Roger Williams and the Creation of the American Soul - Church, State, and the Birth of Liberty

(NYTBR) Should you find yourself in front of the Rhode Island Statehouse in Providence, look up and east, and tip your hat — real or imagined — to Roger Williams. A 35-foot statue of the Protestant theologian (1603?-1683) stands high in Prospect Terrace Park, with right hand extended, as if blessing the city he founded. The beatific image does not quite resemble its cantankerous model, for reasons that John M. Barry explores, if only partly, in his new biography, “Roger Williams and the Creation of the American Soul.” Continued

Photo: Engraved print depicting Roger Williams, founder of Rhode Island, meeting with the Narragansett Indians (NYPL via Wikipedia).