Roger Williams Banished from Massachusetts Colony
In the early 1630s, the Massachusetts Bay Colony enforced strict Puritan orthodoxy, punishing dissent on religion and land policy toward Native Americans. Roger Williams, a Cambridge-educated minister who arrived in 1631, openly challenged these views, advocating separation of church and state and fair treatment of indigenous peoples. On October 9, 1635, the General Court banished him for his beliefs. Williams fled southward, founding Providence Plantations in 1636 as a haven for religious freedom. This settlement became the core of Rhode Island, which later adopted the first colonial charter guaranteeing liberty of conscience.
Why it matters: The banishment directly spurred the creation of Rhode Island as America's first colony dedicated to religious tolerance, influencing later constitutional principles on church-state separation. It highlighted early colonial tensions between conformity and individual belief that echoed through American history.