Roger Williams

https://www.nps.gov/rowi/index.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Williams_National_Memorial The Roger Williams National Memorial is a landscaped urban park located on a common lot of the original settlement of Providence, Rhode Island, established by Roger Williams in 1636, bounded by North Main, Canal, and Smith Streets, and Park Row. The memorial commemorates the life of the co-founder of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations and a champion of the ideal of religious freedom. Williams was banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony for his beliefs, and he founded this colony as a place where all could come to worship as their conscience dictated without interference from the state. "I acknowledge that to molest any person, Jew or Gentile, for either professing doctrine, or practicing worship meerly religious or spiritual, is to persecute him, and such a person (whether his doctrine or practice be true or false) suffers persecution for conscience." -Roger Williams, 1644 Banished by the English and saved by the First Peoples, Roger Williams founded Providence here in 1636. From Interstate 95 North, take Exit 38 - State Offices. Stay to the right. At end of exit, go straight. At next light, make a left onto Smith St. At light, make a right and then a quick left into the memorial's parking lot. From Interstate 95 South, take Exit 38 - Charles Street. Make a right onto Charles St. and take first left onto Ashburton Street. Continue straight through three lights. After the third light, take a quick left into the memorial parking lot. Visitor Center We're excited to welcome you to the park! Our grounds are open from dawn to dusk, and our Visitor Center is here to greet you Thursday - Sunday, from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Stop by to grab your passport stamp, enjoy a fascinating 5-minute video about Roger Williams' life, and explore informative panels and exhibits showcasing his enduring influence on America today. We can't wait to share this enriching experience with you! From Interstate 95 North, take Exit 23 - State Offices. Go straight to second light and make a left onto Smith Street. At the bottom of the hill, make a right onto Canal Street and a quick left into the memorial parking lot. From Interstate 95 South, take Exit 23 - Charles Street. Take first left onto Ashburton Street and continue straight through three lights. After the third light, take a quick left into the memorial parking lot. The Hahn Memorial and Crabapple Orchard View of the historic well through crabapple trees Roger Williams NM National Memorial Grounds Shady lawn along a brick pathway Visit the lawns for a moment of reflection Crabapple Orchard Picnic Area Accessible tables in the picnic area The Crabapple Orchard is a great place to rest and relax Visitor Center Historic building with lamppost and sidewalk The Roger Williams National Memorial Visitor Center View of the park in early spring. View of the park in early spring. View of the park in early spring. Ranger helping a child with an activity Ranger helping a child with an activity Ranger helping a child with an activity National Park Getaway: Roger Williams National Memorial Forced to flee from his home and family, Roger Williams radical ideas on religious freedom helped to form the rights that Americans enjoy today. The national memorial allows visitors to look inward about many of the very questions that concerned Roger Williams himself. Colorful, large, wall exhibit titled "New and Dangerous Opinions" National Park Service Commemoration of the 19th Amendment In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the passing of the 19th Amendment the National Park Service has developed a number of special programs. This includes online content, exhibits, and special events. The National Park Service’s Cultural Resources Geographic Information Systems (CRGIS) announces the release of a story map that highlights some of these programs and provides information for the public to locate and participate. Opening slide of the 19th Amendment NPS Commemoration Story Map Roger Williams: Rebel, Revolutionary, Radical Discover how the ideas put forth by Williams would become part of the formation of the Republic, influencing such important words as the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States, which starts with three simple words: "We the People." Roger Williams in the wilderness Roger Williams, Religious Freedom, and a Jewish Legacy The Hahn Memorial is a structure within Roger Williams National Memorial. This article describes the building of it in the 1930s by a prominent judge in Rhode Island and person of Jewish heritage. It also references the inspiration that inspired its construction -- Roger Williams's belief in religious freedom. Realizing the Dream: The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Beyond Signed into law July 2, 1964, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Many national parks were created to preserve and tell the story of the struggle for civil and human rights leading up to the Act and beyond as we continue to work towards realizing the dream for all people. Statue of Martin Luther King Jr. at night Coastal Climate Messaging Essentials: It’s All in the Telling Extreme weather events like nor’easters may be unavoidable and challenging. But learning effective ways to share information about their impacts can have far-reaching benefits. A small wooden building with storm water completely surrounding the base, and up the road.

