Roger Williams and His Times

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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[Editor’s Note: The following is from a pamphlet I recently obtained while visiting the Roger Williams National Memorial, which is owned and operated by the National Park Service of the …
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Eric B. Schultz and Michael J. Tougias, authors of an excellent history of King Phillips’ War (also called Metacom’s War), accurately describe the war as “America’s Forgotten Conflict.”  It was …
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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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Although the death rate of King Philip’s War, which raged in New England from 1675 to 1676, was higher among Americans than either the American Revolution, Civil War, or World …
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In November 1637, the General Court of Massachusetts Bay Colony convicted Anne Hutchinson of heresy and banished her from the colony. More than just a founding mother of Portsmouth, Rhode …
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The Great Swamp Fight on December 19, 1675, in King Philip’s War, forever destroyed the power of the Narragansett tribe. What is less well known are earlier destructive raids, including …
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The question of church and state is probably—not probably—is the oldest argument in American history. It was first articulated almost 400 years ago by John Winthrop, the most important figure …
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This 2014 essay, inspired by my penchant for observing historical anniversaries, was written as a Providence Journal commentary. It came to the attention of Professor Stephen Schechter, who was preparing …
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Roger Williams stepped on the shores of New England for the first time in February of 1631. He had escaped from England, where English governmental authorities were attempting to eliminate …
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