New-York tribune., 1905-11-19
TITO COMNONWE4LTHS.
Rhode Island and Louisiana an
american History.

RHODE ISLAND. A STUDY IN sEPARAT!sm AR ism
By Irving Berdine Richnan MiIn l,Ieafhs nraR
IHouehton. Miffiin & Co.
LOUISIANA: \ RECORD OF EXPANSION Sl' i33 BS
Albert Phelps WIN map map tIiI2btpp In On Miflin
{ A5'e''''-'- Co '''''
Tb, two most recent volumes in the admirable
c. ries Of American CommonweaIths fully sus-
tain The reputation established by their prede-
ceesors both conforming 10 the general pan
Of these Statehood histories, yet each exhibiting
its individual characteristics and eXceliences-
Thus Afr Richnan. while considering the story
q Rhode Island in its threefoid divisions OF aS-
rfculture and seplratism f636- lGSsD, commerce
and cooperation dG93-lI63) ana manufactures
and uuffcation d764-190!D. and treating his
sui 5ect in a comprehensiveIy philosophic spirit.
erlivens his text with well chosen anecdotes End
flashes Of incident adapted TO Illuminate the life
and temper Of the periods into which his dis
cussion naturally falls Rhode Island, although
the least in size Of all the States of the Union
IS far from being the least important, either
I'm its material resources or in its political
influence and il is certainly singular among
hem in having exemplifed in its earliest his
tory the two leading ideas of modern life ard
progress: the idea Of Soul Liberty or Freedom
of Conscience in religion: and the idea OF the
BlSIJS OF Man IN f,blilltS Inc dNN1ioi ~ 4lASS
'out with discerning emphasis the manner in
which the principles incucated by Roger Will
iams and his contemporaries-diffe as they Cid
among themselves as to the application of
those principIes-survived to modify the political
history Of the little commonwealth through It's
succeeding periods of industrial development
This he does in a thoroughly popular and enter
tanning manner, so that the volume VIII --~~
a interesting TO the reader who is concerned
rather with the events themselves than with
their ultimate significance. it will to the
student of American politics; while the former
slI be led unconsciousy to view the facts of
Rhode Island history in their true relations, and
So to gel 4 broader conception of the sienif-
cauce Of history in general. An interesting SIDE
light is thrown on the character of Roger Will
Jams and on the horror with which his IDEAS
we're regarded by his former friends in an in
oi8ent related in the first chapter. Williams, as
a very young man. had been protege of Sir
Edward Coke af.erward to become the famous
chief Justice of the Court of Kings Bench.
la 7f=9 dong after the death of Coke Roger
7t.,os e51Iq5t 70 enter into correspondence with
surviving daughter, Mrs. Anne SadIeh OF S?n Sea6-
,s.-fnn like her iIlustrious parent, and inoensed
at Williams for his iconoclasuc religious views
R@ rms @ lFt5sGS R6seT NE WiamS When he was youth
. would in a shorthand take sermons and speeches
i'm rba Star Chamber and present them 10 my
d.ar eatRer. Fun little did he think that
lD would have proved Sucn q rSDel W NIou; y
King and his country leave his letters mat
IF ever Re has the face to return into nauNe
country, Tyburn may give him welcome
Certainly the precepts of Williams found eX-
preston in amazing excuses when liberty OF
conscience" was made the excuse for engaging
in piracy and the slave trade, on which two
industries the fortunes Of the colony were large
y founded and increased, and when John
Greene long time Deputy Governor, found
possible profit and undOubted sef-jusdficatior
in commissioning "privateers," under cover oi
the Antinomian doctrine that, provided man
were at one with God, ii mattered not what HI:
mere outward conduct might be-
No state Of the Union has had a more varied
and picturesque history than Louisiana, or one
more closely identified with the ever present but
not always generally recognized national pollcS
Of expansion. It's early days belong TO the perlo1
Of Spanish and French exploration, full of colo
and adventure, and ever to be associated VIII
the heroic dreams and accomplishments OF Ii
SalIe. seeking TO establish in the New World
new empire for unappreciatiye France Thei
came its disastrous exploitation by John Law
and the Mississippi Company, uSherlng IN IL