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A review by endomental
Roger Williams and the Creation of the American Soul: Church, State, and the Birth of Liberty by John M. Barry
4.0
The book:
Once again, Barry has presented a meticulously researched and detailed account of history. I've read his book "The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History," and found it very interesting, but I liked this better.
Barry goes back to well before Williams became a figure in New England, to the people and forces that shaped his views and opinions. It drags a bit during this set-up, but it does help to put things in context.
He presents both sides of a man who was both loved and hated in his time, and recognizes some of the criticism and dismissal that Williams has been subject to by historians.
Sarah Vowell wrote one of my favorite books about Williams and the Puritans, "The Wordy Shipmates." If Barry is too dry, and you still want to learn about the man and his time, I'd suggest her book. Or maybe start there and move on to Barry. The two works complement each other well.
The man:
Williams led a fascinating life, emigrating with the wave of Separatists and Puritans leaving England during the reign of James I, being banished from Massachusetts for his lack of conformity, founding Providence, and ultimately, Rhode Island. His views on "soul liberty" and the separation of church and state helped form part of the national identity.
His story also explains a lot about Rhode Island. By establishing a "plantation" (colony) where anyone could worship as they chose as long as they kept the civil peace, he created a haven for the dispossessed and different. Where Massachusetts and to a less degree, Connecticut, was all about conformity, Rhode Island was all about marching to your own religious drum. 200 years before Emma Lazarus wrote her famous sonnet for the Statue of Liberty, Rhode Island was accepting the "wretched refuse" of the other colonies.
That fierce commitment to nonconformity continued on. Rhode Island became the first place in the world founded on the idea of freedom of worship and the separation of church and state. It later became the first democracy in the New World. It was the first place to legislatively abolish slavery (a law that never left the books, yet went blithely ignored for much of the 18th century). Rhode Island was the first colony to declare its independence from Britain (May 4, 1776), and the last to ratify the new Constitution - they were holding out for the promise of freedom of religion in the nascent Bill of Rights. Those aren't all of Rhode Island's quirks, but you get the idea.
When Jefferson and his contemporaries discussed the separation of church and state, and freedom of worship, they quoted Williams' writings.
Williams was instrumental in negotiations with the native populations. He learned the languages and befriended and respected them. He purchased the land that became Providence from the Narragansett, and was later proud to say it was bought with love, rather than taken in anger.
There's a lot to learn about Williams, and many ways to interpret it. He's an important, though often obscure figure in our history.
Once again, Barry has presented a meticulously researched and detailed account of history. I've read his book "The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History," and found it very interesting, but I liked this better.
Barry goes back to well before Williams became a figure in New England, to the people and forces that shaped his views and opinions. It drags a bit during this set-up, but it does help to put things in context.
He presents both sides of a man who was both loved and hated in his time, and recognizes some of the criticism and dismissal that Williams has been subject to by historians.
Sarah Vowell wrote one of my favorite books about Williams and the Puritans, "The Wordy Shipmates." If Barry is too dry, and you still want to learn about the man and his time, I'd suggest her book. Or maybe start there and move on to Barry. The two works complement each other well.
The man:
Williams led a fascinating life, emigrating with the wave of Separatists and Puritans leaving England during the reign of James I, being banished from Massachusetts for his lack of conformity, founding Providence, and ultimately, Rhode Island. His views on "soul liberty" and the separation of church and state helped form part of the national identity.
His story also explains a lot about Rhode Island. By establishing a "plantation" (colony) where anyone could worship as they chose as long as they kept the civil peace, he created a haven for the dispossessed and different. Where Massachusetts and to a less degree, Connecticut, was all about conformity, Rhode Island was all about marching to your own religious drum. 200 years before Emma Lazarus wrote her famous sonnet for the Statue of Liberty, Rhode Island was accepting the "wretched refuse" of the other colonies.
That fierce commitment to nonconformity continued on. Rhode Island became the first place in the world founded on the idea of freedom of worship and the separation of church and state. It later became the first democracy in the New World. It was the first place to legislatively abolish slavery (a law that never left the books, yet went blithely ignored for much of the 18th century). Rhode Island was the first colony to declare its independence from Britain (May 4, 1776), and the last to ratify the new Constitution - they were holding out for the promise of freedom of religion in the nascent Bill of Rights. Those aren't all of Rhode Island's quirks, but you get the idea.
When Jefferson and his contemporaries discussed the separation of church and state, and freedom of worship, they quoted Williams' writings.
Williams was instrumental in negotiations with the native populations. He learned the languages and befriended and respected them. He purchased the land that became Providence from the Narragansett, and was later proud to say it was bought with love, rather than taken in anger.
There's a lot to learn about Williams, and many ways to interpret it. He's an important, though often obscure figure in our history.