Roger Williams National M e m o r i a l Rhode Island National Park Service U.S. D e p a r t m e n t of t h e Interior "...that no civil magistrate, no King, nor Caesar, have any power over the souls or consciences of their subjects, in the matters of God and the crown of Jesus." n t-o hi \ f, i ' C —The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution Cy i "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting' the free exercise thereof." ' '\ —First Amendment, * U.S. • Jl Constitution _ Brown University r 3ritish Library Through word and act Roger Williams fought for the idea that religion must not be subject to regulation by the state—that it should be a matter of individual conscience. Americans take this for granted today, but most people of his time condemned such thoughts as naive and dangerous, believing that religious freedom and civil order could not coexist. Williams extended his defense of the individual conscience to American Indians, respecting their rights and condemning imposed Christianity. As founder of Rhode Island, he put his beliefs into practice, giving "shelter for persons distressed of conscience." Providence City Hali Archives W i t h this d e e d t h e N a r r a g a n s e t t s t r a n s ferred t o Roger Williams the land on which Providence was founded. Williams's beliefs a b o u t f r e e d o m of c o n s c i e n c e w e r e s t a t e d in his t r a c t , The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution. His Christenings make not Christians decried mass conversions of Indians t o C h r i s t i a n i t y as a " p r o p h a n a t i o n o f t h e h o l y n a m e of G o d . " Defender of Conscience Bom in London in 1603, Roger Williams's academic promise drew the attention of eminent jurist Edward Coke, who helped him acquire an excellent education. He was trained as an Anglican clergyman but grew increasingly sympathetic with Puritans, who believed the Church of England had not made a clean enough break with Catholicism. The options for Puritans were to risk jail, or worse, by attempting reform in England or to move to a more tolerant Holland. In 1629 a third choice arose: A group of Puritans founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony and elected John Winthrop governor. They sailed the following year, founding Boston and several other settlements. Rejecting the Middle Way Roger and his wife Mary sailed with another group in 1631. On his arrival he was noted by Winthrop as "a godly minister," but it did not take long for the two to clash. Williams soon became a separatist, a Puritan who wanted to leave the Anglican Church. He felt that not separating from the established church was "middle walking" and "halting between Christ and antichrist." But the colony refused so radical a step. Other issues set Williams at odds with the Puritans: He rejected civil jurisdiction over "First Table" laws (the first four of the Ten Commandments), which were matters of individual conscience; he questioned the right of English charters to take land from American Indians; and he denounced "hireling" ministers paid for by taxation and civil oaths taken in God's name. Massachusetts Bay finally sentenced the troublesome minister to deportation; he fled the colony to avoid arrest (see map below). The Narragansetts deeded Williams land in 1636 for a colony at the headwaters of the Narragansett Bay—a place he named Providence after "God's merciful Providence unto me in my distress." After he was joined there by family and a few friends, the settlers formally agreed to "hold forth Liberty of Conscience," making laws "only in civill things." But he had to divide his energies between the new colony—soon called Rhode Island—and other developments. Though he remained an outcast, he was valuable to Massachusetts as a negotiator. When rumors spread that the Narragansetts would ally themselves with the Pequots against the English, Governor Winthrop asked Williams to meet with the Narragansetts to prevent the alliance. Williams succeeded, even persuading them to help the English. The ensuing war of 1637-38 greatly reduced the Pequot population. In the following decades Williams would repeatedly be asked to negotiate with Indians on behalf of the colony that had expelled him. Williams remained busy, establishing a trading post south of Providence around 1637 and cofounding the first Baptist church in North America in 1638. By 1643 the towns of Portsmouth, Newport, and Warwick had also been established in the area by fellow dissenters. That year Williams returned to England to secure a charter for the colony, and in 1651, trying to hold Rhode Island together, he traveled to England again to defend the charter against another grant that threatened to split the colony. In his last years Williams's health deteriorated. In 1676 he reported that he was "near destitute," the result of a lifetime of c o m mitment to the colony without trying to accumulate land or to build up a fortune—the first order of business for many p