Roger Williams: Marshall Woods Lecture, in Sayles Hall, October 26, 1936 (Brown University Papers XIV [14]) [with] Roger Williams in Salem

Providence, Rhode Island: Brown University / Bulletin of the Essex Institute, 1937. Stapled Binding. Near Fine. 0x0x0. Sticker ghost on rear wrapper. 1937 Stapled Binding. 41; 77-86 pp. Stapled bindings. The fourteenth installment in the Brown University Papers, providing a lecture about Roger Williams and his influence on the history of Rhode Island, in celebration of the state's tercentenary (1636-1936). Laid in is an 1896 pamphlet published by the Essex Institute, its contents being a paper read before the local history class, attempting to explain Williams's religious views in the context of colonial history. Roger Williams was a religious activist who campaigned for religious freedom, and founded the first Baptist church in America. He believed strongly in the separation of church and state, and also founded the Providence Plantation, which provided a safe haven for victims of religious persecution. He is often credited as America's first abolitionist as well, in that he was the first colonist to organize an attempt to prohibit the practice of slavery. His strong beliefs often put him at odds with other believers: he was banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony after speaking against the methods of government numerous times, and he and John Cotton engaged in a lengthy debate in print over various religious issues.