Ohio History Journal

THE FIRST REPUBLICAN FORM OF GOVERN-

MENT IN AMERICA

 

BY EX-JUDGE DAVID DAVIS

Mr. William M. Pettit in the Archaeological and His-

torical Quarterly of July, 1931, has written an able

article setting forth that Rev. John Wheelwright of Bos-

ton, and later of Exeter, Massachusetts, was the first

man to form a Republican Government in America. The

records and history of the Colonies, by many authors,

attribute that honor to Rev. Roger Williams.

Rev. Wheelwright came to the Colonies in the latter

part of 1636 and became a pastor of a Boston Church

immediately upon his arrival. Rev. Wheelwright was

a Puritan. Rev. Roger Williams was a Pilgrim and

Separatist.

Rev. Wheelwright was tried by the General Courts

in Boston, in January, 1637, and he was banished by

order of the Court. In 1638, he formed a settlement at

Exeter, Massachusetts.  After a residence of a few

years, the town was declared to be within the limits of

Massachusetts.

Taylor's History of the United States gives the fol-

lowing account, and so much as is necessary to indicate

what was done by Rev. Wheelwright in Exeter is here

given.

1638 was the beginning of the towns of Exeter and Hampton

* * * Settlers mostly from Boston. * * * As they judged their

settlement to be without the jurisdiction of Massachusetts, they

formed themselves into a body politic, chose rulers and assistants,

(108)

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First Republican Form of Government in America  109

who were sworn to a proper execution of their respective offices,

and a correspondent oath of obedience was taken by the people.

In this compact, we have an instance of civil government in its

simplest, perhaps its purest form. The magistrates, who were

few, were vested with legislative, judicial and executive authority.

 

It is clear from the wording of the "Combination or

Compact," formed by him and his adherents, that the

Magistrates of said Community were vested with legis-

lative, judicial and executive authority. The three vital

branches of the Government rested in one body, which

plainly shows that it was not a republican form of gov-

ernment.   It is further to be noted that after Rev.

Wheelwright and his associates had lived in the town of

Exeter for a few years, his sentence of banishment was

revoked, in consequence of some acknowledgment on his

part. He therefore returned and became a part of the

Government of Massachusetts, as he had made ample

apology for what he had done.

Roger Williams came to Boston and arrived at Nan-

tasket on February 5, 1631. He was known as a Sep-

aratist of the strongest character and therefore, a Pil-

grim. While the Pilgrims and the Puritans in some

measure or conduct were alike, the Puritans still adhered

to the established Church in certain measures.   The

Separatists believed in complete separation of the estab-

lished Church and civil government. In other words,

Roger Williams believed with all of his power and with

all of his good sense in "Separation of the Church and

State."

As soon as he had landed in Boston, he came in con-

tact with the established Church and civil authorities;

he did not remain there long, but went to Plymouth and

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110      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

remained there teaching on Sundays, and doing man-

ual labor through the week for nearly two years.

He was called during that period to the Church at Salem,

as he was recognized as a high authority and his doc-

trines were in full accord with the Salem Church. This

church, however, was within the territorial district of

the Boston Colony, and at every turn, while at Salem, he

found himself in conflict with the Clergy and the Court

of Massachusetts.

In October, 1635, he was tried before the General

Court, and was found guilty. The church convicted and

sentenced him to banishment. In January, 1636, he left

Salem to escape arrest, and to seek a refuge from the

tyranny of the church brethren and the court. He

went first to Seekonk, and afterwards, with four of his

companions, embarked in a canoe to a spot beyond the

jurisdiction of the Massachusetts and Plymouth Col-

onies. The site selected by him was called Providence,

so named by him in gratitude for God's mercy to him in

his distress.

He had learned the Indian language while at Ply-

mouth, so that he could speak intelligibly, and he had be-

come a great favorite with the Indians. They in turn, for

his kindness to them, deeded him a large tract of land,

which was the beginning of what is now Providence,

Rhode Island. He remained at Providence until the day

of his death, which occurred in 1684, and there formed

the future government of Rhode Island. He attempted at

first to form a pure democracy, having in it, a separation

of Church and State, but he and his associates soon

found out that it would be better to form a represent-

ative form of government, which worked so well that it

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First Republican Form of Government in America  111

was adopted by the towns of Providence, Portsmouth,

Newport and Warwick. These towns were free and

independent in worldly affairs, and yet, to a certain ex-

tent, bound by the Federal Union for the benefit of all.

