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About Patrick T. Conley

Dr. Patrick T. Conley holds an A.B. from Providence College, an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame with highest honors, and a J.D. from Suffolk University Law School. He has published twenty-six books, including Catholicism in Rhode Island: The Formative Era (1976),Democracy in Decline: Rhode Island’s Constitutional Development 1775–1841 (1977), An Album of Rhode Island History, 1636–1986 (1986), The Constitution and the States (1988), The Bill of Rights and the States (1992), with John Kaminski, Liberty and Justice: A History of Law and Lawyers in Rhode Island, 1636–1998 (1998), and The Rhode Island Constitution: A Reference Guide (2007) with Justice Robert G. Flanders, as well as more than a score of scholarly articles in history, law, ethnic studies, religion, and political science. Presently he is president of the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame and the Heritage Harbor Foundation, and is serving as the first Historian Laureate of the State of Rhode Island.
Latest Posts | By Patrick T. Conley
A History of Election Tickets in Rhode Island
9 months ago

A History of Election Tickets in Rhode Island

[This article is based mostly from the introduction by Patrick T. Conley appearing in Russell J. DeSimone’s recent book, Rhode Island Election Tickets: A Survey of Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century …
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The Irish of Rhode Island (Part II, 1922-1999)
2 years ago

The Irish of Rhode Island (Part II, 1922-1999)

[Note from the Author:  Written in 1999 as an entry in The Encyclopedia of the Irish in America, ed. Michael Glazier (Notre Dame, 1999), 803-08, this essay was an abridgement …
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The Irish of Rhode Island (Part I, 1638-1921)
2 years ago

The Irish of Rhode Island (Part I, 1638-1921)

[Note from the Author:  Written in 1999 as an entry in The Encyclopedia of the Irish in America, ed. Michael Glazier (Notre Dame, 1999), 803-08, this essay was an abridgement …
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Portsmouth’s Founding Mother: Anne Hutchinson
3 years ago

Portsmouth’s Founding Mother: Anne Hutchinson

In the run up to the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, we will hear much about the Founding Fathers. Portsmouth, Rhode Island, however, was the first American community that …
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LaSalle Academy at 150 – Still Going Strong
3 years ago

LaSalle Academy at 150 – Still Going Strong

LaSalle Academy, as most readers know, is a Catholic college preparatory school located in Providence. It began in 1871 as a result of discussions among Bishop Francis McFarland, Rev. Michael …
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A Fourth of July Salute to Congressman George O’Shaunessy
3 years ago

A Fourth of July Salute to Congressman George O’Shaunessy

Rhode Islanders have produced some of America’s greatest patriotic songs. Julia Ward Howe, who composed “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” a Civil War anthem, was descended from two Rhode …
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The Founders of Brown & Sharpe and Gorham Manufacturing Companies
4 years ago

The Founders of Brown & Sharpe and Gorham Manufacturing Companies

Two of Rhode Island’s greatest companies in its history are Brown & Sharpe and the Gorham Manufacturing Company.  Each company showed remarkable innovation, produced incredible products, employed thousands of Rhode …
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Bishop Matthew Harkins: A Study in Character
4 years ago

Bishop Matthew Harkins: A Study in Character

This essay, on the character of Bishop Harkins and his career as an administrator, and on the bishop’s social apostolate, were written in 1978 for the projected second volume of …
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Editors at Providence Journal Discriminated Against Irish-Americans
4 years ago

Editors at Providence Journal Discriminated Against Irish-Americans

In late 1841 a large group of Rhode Island reformers led by patrician attorney Thomas Wilson Dorr bypassed the reactionary existing government by invoking the revolutionary principles of 1776. …
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Rhode Island’s Contributions to the Founding of the United States, Part II
4 years ago

Rhode Island’s Contributions to the Founding of the United States, Part II

[Note from the author: This article is a slightly edited reproduction of my September 2019 welcoming address to the National Conference of the American Speakers of the House held in …
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