Roger Williams

author

Roger Williams

d. 1683

A fierce defender of liberty of conscience, this early American thinker helped found Providence and became one of the strongest voices for keeping church and civil government apart. His life story sits at the crossroads of faith, exile, and the making of Rhode Island.

3 Audiobooks

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, &c. of the Aforesaid Natives, etc.

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, &c. of the Aforesaid Natives, etc.

by Roger Williams

Experiments of Spiritual Life & Health, and Their Preservatives In Which the Weakest Child of God May Get Assurance of His Spirituall Life and Blessednesse Etc.

Experiments of Spiritual Life & Health, and Their Preservatives In Which the Weakest Child of God May Get Assurance of His Spirituall Life and Blessednesse Etc.

by Roger Williams

The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution for Cause of Conscience Discussed and Mr. Cotton's Letter Examined and Answered

The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution for Cause of Conscience Discussed and Mr. Cotton's Letter Examined and Answered

by Roger Williams

About the author

Born in London around 1603, Roger Williams came to New England in the 1630s as a minister, but he quickly clashed with Puritan authorities in Massachusetts over matters of religion and government. He argued that civil officials should not control personal belief, and that colonists should deal justly with Native peoples rather than simply claim their land.

After being banished, he founded Providence Plantations in 1636, a settlement that became part of Rhode Island. He is widely remembered as a pioneer of religious liberty and an early advocate for the separation of church and state.

Williams was also a prolific writer and a careful observer of the world around him. His books and letters reveal a restless, independent mind shaped by debate, travel, and deep conviction, and they helped secure his lasting place in early American history.