Lily-Rae OBrien

Mr. Heino
United States History II
13 February 2013

Historical Significance of Roger Williams

This National History Day (NHD) project is based on the turning point in history, Roger
Williams and religious freedom. His influences on American freedoms and liberties are
immense. Roger Williams proposed tolerance for people of different religious backgrounds and
radical changes in the relationship between Church and State. His ideas were considered radical
and dangerous in the minds of the authorities of his time who threatened him with prison, and
eventually expelled him from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He was rescued by the
Narragansett Indians of Rhode Island.
The writings by Williams and others from the Colonial period are very hard to read
because the English spellings are strange and the language is hard to follow. The scholarly
YouTube video was very informative, Roger Williams: Freedom's Forgotten Hero, 7 Parts.
Roger Williams was a Separatist (Puritan) minister who did not agree with the official
religion of the Anglican Church in England and wanted to separate from it. Like many English,
religious persecution and wars in England drove Roger Williams to these shores in the hope that a
new beginning could occur. What he found in the New World can be summarized:
The Puritans came to America to find religious freedom for their form of worship,
which they believed to be the true and pure religion. Their community, way of

life, and laws were deeply rooted in their religious beliefs. As in England, citizens
were expected to attend church and pay taxes to support it. They obeyed strict
codes of behavior, dress and speech In the Massachusetts Bay Colony, church
and government were closely linked and dissent was not permitted.

(Ayers, et

al., p. 54).

It must be remembered that in the 1600s the Church and Government were highly
intertwined. The Church influenced every aspect of life. Even the Laws were based on the Bible.
The basic belief was that there was one only true religion. Civil authorities felt it was their duty to
impose it in the interest of saving the souls of all citizens. Life was seen by everyone as a
preparation for death. A sinful life meant Hell and eternal suffering and a good life meant
Heaven and eternal happiness. If a citizen followed the rules of the Church he or she was guaranteed
Heaven. That is spelled out in the Bible in the Commandants of God. But who is the authority on
the Bible written by God? The King of England? The Governor in Massachusetts? This is the
question Roger William considered. His answer is what makes him important in American history
and law.
What was Roger Williams radical thinking and why is his ideas a significant turning point
in American History? His writings stressed individual freedoms in matters of religion and daily
living (including the rights of Native Americans which he stresses in his book, A Key into the
Language of America).

The bloody wars of religion and persecution that raged in Europe

(Protestants vs. Catholics) and the corruption of the Church of England convinced him that a State
church had no basis in the Bible in regulating religious worship.

He therefore proposed a wall of

separation between the authority of the Government and the Church. These ideas were proposed in
his famous book, The Bloudy Tenent (1644). Quoting Williams in his original English:

"God requireth not an uniformity of Religion to be inacted and inforced in any civill
state; which inforced uniformity (sooner or later) is the greatest occasion of civill
Warre, ravishing of conscience, persecution of Christ Jesus in his servants, and of
hypocrisy and destruction of millions of souls. [F]orced worship stinks in God's
nostrils." (The Bloudy Tenent; http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/religion/rel01-2.html)

The primary significance Roger Williams on the American way of life according to
Groves and Gaustad (2001) is his influence on the First Amendment of Constitution of the
United States, which reads:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech,
or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to
petition the Government for a redress of grievances. (US Constitution, Bill
of Rights, First Amendment).

CONCLUSION
The NHD theme is Turning Points in History: People, Ideas, Events. The life, work and
influence of Roger Williams fall into every category. He was a very brave and deeply religious man
who spoke from his heart. He put his life in danger for his beliefs and writings. Roger Williams
was the first American to advocate complete freedom of conscience and worship, separation of
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Church and State, and true political democracy, all of which did not exist in Europe or Colonial
America at the time. His ideas and writings on religious freedom and tolerance influenced the
writing of The US Constitution and The Bill of Rights. Because of these liberties, America is
viewed as the land of opportunity. Many people come to this country (even some illegally), so
important do they view the American way of life.

WORKS CITED

Ayers, Edward L., Robert D. Schulzinger, Jess F. de la Tejz and Deborah Gray White.
American Anthem. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2009. Print.
Center for Liberty. Roger Williams: Freedom's Forgotten Hero, 7 Parts, 2012. Web. 12 Nov.
2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ur8gTAsGETI>.

Groves, Richard and Edwin Gaustad, eds. The Bloudy Tenent Of Persecution For Cause Of
Conscience: Discussed In A Conference Between Truth And Peace : Who, In All Tender
Affection, Present To The High Court Of Parliament, (As The Result Of Their
Discourse) These, (Among Other Passages) Of Highest Consideration, 1644. Atlanta, Georgia:
Mercer University Press, 2001. Print.

The Constitution of the United States, 1787. Web.

<http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution.html>

Williams, Roger. A Key into the Language of America:, or, an Help to the Language of the
Natives in that Part of America called New-England. Together, with Briefe Observations of the
Customes, Manners and Worships, etc. of the Aforesaid Natives, in Peace and Warre, in Life and
Death. On all which are added Spirituall Observations, General and Particular by the Author of
chiefe and Special use (upon all occasions) to all the English Inhabiting those parts; yet pleasant
and profitable to the view of all men. London: Gregory Dexter, 1643. (Reprinted, Applewood
Books. Bedford, Mass., 1997). Print.

Williams, Roger. The Bloudy Tenent Of Persecution For Cause Of Conscience: Discussed In A
Conference Between Truth And Peace : Who, In All Tender Affection, Present To The High
Court Of Parliament, (As The Result Of Their Discourse) These, (Among Other Passages) Of
Highest Consideration,1644. Print.