritan1 and        
,priest1    ,their toils be crowned1    
their honors be increased4      ,give   
praise to others early come or late1    
,for love and labor on our ship of      
state4    ,by faith the ,pilgrims left  
old ,england1 and sojourned in ,holland 
as  in a strange country4 ,by faith they
 trusted their all to ,god and the      
,mayflower4 ,by faith they endured the  
hardships of that first winter and      
founded their colony in which they      
sought to honor ,god according to the   
truth as they saw it4 ,all honor to the 
faith of our ,pilgrim ,fathers4    ,in  
hope the ,puritans left their native    
land1 seeking not a separation  from the
 mother ,church but rather purification 

of the ,established  ,order4 ,in hope   
they founded ,salem and ,boston and     
other towns about  the ,massachusetts   
,bay4 ,in hope they laid strong the     
foundations which  afterward led to the 
victories of ,lexington and ,bunker     
,hill4 ,all honor  to the ,puritan      
builders of a great commonwealth1 the   
,new ,america4    ,through charity      
,roger ,williams fled into the depths of
 snowy forests  and crossed frozen      
streams1 to form among savage tribes a  
new colony  where no man would be denied
 political privileges because of        
religious  belief4 ,through charity he  
forgave those who exiled him and at the 
risk of his own life saved ,puritan and 
,pilgrim from an impending  ,indian     
massacre4 ,through charity he shared his
 purchased possessions  gratuitously    
with others4 ,through charity he formed 
the immortal  compact binding men       
together 8only in civil things40        
,through charity he  sacrificed his     
humble patrimony1 his home at ,salem1   

and the earnings of  his lifetime to    
safeguard and protect the colony he had 
founded for the  joys of others4        
,through charity he extended for the    
first time in our  national history a   
loving welcome to men of all beliefs    
into the new  fraternity of human hearts
 founded for human helpfulness4         
,roger ,williams possessed the faith of 
the ,pilgrim and the hope of the        
,puritan4 ,faith and hope getteth1 but  
charity giveth4 ,roger ,williams        
possessed the charity of ,christ4 ,he   
followed in the footsteps of  his       
,master along a pathway of pain4 ,like  
the ,man of ,galilee1 in the  olive     
orchard and vine-clad garden1 and on the
 bleak skull-shaped  hill without the   
walls of ,jerusalem1 his humble servant1
 the man of  ,providence1 had his       
,gethsemane and ,golgotha in the frozen 
forests and  on the snow-clad hills     
under the wintry skies of ,new ,england4
      ,aye1 call it holy ground1        
,the soil where first they trod1        

,they left unstained what there they    
found1      ,freedom to worship ,god4   
,and now in these ,united ,states of    
,america1 there abideth the faith  of   
the ,pilgrim1 the hope of the ,puritan1 
and the charity of ,roger  ,williams2   
but the greatest of these is charity4   
,,study ,,outline ,,of ,,the ,,life     
,,and ,,times ,,of ,,roger ,,williams   
,i    ,,roger ,,williams ,,and ,,his    
,,times    #a4 ,rise and ,development of
 ,english ,puritanism3 ,reformation in  
,england1 from ,wyclif to ,henry ,,viii4
 ,reformation under ,henry ,,viii1      
,edward ,,vi1 and ,elizabeth4 ,influence
 of the ,marian exiles4 ,rise of        
,english ,puritanism4 ,influence and    
mission of ,thomas ,cartwright and      
,robert ,browne4 ,growth of             
,presbyterianism and independency4      
,origin of  ,british ,baptists 7in      
,wales and ,england74    #b4            
,contemporaneous ,colonial ,settlements3
 ,the ,plymouth ,pilgrims4 ,the         
,dorchester ,adventurers4 ,naumkeag     

