February 5, 1631: English clergyman Roger Williams arrives in America. After questioning Massachusetts’ fusion of church and state, he was banished. He bought land from native Americans and founded Rhode Island, where he established America’s first Baptist church in America, which is disputed by the book The First Baptist Church in America (Not Founded by Roger Williams) by Graves and Adlam. His writings on religious liberty were greatly influential in securing that freedom later in America.
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