Roger Williams

Lives and Legacies

by Edwin S. Gaustad

The founder of Rhode Island and of the first Baptist Church in America, an original and passionate advocate for religious freedom, a rare New England colonist who befriended Native Americans and took seriously their culture and their legal rights, Roger Williams is the forgotten giant among the first English colonists.
Now, Edwin S. Gaustad, a leading expert on the life of Roger Williams, offers a vividly written and authoritative biography of the most far-seeing of the early settlers--the first such biography written for a general audience. Readers follow Roger and Mary Williams on their 1631 journey to Boston, where he soon became embroiled in many controversies, most notably, his claim that the colonists had unjustly taken Native American lands and his argument that civil authorities could not enforce religious duties. Soon banished for these troubling (if farsighted) views, Williams wandered for fourteen weeks in bitter snow until he bought land from the Narragansett Indians and founded Providence, which soon became a sanctuary for religious freedom and a refuge for dissenters of all stripes. The book discusses Williams' journey back to London, where he sought legal recognition of his colony, spread his enlightened views on Native Americans, and (alongside John Milton) fought passionately
for religious freedom. Gaustad also describes how the royal charter of Rhode Island, obtained by Williams in 1663, would become the blueprint of religious freedom for many other colonies and a foundation stone for the First Amendment.
Here then is a vibrant portrait of a great American who is truly worthy of remembrance.

Genres: Biography, History, American History, Nonfiction, Christian

150 pages, Hardcover

First published April 18, 2005

About the author

A leading scholar of American religious history, Edwin Scott Gaustad was Professor of History at the University of California, Riverside. He earned his B.A. in history from Baylor University (1947), and his M.A. (1948) and Ph.D. (1951) in History of Religions from Brown University.

Reviews

[Brett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Roger Williams, Lives and Legacies by Edwin S.Gaustad

I read this book to find out more about my 8th GGF (great grand father).

I don’t remember Roger Williams being talked about much in my public school American History classes. Their are no known pictures of Williams and much of his letters and writings has been lost. He traveled to Massachusetts Colony aboard ship from England with his wife Mary (Barnard) in 1630.

Gaustad provides a concise and articulate history of, not only Williams, but also the historical times in Colonial America and England which provides important context. The legacy of Roger Williams lies in three areas:

1] his belief that the land belonged to the natives living in the ‘New’ world, and it was wrong to claim them in the name of King Charles without justly compensating “the Indians who had lived upon them for hundreds of years.” After befriending the natives, learning their language, and using his skills “..in matters of trade, diplomacy, anthropology, and most importantly cultural awareness”, he “..began to see the whole colonization enterprise from the Indians’ point of view.” In 1643, Williams penned his first book, ‘A Key into the Language of America’ “..it is an early and valuable example of cultural anthology, in Roger Williams own words ‘with brief Observation of the Customs, Manners, and Worships ... in Peace and War, in Life and Death’ including ‘Spiritual Observations, General and Practical, by the author’.”

2] his understanding that the guide for governments of Christian communities (nations) should be found in the New Testament, rather than the Old Testament model of the nation of Israel. “Williams could find in the New Testament no ambiguity whatsoever: namely, the total absence of anything resembling a national church.”

3] his passionate articulation about Religious Freedom, “..a God-given right that no bishop or king or state or colony could rightfully deny.” “Some people might indeed believe in religious liberty because, for them, religion matters so little. Roger Williams, on the other hand, believed in religious liberty because religion mattered so much.”

“The 1663 royal charter of Rhode Island ..had spoken of Rhode Islanders having it ‘much on their hearts to ... hold forth a lively experiment’. That experiment was designed to test the proposition that a civil society could actually flourish even with (because of?) a full liberty in ‘religious concernments’.” Thus began the cavalcade of imitation and enactment of the Rhode Island charter religious liberty verbiage into the charters of other colonies, one year later-> New Jersey, followed by North and South Carolina, and then Pennsylvania, eventually culminating in being codified by the framers of the U.S. Constitution into the First Amendment.

I wonder what role Rhode Island’s small stage had in allowing for this dramatic experiment to play out, and by extension -> I wonder if in the present day, social and environmental stewardship ‘experiments’ can be achieved on small stages and them replicated to neighboring communities?

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have always been interested in the Roger Williams, who is the founding father of the state in which I live (Rhode Island). He is one of those interesting figures of history that left a legacy while also having major points of their lives, such as birth and death, lost to time. This was a short, but interesting, work by a professor emeritus of the University of California at Riverside.