settlers4 ,endicott ,company at ,salem4 
,winthrop ,company at ,boston4          
,connecticut settlers4 ,early ,dutch and
  ,virginia settlements4 7,study        
idealism1 origin1 vitality of each47    
#c4 ,indian ,predecessors of ,roger     
,williams and ,puritans3 ,tribal        
settlements1 their ideas1 customs1 and  
moral status4 ,ideas of  soul-liberty   
among the ,indians4 ,priority of        
,williams' ,indian missionary  work4    
,labors of ,eliot and others4      ,,ii 
,,roger ,,williams1 ,,his ,,life ,,and  
,,achievements    #a4 ,life ,prior to   
,exile from ,england1 #afjb-afbi3 ,his  
birth and  education4 ,religious ferment
 in ,england4 ,his love affairs1        
marriage1  and exile4    #b4 ,in ,new   
,england ,prior to ,settlement in       
,providence1 #afbi-afcf3  ,experiences  
in ,boston1 ,salem1 ,plymouth1 the      
wilderness1 and ,seekonk4    #c4        
,providence ,plantations ,prior to      
,first ,charter1 #afcf-afdd3  ,arrival4 
,reception by ,indians4 ,first deeds to 

property4 ,baptism4  ,early government4 
,indian troubles4 ,neighbors at         
,pawtuxet1 ,warwick1  ,portsmouth1 and  
,blackstone4 ,williams' first visit to  
,england4 ,first  charter4 ,indian      
trading-post near ,wickford4 ,his first 
writings4    #d4 ,providence under the  
,first ,charter1 #afdd-affc3 ,growth of 
colony4  ,indian difficulties4          
,coddington's claims4 ,opposition from  
the ,united  ,colonies4 ,williams'      
second visit to ,england4 ,his writings4
 ,work of his  colaborer1 ,john ,clarke1
 of ,newport1 in securing second        
charter4    #e4 ,growth1 ,destruction1  
and ,rebuilding of ,providence1         
#affc-afgf3  ,general pre-,indian ,war  
prosperity4 ,the ,quakers4 ,the debate  
and  ,williams' writings4 ,indian ,war  
with ,king ,philip4 ,reconstruction4    
#f4 ,closing ,days and ,death of ,roger 
,williams3 ,official position4          
,retirement and death4 ,burial4 ,later  
removal of dust4    #g4 ,providence     
after the ,death of its ,founder3       

,commercially1  religiously1            
educationally1 and politically4 ,its    
glorious share in the  ,revolutionary   
,war4 ,its glory among the brotherhood  
of ,states4 ,growth of  its ideal       
throughout the world4      ,,iii        
,,the ,,evolution ,,of ,,the ,,roger    
,,williams ,,ideal ,,of ,,soul-,,liberty
    #a4 ,prior to ,days of ,williams3   
,the pioneers1 the predecessors of      
,williams1 and the continuity of the    
struggle for soul-liberty among the     
early ,christians4 ,the work of the     
,anabaptists or ,baptists in the ,dark  
,ages in northern ,italy1 ,switzerland1 
,germany1 ,holland1 and ,england and    
,wales4 ,study their published          
confessions on the subject of           
soul-liberty4    #b4 ,contemporaries of 
,roger ,williams3 ,the ,general and     
,particular  ,baptists of ,england4 ,a  
consideration of the ideals of          
toleration1  liberty of conscience1 and 
absolute soul-liberty in the settlements
  of ,pennsylvania1 ,maryland1          

,virginia1 ,massachusetts ,bay ,colony1 
,connecticut2 and the ,indian's position
 also4 ,compare all these with the      
peculiar position of ,roger ,williams4  
#c4 ,successors of ,roger ,williams3    
,the ,american ,baptists4 ,study        
especially the ,warren ,baptist         
,association with its committee on      
grievances4 ,study the work of the      
,philadelphia ,baptist ,convention4     
,study also the work of the ,baptists in
 other ,states4 ,cooperation of         
,quakers1 ,presbyterians1 and others4   
,,iv    ,,the ,,world-,,wide ,,influence
 ,,of ,,roger ,,williams' ,,ideal       
,political democracy1 a fruit of        
religious liberty4 ,the onward march of 
democracy in ,america1 ,europe1 ,asia1  
and ,south ,america4 ,the world war  and
 the world-wide struggle for democracy4 
,present status of the world  as to     
religious liberty and as to political   
democracy4 7,take a map and  indicate   
the same47          ,a ,,selected       
,,bibliography      ,biographies3       

