Come to Rhode Island
By: Caleb Kim
How did Rhode Island come?
Roger Williams was a religious leader of the church of Salem in the Massachusetts Bay colony. He didn't think it was right to take land from nearby indians and was accused of spreading new authority of magistrates (a magistrate is an officer of justice who deals with small crimes). In 1636 he was banished and lived with the Narragansett Indians until he went back to England received a charter. Because of this Rhode Island has religious freedom and is great friends with the nearby Indians.
Geography
Rhode Island is a New England colony located on the coast between Connecticut and Massachusetts. It has red clay like soil with hilly features. It also has colder winters and more humid summers than England. Because of this the colony cannot do much farming except sustenance farming (farming enough food for your family).
Religion
Here in Rhode Island all religions are welcome including Quakers and protestants! Roger Williams is a protestant and believes in the separation of the church and the state. This means the Government can't make public acknowledgment of a religion, give taxes for the church, and many other things.
Economy
Due to the many trees and red clay like soil large scale plantations are off the list. However with the many trees at our disposal we build tons of ships and furniture. Our major export in Rhode island is fish because we are on the coast of the Atlantic and farming is no an option. Because of this most vegetables and some animals are imported from places with more suitable farming conditions.
Governemnt
The charter Rhode island received was very liberal and not only did it allow religious freedom, but a self-government as well. The male land owners were allowed to vote for the colonies law makers. Rhode Island also had a General Assembly which had different representatives from the towns in cities. The assembly was allowed to make laws, monitor trade, and form an emergency military troop called a militia.
Target Resident
The resident most likely to like Rhode Island is one that is a protestant and fisherman or woodworker/artisan. I say this because the colony was made because the founder didn't believe in the Catholicism and was actually protestant so a Protestant would probably get along better here. Also fisher men would make quite a fortune here because of the easy access and abundant resource of fish and wood (for ships, fishing rods, and other necessary fishing materials) in Rhode Island. Another profession that would go well in Rhode Island is a woodworker/artisan because in the north we have a very large supply of trees making it paradise for the local woodworker/artisan.
A Plea for Religious Liberty
In Roger Williams "A Plea for Religious Liberty" he says "Fifthly, all civil states with their officers of justice in their respective constitutions and administrations are proved essentially civil, and therefore not judges, governors, or defenders of the spiritual or Christian state and worship". Here I believe he saying that the state and its officers are cannot interact with christian practices and worship. He says this because he believes that the church and the state should be separate and the state should not bother peoples christian beliefs.
Bibliography
http://folicornri.blogspot.com/p/government.html
http://www.constitution.org/bcp/religlib.htm
http://blogcritics.org/what-does-separation-of-church-and/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Williams_(theologian)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhode_
http://www.fishingtime.us/category/fishing-rods/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shipbuilding