Williams was an Englishman who went to Oxford to become a minister before making his way to the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He was not there for too long before he had started to get in trouble. He ran afoul of the civilian an religious leaders for three reasons: his thoughts on the idea of religious freedoms, the separation of church and state, and the rights and property ownership of the land by the Native Americans. After a trial, he was basically evicted from the Massachusetts Bay Colony after moving back and forth between Boston, Salem, and Plymouth. Upon leaving made his way south and west and settled at the northern point of the future Narragansett Bay, creating the town of Providence. Other "rebels" would join him in the future capital city as well as settling Portsmouth and Newport on Aquidnick (also called Rhode Island at the time) and Warwick. Williams would return twice to England to obtain and protect a charter for the colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations that guaranteed religious freedoms.

Not surprising considering the fact that the author is a historian and a specialist in religious studies, much of the book focuses on Williams views on religion. I found it particularly interesting that Williams often pointed to the fact that New Englanders often left England due to religious persecution only to settle and set up theocratic leadership that continued to do jut the same to others. Williams not only supported freedoms for the various sects of Christianity, but also for Jews Muslims, and non-believers ... people of all religious perspectives.

This was a pretty interesting presentation of Williams' life. I must admit that I am not sure it would have broad appeal simply because it is a really specialized work focusing on a person of local import. With that said, his views likely played a big role in America's future views on the concepts of religious freedom. It is definitely worth a read.

[Tyson Peveto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting short read on Roger Williams. Williams was the father (at least in America) of the concept of religious freedom. He started the city of Providence, got the charter for Rhode Island, and founded the first Baptist church in America. He befriended the Indians, wrote about them, and actually purchased land from them for Providence. He believed in the liberty of conscience for all men, no matter of what religion or even lack of religion. He also was a staunch advocate of the complete separation of church and state. He was a fiercely religious man who was a college educated minister and who studied his Bible consistently.

Oh, and this was all in the early 1600s before John Locke, Thomas Jefferson, and Thomas Paine.

[Mark Zockoll · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having been referred to me, this book became a priority to begin. After beginning it, the priority became completing it as quickly as possible. Edwin Gaustad writes compellingly concerning Williams even without a plethora of biographical data. More to the point the author relates Williams understanding of "the liberty of conscience" in a readily accessible way. I was intrigued to find that my Baptist roots follow a course through Rhode Island more so than Massachusetts.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful first-read on the life of Roger Williams. It is well-researched without being overly academic. Great book!

[Michael Swanson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gaustad's book is a very easy read, and his expertise in the history of religion really shines through. He clearly outlines how Williams serves as the starting point for the American founders' ideas about church-state separation. One idea that I think gets too short a treatment is that Williams rejected membership in organized religion. While Gaustad covers religious freedom (mainly the freedom to join any church/religion and to keep government's hands off of religion), the idea that guides Williams's religious life -- private study and avoiding church -- gets little discussion.

[Timothy Warren · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a good introduction to Roger Williams' thought and life. It is concise and accessible. It is not a children's biography, but could easily be read by upper elementary age children. I have no complaints, but neither did I find anything particularly exceptional about the book.

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Williams was an interesting man I didn't know much about. Author does a pretty good job of cutting to the chase and highlighting main points of the subject. Worth one read.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Roger Williams was pretty much America's original lefty loony fringe. Biographers don't know many facts about his life, but a good bit of his published work and correspondence have survived and that's what this slender biography builds on. The main focus is on his struggle to establish a civil government with true freedom of religion - or even to get people to understand that this was something worth having and would not lead to a complete breakdown of public order. There's a nice chapter at the end which discusses how separation of church and state has developed over the years in the US.

I enjoyed reading this book, but because of its length, I felt like it only skimmed the surface of Roger Williams and his beliefs. That's the main reason I'm only giving it 3 stars.

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

a nice, short introduction to the fascinating founder of rhode island. it seems to have been written for a younger reader though. maybe high school or freshmen in college. he explains simple concepts like a dowry or what a 'tract' of land is. rather strange. but a nice intro to the man nonetheless. i'm going to seek out a more substantial biography now.

[Mark Woodland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unfortunately, only Rhode Islanders and early Colonial history buffs are likely to read this book. It's a good portrayal, though, of the founder of the Providence colony, and how the principles that Willaims and his followers lived by affected later American Revolutionary thinking, especially where the freedom of religion was concerned.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice short biography of America's first Baptist. More than that, the idea of religious liberty that seems so American to us started with Williams. However, Williams felt that church and state should be separate in order to protect the "garden" of the church from the "wildneress" of the state.

[Samantha Sutton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now that I live in Rhode Island, I figured I should learn about its venerated founder. What an interesting man!

[Kathleen Slocum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Engrossing book about the origins of the separation of church and state in America. Loved the section detailing the influence of both Francis Bacon and Sir Edward Coke on Roger Williams ideas.