Five Pillars

Roger Williams developed many beliefs and behaviors that were unusual and unprecedented. Here are five core practices that made Roger different from his contemporaries and that are especially relevant today.

Freedom of Conscience

Having been banished from Massachusetts Bay, Roger Williams turned his new community into a model of respect for other beliefs, accepting those with whom he did not agree, in religious and political matters, as long as they were good citizens and worked for the good of the colony.

Essays + Interactive Resources Who was Roger Williams? Interactive Timeline

Learning from Others

The key to his survival was the fact that he was able to adapt to the world of Narragansett Bay, learning from the Narragansett Indians including how to speak their language, and how to see the world from their perspective. Earlier in his life, he mastered five languages: French, Dutch, Hebrew, Greek and Latin. He even maintained a lengthy correspondence with the authorities who had banished him from Massachusetts.

ESSAYS + INTERACTIVE RESOURCES

Learning from the Land

With help from the Narragansetts, Roger Williams became skillful at living in his unfamiliar new environment. He studied the land and water around Narragansett Bay and used traditional places like waterfalls and large rocks to mark off the boundaries of his settlement. From the Narragansetts, he also learned fishing and farming techniques and their strategies of wise land use.

ESSAYS + INTERACTIVE RESOURCES

Imagination

Williams dared to imagine concepts that did not yet exist. When he arrived here, Rhode Island was a brand new idea, resisted by neighboring colonies and not yet approved by England. With patience and perseverance, he was able to translate his vision into reality. No other American state owes its origin so completely to one person inventing a new community from the ground up.

Essays + Interactive Resources Who was Roger Williams Interactive Timeline

The Common Good

Roger Williams knew that it was not enough to create a colony of free; thinking individuals – for Rhode Islanders to survive, they needed to work together for the common good. Despite his own resistance to authority earlier in his life, he was able to articulate a compelling vision of community and to persuade others to work toward it. With a pragmatic approach and a willingness to set an example, he converted his imagined ideal into a working reality.