- Rhode Island - Settlement to insure religious freedom
- Newport, Rhode Island - Jewish community in New England
- Quakers and Jews - Came to Rhode Island because of discrimination in England
- Thomas Hker - Founder of Connecticut
- Gorges and Mason - Established settlements in Maine and New Hampshire
Rhode Island is a state of the U.S. that was founded by the political and religious leader Roger Williams in 1636 after he had been banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony because the leaders rejected his ideas. He and his followers ended up settling on Narragansett Bay where they bought Rhode Island and founded it on the principles of religious liberty, separation of church and state and fair dealings with American Indians (Number 1).
Jews were one of the first group of people who settled on Rhode Island. At the time, they were being discriminated and persecuted in many countries but the town of Newport, Rhode Island was a very attractive place as it tolerated all kinds of religious practices, and they soon established one of the first Jewish communities in America. By the end of the 17th century, there were many Jewish communities established in America. Something similar happened with the Quakers, who also came to Rhode Island because of discrimination in England. By the end of the 1700s, Quakers constituted half the voting population of Rhode Island (Number 2 and 3).
Thomas Hker was also a colonial leader that was banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony due to his democratic principles. He founded the Colony of Connecticut in 1636 (Number 4).
Both English John Mason and Ferdinando Gorges founded New Hampshire in 1622 after the Council for New England had granted them the land. Mason was the one who gave it the name, after the English county of Hampshire. As for Gorges, he founded the Province of Maine in 1622 (Number 5).
