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About John Landry

John Landry is a historian and business writer in Providence. He has a Ph.D. in history from Brown University, and has written or co-authored several commissioned histories of companies and universities, including From the Rivers: The Origins and Growth of the New England Electric System, 1996. He coauthored Launchpad Republic: America’s Entrepreneurial Edge and Why It Matters; and is currently writing a history of Rhode Island’s economic development.
Latest Posts | By John Landry
Why Did Rhode Island Merchants Resist Non-Importation in 1767?
6 months ago

Why Did Rhode Island Merchants Resist Non-Importation in 1767?

It’s a great puzzle of the Revolutionary era.  Before 1767, Rhode Island was one of the most gung-ho colonies in resisting British intervention.  Newporters had fired on imperial customs enforcers, …
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Roger Williams: Founder of Economic Development
9 months ago

Roger Williams: Founder of Economic Development

Most Rhode Islanders know Roger Williams as the founder of the colony, as well as the great advocate for separating church and state. But we can also see him as …
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Did Rhode Island Matter in the American Revolution?
1 year ago

Did Rhode Island Matter in the American Revolution?

We Rhode Islanders pat ourselves on the back a lot, including when it comes to the Revolution. But did the colony (and later state) really matter much in bringing about …
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Self-Determination in Rhode Island and Massachusetts
3 years ago

Self-Determination in Rhode Island and Massachusetts

A book review: The City State of Boston: The Rise and Fall of an Atlantic Power, 1630-1865. By Mark Peterson. Princeton University Press, 2019.

Once upon a time there was …
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How Hasbro Succeeded in Post-Industrial Rhode Island
5 years ago

How Hasbro Succeeded in Post-Industrial Rhode Island

A book review: Kid Number One: Alan Hassenfeld and Hasbro, by G. Wayne Miller (Pawtucket, RI: Stillwater River Publications, 2019).

It is arguably Rhode Island’s biggest economic success story since …
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