He Invented Religious Freedom — Then Got Exiled

An apple tree root shaped like a human body survives in a Providence museum, tied to colonial Rhode Island and a founder with no marked grave. The familiar account of religious freedom in seventeenth-century New England leaves out the machinery that made it possible. Land grants, river borders, voting rights, and burial customs reveal a less familiar structure. The evidence runs from Native deeds and royal charters to a site still held by the federal government. 0:00 The Root in the Grave 1:33 Who Belonged to the Bay 3:31 Four Opinions on Trial 4:53 Soldiers in the Blizzard 6:41 Shelter Beyond the Patent 7:35 The Border in the Corn 8:29 Across the Seekonk 10:22 Ground Without a King 11:25 The Deed With Three Dates 13:25 Paper England Would Recognize 14:51 A Charter Outlives Empire 16:04 The Code in the Margins 17:10 Providence Opens the Grave 18:50 Five Acres in Federal Hands Sources: Encyclopaedia Britannica — “Roger Williams” (n.d.) — https://www.britannica.com/biography/... National Park Service — “Roger Williams National Memorial” (n.d.) — https://www.nps.gov/rowi/index.htm Wikipedia contributors — “Roger Williams” (n.d.) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_W... Wikipedia contributors — “Providence, Rhode Island” (n.d.) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provide... Wikipedia contributors — “Rhode Island Royal Charter” (n.d.) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhode_I... Wikipedia contributors — “Dorr Rebellion” (n.d.) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorr_Re... Wikipedia contributors — “The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution” (n.d.) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blo... Wikipedia contributors — “History of Providence, Rhode Island” (n.d.) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History... #RhodeIsland #ColonialAmerica #ReligiousFreedom #HistoryDocumentary