The first outline or sketch of the proposed forma-

tion of the Union reads as follows:

 

We whose names are underwritten, being desirous to inhabit

the town of Providence, do promise to submit ourselves, in active

or passive obedience, to all such orders or agreements as may be

made for the public good of the body, in an orderly way, by the

major consent of the inhabitants, masters of families, incorpo-

rated together into a township and such others whom they admit

into the same, only in things Civil.

 

Under the guidance of Roger Williams and his asso-

ciates Rhode Island became the pattern after which this

great republic was subsequently fashioned, and the gov-

ernment of Rhode Island, being a republican form of

Government, pure and simple, was the forerunner of

the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of

the United States. So perfect a type of our Government

was Rhode Island Colony, that it had both independent

and federal conditions within its little territory.  The

oldest sovereign state in this union today, she is also the

smallest. Truly, this man, Roger Williams, was a

prophet in legislation and, like most prophets of God,

was called to suffer the common penalty meted out to

those who stood for right, and rebuked the wrong. He

fought for and founded religious liberty; he fought for

the doctrine of separation of Church and State; and suc-

ceeded in both endeavors. He was the first man in the

Colonies who declared in favor of public schools.

He was the first Welshman or Englishman to pro-

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112      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

test against colonial slavery in America, which he did in

1637. Southey's estimate was not extravagant when he

said, "Roger Williams was one of the best men that ever

set foot in the New World."

He was a great preacher. He was a statesman, and

if any man deserved credit for any one great act of his

life, he deserved it for his conduct towards Massachu-

setts Colony. When he learned that the Indians were

going to massacre the Colony, he immediately set to

work to prevent such a thing from happening. If he

had desired power over and destruction of his enemies,

here was his opportunity, but on the contrary, he re-

turned good for evil, and saved the Boston Colony from

destruction. For this, and the conduct of his whole life,

his fame and name will stand forth to enlighten the

world as long as there are human beings in existence.

Unlike Rev. Wheelwright, he actually carried out his

purpose, and was the founder of Rhode Island. Rev.

Wheelwright, after three or four years at Exeter, simply

formed a Church, and then returned to the old estab-

lished church, at least in part. We therefore think that

to Roger Williams belongs the credit of Republican Gov-

ernment in the American Colonies.

It is not out of place to observe that credit is due Rev.

Wheelwright for what he did, but much more credit

should be given to Rev. Roger Williams for his work.

Both were ministers and for that reason preachers of the

gospel are entitled to leadership of one of the greatest

movements that was presented in the early colonies for

the advancement and government in the new world.

Roger Williams was purely a Welshman, and was

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First Republican Form, of Government in America  113

only 24 years of age when he landed in Boston. The

records of his history show that he was a highly edu-

cated man. It is not plain, however, how he came to fol-

low the course taken by him earlier in London, and later,

in the American Colonies. When, however, you look

into Welsh history, you will ascertain that this small

nation held festivals in early times under the great

oaks in England and in Wales, and held what is known as

the Eisteddfod. That association or festival bore the

same relation to the Celtic people of the Welsh blood,

that the Sangerfest does to the Germans of Teutonic

blood; however, the Eisteddfod is far older than the Ger-

man Sangerfest, and not only that, it was literary,

musical, and political in its nature and conduct. In

reality, it was a festival of the ancient Druids, partic-

ularly in the Island, and also in France. Caesar in his

Commentaries refers to it slightly.

One thing is to be observed, that the people from

whence Roger Williams came, though few in numbers,

have the highest motto of any country in the world

from the days of Adam to the present time, as follows:

"Y   GWYER     YN   ERBIN    Y   BYDD" -- "THE

TRUTH AGAINST THE WORLD." This motto in

Welsh appears among the mottoes of the great nations

of the earth, on the inside of the Washington Monu-

ment, and when any man or nation adopts that motto

as a guide, it can not help but be useful and prosperous.

When Roger Williams declared that every man should

worship God according to the dictates of his own

conscience, and that there should be a separate Church

and State, he was true to the meaning of the great Welsh

motto.

Vol. XLI--8.

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114      Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications In the 13th Verse of the 13th Chapter of First Cor- inthians, we read, "And now abideth faith, hope, char- ity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity." We close by saying that truth is greater than faith, hope and charity, and is the greatest virtue in the world.

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