A Lively Experiment
A Multireligious Historical Overview of Rhode Island
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| In 1639, a number of colonists left Anne Hutchinson's settlement at Portsmouth and moved onto land that had been cleared and used by native peoples as a summer hunting and fishing camp for over 5000 years. They named this settlement Newport. Many of these settlers were members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), an offense punishable by whipping, expulsion, or the death penalty in most of the other colonies. In Newport, however, many of the most prominent citizens were Friends, including Nicholas Easton, who was elected governor of Rhode Island in 1672. The following year, Rhode Island passed the first conscientious objector law in America. The Great Friends Meeting House, which was built in 1699 and still stands today, was built on property Easton donated. In 1700, half of Newport's population were Friends. The Friends' numbers declined after the War for American Independence, but their influence continued in Rhode Island culture, education, and architecture. |
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