Editing Roger Williams (section)

==First years in America==

=== Arrival in Boston ===
On February 5, 1631, the ''Lyon'' anchored in [[Nantasket Beach|Nantasket]] outside of Boston.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Allison|first=Amy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1b5bAgAAQBAJ|title=Roger Williams|date=2013|publisher=Infobase Learning|isbn=978-1-4381-4450-4|language=en}}</ref> The [[First Church in Boston|church of Boston]] offered him the opportunity to serve during the vacancy of Rev. [[John Wilson (minister)|John Wilson]], who had returned to England to bring his wife back to America.<ref name="smith">{{cite news|last1=Barry|first1=John M.|date=January 2012|title=God, Government and Roger Williams' Big Idea|work=[[Smithsonian (magazine)|Smithsonian]]|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/god-government-and-roger-williams-big-idea-6291280/|url-status=live|access-date=27 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104131844/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/god-government-and-roger-williams-big-idea-6291280/|archive-date=4 January 2018}}</ref> Williams declined the position on grounds that it was "an unseparated church." In addition, he asserted that civil magistrates must not punish any sort of "breach of the first table" of the [[Ten Commandments]] such as idolatry, Sabbath-breaking, false worship, and blasphemy, and that individuals should be free to follow their own convictions in religious matters. These three principles later became central tenets of Williams's teachings and writings.

===Salem and Plymouth===
[[File:Witch_House,_Salem.jpg|thumb|The [[The Witch House|Jonathan Corwin House]] was long purported to be Williams's residence in Salem<ref>{{Cite book|last=Goff|first=John|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=at1-CQAAQBAJ|title=Salem's Witch House: A Touchstone to Antiquity|date=2009-09-16|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|isbn=978-1-61423-286-5|language=en}}</ref>]]

As a [[Definitions of Puritanism#Separatist groups|Separatist]], Williams considered the Church of England irredeemably corrupt and believed that one must completely separate from it to establish a new church for the true and pure worship of God. The [[Salem, Massachusetts|Salem]] church was also inclined to Separatism, and they invited him to become their teacher. In response, leaders in Boston vigorously protested, leading Salem to withdraw its offer. As the summer of 1631 ended, Williams moved to [[Plymouth Colony]] where he was welcomed, and informally assisted the minister. At Plymouth, he regularly preached. Plymouth Governor [[William Bradford (Plymouth Colony governor)|William Bradford]] wrote that "his teachings were well approved."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Straus|first=Oscar Solomon|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Sem-3dTbOwUC|title=Roger Williams; the Pioneer of Religious Liberty|date=1894|publisher=Century Company|page=30|language=en}}</ref>

After a time, Williams decided that the Plymouth church was not sufficiently separated from the Church of England. Furthermore, his contact with the [[Narragansett people|Narragansett Native Americans]] had caused him to question the validity of [[Colonial charters in the Thirteen Colonies|colonial charters]] that did not include legitimate purchase of Native American land. Governor Bradford later wrote that Williams fell "into some strange opinions which caused some controversy between the church and him."<ref>Quoted in Edwin Gaustad,''Liberty of Conscience: Roger Williams in America'' Judson Press, 1999, pg. 28.</ref>

In December 1632, Williams wrote a lengthy tract that openly condemned the King's charters and questioned the right of Plymouth to the land without first buying it from the Native Americans. He even charged that [[King James I of England|King James]] had uttered a "solemn lie" in claiming that he was the first Christian monarch to have discovered the land. Williams moved back to Salem by the fall of 1633 and was welcomed by Rev. [[Samuel Skelton]] as an unofficial assistant.

===Litigation and exile===
[[File:The_Banishment_of_Roger_Williams.jpg|thumb|''The Banishment of Roger Williams'' ({{circa|1850}}) by [[Peter F. Rothermel]]]]
The Massachusetts Bay authorities were not pleased at Williams's return. In December 1633, they summoned him to appear before the General Court in Boston to defend his tract attacking the King and the charter. The issue was smoothed out, and the tract disappeared forever, probably burned. In August 1634, Williams became acting pastor of the Salem church, the Rev. Skelton having died. In March 1635, he was again ordered to appear before the General Court, and he was summoned yet again for the Court's July term to answer for "erroneous" and "dangerous opinions." The Court finally ordered that he be removed from his church position.

This latest controversy welled up as the town of Salem petitioned the General Court to annex some land on [[Marblehead, Massachusetts|Marblehead Neck]]. The Court refused to consider the request unless the church in Salem removed Williams. The church felt that this order violated their independence, and sent a letter of protest to the other churches. However, the letter was not read publicly in those churches, and the General Court refused to seat the delegates from Salem at the next session. Support for Williams began to wane under this pressure, and he withdrew from the church and began meeting with a few of his most ardent followers in his home.

Finally, the General Court tried Williams in October 1635 and convicted him of sedition and heresy. They declared that he was spreading "diverse, new, and dangerous opinions"<ref>LaFantasie, Glenn W., ed. ''The Correspondence of Roger Williams,'' University Press of New England, 1988, Vol. 1, pp.12–23.</ref> and ordered that he be banished. The execution of the order was delayed because Williams was ill and winter was approaching, so he was allowed to stay temporarily, provided that he ceased publicly teaching his opinions. He did not comply with this demand, and the sheriff came in January 1636, only to discover that he had slipped away three days earlier during a blizzard. He traveled 55 miles on foot through the deep snow, from Salem to [[Raynham, Massachusetts]], where the local [[Wampanoag people|Wampanoags]] offered him shelter at their winter camp. Sachem [[Massasoit]] hosted Williams there for the three months until spring.