,backus1 8,history of ,new ,england40   
7,first history in which ,williams'     
life-story is told at length47          
,knowles1 8,memoir of ,roger ,williams40
     ,gammell1 8,life of ,roger         
,williams40     ,elton1 8,life of ,roger
 ,williams40     ,straus1 8,roger       
,williams1 ,pioneer of ,religious       
,liberty40     ,carpenter1 8,roger      
,williams1 ,a ,political ,pioneer40     
,hall1 8,roger ,williams40              
,original ,documents3     8,complete    
,writings of ,roger ,williams10         
,narragansett ,club ,publications4      
,bradford1 8,the ,bradford ,history40   
,winthrop1 8,history of the ,puritans40 
,chapin1 8,documentary ,history of      
,rhode ,island40     ,early ,colonial   
,records4     ,early ,records of the    
,town of ,providence4 ,vols4 ,,iii1     
,,iv1 ,v1 ,,viii4     ,cotton1          
8,magnalia40      ,general ,histories3  
,arnold1 8,history of ,rhode ,island40  
,staples1 8,annals of ,providence40     
,greene1 8,providence ,plantations for  

#bej ,years40     ,richman1 8,rhode     
,island1 ,its ,making and its ,meaning40
      ,evolution of ,soul-liberty3      
,king1 8,religious ,liberty40           
,ivimey1 8,history of ,english          
,baptists40     ,general ,baptist       
,church ,histories1 by ,benedict1       
,armitage1 ,newman1   ,cathcart1        
,vedder1 etc4     ,mullins1 8,axioms of 
,religion40      ,historic ,spots3      
,guild1 8,footprints of ,roger          
,williams40     ,hopkins1 8,the ,home   
,lots of the ,early ,settlers40         
,state of ,rhode ,island1 8,report of   
,committee on ,marking of ,historic     
,sites in ,rhode ,island40     ,rider1  
8,lands of ,rhode ,island as ,they ,were
 ,known to ,canonicus40      ,fiction3  
,butterworth1 8,in the ,days of         
,massasoit40     ,hall1 8,the ,golden   
,arrow40     ,durfee1 the epic poem1    
8,what ,cheer40      ,other ,books and  
,pamphlets3     ,h4 ,m4 ,king1 8,baptism
 of ,roger ,williams10 8,summer ,visit  
of ,three ,rhode   ,islanders10 8,the   

,mother ,church10 8,the ,true ,roger    
,williams10 8,life of   ,john ,miles10  
8,historical ,catalog of ,first ,baptist
 ,church40     ,kimball1 8,providence in
 ,colonial ,times40     ,dexter1 8,as to
 ,roger ,williams' ,banishment40        
,burrage1 8,why ,was ,roger ,williams   
,banished80     ,merriman1 8,pilgrim1   
,puritan1 and ,roger ,williams40        
,dorr1 8,the ,planting and ,growth of   
,providence40     ,burgess1             
8,reconciliation of ,government with    
,liberty40     ,eaton1 8,roger          
,williams1 the ,founder of ,providence40
     ,durfee1 8,complete ,works of ,job 
,durfee40     ,backus ,historical       
,society1 8,elements in ,baptist        
,development40      ,notable ,addresses3
     ,z4 ,allan1 8,memorial of ,roger   
,williams40     ,w4 ,h4 ,p4 ,faunce1    
8,roger ,williams and ,his ,doctrine of 
,soul ,liberty40     ,mowry1            
8,concerning ,roger ,williams40         
,durfee1 8,oration on #bejth            
,anniversary40     ,rabbi ,a4 ,simon1   

8,thanksgiving ,address on ,roger       
,williams40     ,diman1 8,address at    
,unveiling of ,statue of ,roger         
,williams at ,roger   ,williams ,park40 
,proceedings in ,congress on ,receiving 
the ,roger ,williams ,statue4           
,,an ,,itinerary ,,for ,a ,,historic    
,,pilgrimage      ,i    ,,places ,,of   
,,interest ,,outside ,,of ,,rhode       
,,island    ,in ,england3 ,charterhouse 
,school4 ,pembroke ,college1 ,cambridge4
    ,in ,america3 ,salem3 ,site of      
,first ,meeting ,house4 ,the original   
old  ,first ,church4 ,the ,original     
,roger ,williams ,house 7,the ,witch    
,house74    ,plymouth3 ,coles ,hill4    
,the ,burial ,hill4 ,harbor4 ,the       
,meresteads4    ,boston and ,vicinity3  
,original ,bradford ,history in ,state  
,house4 ,site  of ,meeting ,house where 
trial took place 7,dunster and ,meeting 
,streets1  ,cambridge74 ,site of old    
,first ,church4    ,new ,york ,city3    
,roger ,williams' ,watch1 in ,fraunce's 
,tavern4      ,,ii    ,,places ,,of     

