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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
Rhode Island’s Contributions to the Founding of the United States, Part I
4 years ago

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

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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The Newest Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame Inductees: Alberic A. Archambault and Felix A. Toupin
5 years ago

The Newest Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame Inductees: Alberic A. Archambault and Felix A. Toupin

Woonsocket’s famed politician, Lieutenant Governor and Mayor Felix A. Toupin, and West Warwick’s prominent Judge Alberic Archambault, were primarily responsible for the transition of the Franco-American vote in Rhode Island …
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Three Ministers Help Shape Colonial Rhode Island:  Ezra Stiles, Samuel Hopkins, and James Manning
5 years ago

Three Ministers Help Shape Colonial Rhode Island: Ezra Stiles, Samuel Hopkins, and James Manning

These three ministers helped shape colonial and revolutionary Rhode Island. The first was the minister of the Second Congregational Church in Newport, Reverence Dr. Ezra Stiles. The second was …
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Richard Morris Hunt, Charles F. McKim, and Stanford White: Architects for Newport’s Elite and of the Rhode Island State Capitol
5 years ago

Richard Morris Hunt, Charles F. McKim, and Stanford White: Architects for Newport’s Elite and of the Rhode Island State Capitol

[Editor’s Note: Fittingly, the following biographical entries for these three outstanding architects appear consecutively in Dr. Patrick T. Conley’s The Leaders of Rhode Island’s Golden Age (History Press, 2019). The …
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Edward Mitchell Bannister and Christiana (Babcock) Bannister: Rhode Island’s African-American Power Couple
5 years ago

Edward Mitchell Bannister and Christiana (Babcock) Bannister: Rhode Island’s African-American Power Couple

Edward Mitchell Bannister, one of Rhode Island’s foremost artists, was born in St. Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada in 1828. His father William came from Barbados in the West Indies; his …
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The Perry Family’s Connections to Bristol and The Bristol Black Ships Festival
5 years ago

The Perry Family’s Connections to Bristol and The Bristol Black Ships Festival

Today, August 9, 2019, marks the second Black Ships event held in Bristol by the Japan-America Society and Black Ships Festival of Rhode Island, Inc.  This event is a …
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Robert E. Quinn and the Political Revolution of 1935 (Part II)
6 years ago

Robert E. Quinn and the Political Revolution of 1935 (Part II)

A major trend that produced the new (but briefly tenuous) Democratic ascendancy was the movement of Franco-American voters into the Democratic Party, especially after Governor Aram Pothier’s death in …
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Robert E. Quinn and the Political Revolution of 1935
6 years ago

Robert E. Quinn and the Political Revolution of 1935

Robert Emmet Quinn, named for the noble Irish patriot, led the political transformation of Rhode Island from Republican to Democratic ascendancy during the turbulent 1920s and 1930s. A similar …
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Heritage Harbor Foundation Announces Grants for 2019 Totaling $86,155
6 years ago

Heritage Harbor Foundation Announces Grants for 2019 Totaling $86,155

On February 6, 2019, Dr. Patrick T. Conley, president of the Heritage Harbor Foundation, announced that the Foundation has awarded $86,155 in grant money for 2019 to twelve local organizations. …
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The Story Behind Rhode Island’s Most Important Legal Case: Trevett v. Weeden in 1786
6 years ago

The Story Behind Rhode Island’s Most Important Legal Case: Trevett v. Weeden in 1786

[Editor’s Note: This article is adapted from an address Patrick T. Conley gave at the Old Colony House in Newport on May 3, 1976]

I have chosen to examine an …
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