Rhode Island is the smallest state in the United States. It is located on the southern shore in the northeastern part of the country known as New England, snuggled between Connecticut and Massachusetts.



But, where did Rhode Island come from? How did it get started? Well, let me introduce you to Roger Williams.



Roger Williams was an English theologian who was born in London in 1603 and had proclaimed himself to be a Puritan at the age of eleven. He strongly held the notion that government and religion should be separate of each other.

In 1630, he and his wife sailed for Boston and arrived in February of 1631. Although he was offered a pastoral position there, he refused it because of the control the government had in religion there. His outspoken opinions on separatism eventually got him banished from the city. That's when he and his wife moved to Salem, MA and set up a life there. He continued to preach his beliefs and soon had 11 faithful followers. Eventually he found himself in trouble in this location, too, and he had to leave.



Williams, his wife, and his eleven followers fled southward beyond the Massachusetts lands. In 1636, they arrived in an area they found to be safe and suitable. Williams negotiated with the Native Americans there and secured the land from them. He named the area Providence because he believed that God had sustained him and his followers and brought them to this place.



The settlement, now known as Providence, was truly originated as a refuge where all could come to worship as their conscience dictated without interference from the state. The growing settlement was based on equality and an agreement that all residents practiced obedience to the majority, but only in civil things.


(An early picture of the First Baptist Church, still located in Providence today)

In 1639, Williams was baptized by Ezekial Holliman, who had impressed upon Williams the importance of baptism. Then, Williams baptized Holliman. The two then went on to baptize others. This event is credited to be the establishment of The First Baptist Church in America.



Another person with a following, Anne Hutchinson, arrived in the area and sought to have a safe settlement, too, not unlike the one in Providence. Roger Williams advised her to speak with the Native Americans about some land. She did and, as a result, she secured the largest island in the area. It was to become known as Rhode Island.

Providence was colonized in 1643. In 1647, Rhode Island united with Providence to become a single, larger colony under one government. The entire colony became a safe haven for people persecuted for their beliefs (Baptists, Quakers, and Jews, for example) and others who just wanted to follow their consciences in peace and safety. In 1652, a law was passed that made slavery illegal. (This was the first anit-slavery law in North America.) This Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was the foundation of and for the State of Rhode Island today.



Roger Williams died in 1683 and was buried on his property. (His remains were moved in 1936 and placed in the base of a monument.) The Roger Williams National Memorial, an urban park located in the original settlement area of Providence, is the 20th smallest national park in the United States.