,,interest ,,in ,,rhode ,,island    ,in 
,providence3 ,study a map of the        
original ,home ,lots in relation to  the
 present streets of ,providence4        
7,hopkins1 8,home ,lots10 is good47     
,capitol ,building3 ,the ,original      
,charter from ,charles ,,ii4 ,the       
,original  ,portsmouth ,compact in      
,secretary of ,state's ,office4         
,court ,house3 ,grant's picture of      
,landing of ,williams4    ,city ,hall3  
,original ,deeds from the ,indians4     
,williams' ,letter of  transference4    
,original ,compact of ,providence       
,settlers4    ,civic ,center3           
,symbolical ,statuary on ,post ,office  
,building4 ,civic ,center  is probably  
the site of ,williams' baptism4    ,the 
,rhode ,island ,historical ,society's   
,building3 ,the ,apple ,tree ,roots     
from ,grave of ,williams1 his ,compass1 
etc4    ,john ,hay ,library3 ,copy of   
,roger ,williams' ,indian ,bible4       
,john ,carter ,brown ,library3 ,original
 ,copies of ,williams' books and        

letters4    ,brown ,university4    ,site
 of ,town ,meetings at ,entrance to     
,tunnel4    ,first ,baptist ,church3    
,the ,bell4 ,specimen from ,what ,cheer 
,rock in ,lobby4  ,pictures of ,pastors1
 etc4    ,pardon ,tillinghast's ,grave1 
,benefit ,street near ,transit4    ,what
 ,cheer ,rock1 ,roger and ,williams     
,streets4    ,sabin ,tavern1 ,south     
,main ,street and ,transit1 ,where      
,gaspee ,plot was  hatched4    ,old     
,school ,house on ,meeting ,street      
,opposite to this1 ,site of ,first ,post
  ,office4    ,old ,state ,house1 where 
,first ,declaration of ,independence was
 signed4    ,site of ,spring1 #bdd      
,north ,main ,street4    ,site of ,roger
 ,williams ,house1 ,north ,main and     
,alamo ,streets4    ,grave of ,roger    
,williams1 rear of ,stable1 #ajh        
,benefit ,street4    ,north ,burial     
,ground3 ,canonicus ,rock4 ,randall     
,tomb4 7,removal ,place for  ,dust of   
,williams47 ,graves of ,manning and     
,wayland4 ,memorial to ,chad  ,brown4   

,hopkins ,square3 ,grave and ,monument  
to ,admiral ,hopkins1 ,charles ,street  
and ,branch ,avenue4 ,the ,home of      
,admiral ,hopkins on ,admiral ,street4  
,roger ,williams ,park3 ,statue of      
,williams4 ,museum with ,indian ,relics 
and  ,model of ,indian ,village4    ,out
 from ,providence3 ,fort ,independence  
,site at ,field's ,point4 ,gaspee       
,point beyond4 ,drum ,rock1 ,apponaug4  
,grave of ,ezekiel ,holliman1 ,shawomet4
  ,site of ,williams' ,trading-post1    
,wickford4 ,indian ,soapstone ,quarry1  
,johnston4 ,barrington1 ,r4 ,i4         
,pierce's ,fight1 ,central ,falls4      
,sites at ,newport3 ,town of ,portsmouth
 on ,island4 ,site of ,governor  ,bull's
 ,house4 ,first ,baptist ,church4       
,graves of ,clarke and of ,coddington4  
,old ,houses3 ,gilbert ,stuart's ,house1
 ,north ,kingston4 ,nathanael  ,greene's
 ,house1 ,cumberland4 ,reynolds' ,house 
7,headquarters of  ,lafayette71         
,bristol4 ,prescott's ,headquarters1    
,portsmouth4 ,stephen  ,hopkins' ,house1

 ,hopkins ,street1 ,providence4         
,transcriber's ,notes3      ,italics are
 shown thus3 sloping4      ,small       
capitals have been capitalised4         
,variations in spelling and hyphenation 
are retained4      ,perceived           
typographical errors have been changed4 
,repetative chapter headings have been  
removed4