Tc: Rhode Island

I always think of Rhode Island as the first of the second-generation of American colonies. Every American history textbook dutifully explains about the first permanent establishments in the United States at Jamestown, Virginia and Plymouth, Massachusetts Bay. As often as not, the history books will also explain how Roger Williams, who immigrated with his family to Massachusetts Bay fled from the colony five years later when facing deportation for his views. Williams founded a settlement at the head of Narragansett Bay and named it Providence. Eventually with the settlement of Portsmouth founded by Anne Hutchinson's group and William Coddington's group at Newport there was the creation of another English colony in New England. However, the lesson that the Puritans, who fled religious persecution in England, failed to practice what they preached in the New World was rather obvious and made an impression as did the unique identity of Rhode Island in colonial history.Andrew A. Kling's book on "Rhode Island" for "The Thirteen Colonies" series is another outstanding look at one of the "lesser" colonies that get brief mention in your standard American history textbook. The introduction establishes how "The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations" was founded by the desire for political and religious freedom, before providing the standard five chapters for this series: (1) Beginnings covers both the discovery of the region by European explorers as well as the native tribes who were living there when Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson established settlements; (2) A "Lively Experiment" details the various charters that governed the colony and the conflict known as King Philip's War between the settlers and the Wampanoag and Narragnsett tribes; (3) Daily Life in the Growing Colony covers how education was often linked to religious doctrine in Rhode island, seasonal chores, and the colony's role in the Triangle Trade; (4) First in Freedom: Rhode Island and the Revolution starts with the general colonial reaction to the Sugar Act and then discusses what specifically happened in the colony, such as the "Gaspee" Incident, General Nathan Greene who hailed from the colony, and the Battle of Rhode Island; and (5) To Ratify or Not to Ratify? begins with the debate over becoming a state and the changes in the Rhode Island economy. Kling ends the book in the same spirit as it began, noting that the statue on top of the new state capitol building was the "Independent Man" representing all of the people, rather than Roger Williams, Thomas Dorr, Samuel Slater, or another major figure in the state's history. This series does an excellent job of exploring the history of each colony, working in primary and secondary source quotations, along with a time line, historic illustrations, annotated bibliographies, and an index. As always, the less you know about a particular colony from your American history textbook, the more you will pick up from these books.