Roger Williams And The Creation Of The American Soul: Church, State, And The Birth Of Liberty (2012) - Plot & Excerpts
This book is a gem. Although written in a straightforward style appropriate for a factual history, it reads like a novel, because the events so carefully described are exciting and shocking. This history reveals the real beginning of American political ideals, not in Boston or Massachusetts in the 1770s, but in Providence, Rhode Island, a settlement founded by Roger Williams, beginning in the 1630s. The book also reveals the logical development of William’s thinking from his prior close acquaintance with the renowned jurist, Edward Coke, and from his awareness of the newly emerging scientific thinking of Francis Bacon. With logic joined with often painful and life-threatening observation, Williams combines and advances their thinking to develop the concept of full separation of church and state and the idea that the true authority of the state derives from the people--new and revolutionary ideas for those times and a major part of the conceptual foundation of the U.S. Constitution written towards the end of the following century. Williams then put these ideas into practice in Providence, which became a refuge for dissidents who were banished from other local settlements. There’s much more, including his respect for Native Americans, all of which the author brings to life in exquisite detail. The history of England winds up in this book because it paves the way for Roger Williams and his revolutionary idea that church and state must be separate. The man was an original thinker who stood over his ideas and pursued his goals based on these ideas. In the end, he set the standard of soul liberty that is a key part of how Americans understand themselves. This book is engaging and challenging and just plain good.
What do You think about Roger Williams And The Creation Of The American Soul: Church, State, And The Birth Of Liberty (2012)?
A much different history of Roger Williams than we were taught in school.
—Breebree
Jn O' RECO 2-11-2012, sticker of h/c= 35 $}
—esoberan
