[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 162 (Thursday, October 19, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S15366]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      ROGER WILLIAMS NATIONAL MEMORIAL CELEBRATES 30TH ANNIVERSARY

 Mr. PELL. Mr. President, I rise to share with my colleagues 
the happy news that the Roger Williams National Memorial is celebrating 
the 30th anniversary of its authorization.
  I want to take this chance to tell you about Roger Williams, a 
Founding Father that you will not encounter here, except in the rotunda 
of the Capitol. He was the founder of Rhode Island and a champion of 
Democracy and religious liberty.
  There is no national memorial to Roger Williams here, unlike the 
monuments to other national heroes like Washington, Jefferson, and 
Lincoln. Our national memorial is in Rhode Island, where he lived and 
left us a philosophical legacy of incomparable worth.
  Roger Williams was banished for his beliefs from the Massachusetts 
Bay Colony in 1635, but survived both banishment and subsequent efforts 
to take over the settlement he named Providence.
  ``The air of the country is sharp,'' Roger Williams said of 
Providence, ``the rocks many, the trees innumerable, the grass little, 
the winter cold, the summer hot, the gnats in summer biting, the wolves 
at night howling.''
  Thirteen householders in the population of 32 in the first year 
formed the first genuine democracy--also the first church-divorced and 
conscience-free community--in modern history.
  I cannot emphasize enough how unique and utopian the vision of Roger 
Williams was in the midst of the 17th century. He was almost alone in 
believing that all citizens should be free to worship as their 
conscience dictated.
  Roger Williams was a determined and dedicated man. In 1672, when he 
was nearly 70, he rowed all day to reach Newport for a 4-day debate 
with three Quaker orators. Both his settlement and his ideas have 
survived and prospered.
  For most of his life, Roger Williams was a deeply religious man. Even 
without a church to call his own, his ideas flourished in Providence 
and remain alive today.
  Documents, such as our Bill of Rights and Declaration of Independence 
can be traced directly back to the hardfought freedoms earned by Roger 
Williams and his followers.
  I encourage my colleagues to visit the statue of Roger Williams in 
the Rotunda of the Capitol. When you do, remember that even the 
principles of democracy and religious liberty did not come easily. 
Roger Williams gave them form and substance more than 350 years ago.
  These principles also founded the basis of our belief that all people 
are created with equal rights and should not be denied opportunities to 
succeed because of their race, gender, or religion.
  I sponsored the Senate legislation that authorized the creation of 
the Roger Williams National Memorial and I have watched it take shape 
on the site of his original settlement in Providence, RI.
  This anniversary comes at an important time. One purpose of the 
memorial is to emphasize the linked principles of tolerance and 
freedom. As recent events have demonstrated, we need to focus on these 
principles.
  I am delighted to share with my colleagues today the news that the 
National Park Service is planning new initiatives to strengthen the 
impact of the Roger Williams National Memorial and its vital message.
  If you have any doubts about the significance of Roger Williams in 
our history, consider how his philosophy has resonated through our 
other Founding Fathers and found its way into our most sacred 
documents.
  Just a few examples, culled from his writings, should help to sound 
his call for freedom:
  ``The sovereign, original, and foundation of civil power lies in the 
People.''--The Bloody Tenent of Persecution for Conscience Discussed 
(1644).
  ``The civil state is humbly to be implored to provide in their high 
wisdom for security of all the respective consciences.''--The Hireling 
Ministry None of Christs
  ``No person in this colony shall be molested or questioned for the 
matters of his conscience to God, so he be loyal and keep the civil 
peace.''--Letter to Major John Mason (1670)
  ``And having in a sence of God's merciful providence unto me in my 
distresse called the place Providence, I desired it might be a shelter 
for persons distressed for conscience.''--Early Records of Providence
  We owe a tremendous debt to Roger Williams as the first champion of 
true religious freedom and for translating principles of democracy and 
tolerance from concepts into substance.

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