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The story of Samuell Gorton is in a large part the narrative of the beginnings of the Commonwealth of Rhode Island. If I mistake not, it also constitutes an important and hitherto unrecognized chapter in the history of the beginnings of our National life. It is a story but little known to the average American citizen. It has been briefly told by John M. Mackie, in Sparks’ American Biography, and by Gov. Arnold in his noble volumes of Rhode Island History. Certain phases of it have been discussed and amplified in the interesting monographs of Judge Staples and Judge Brayton.^[4] William D. Ely has thrown important light upon some salient points in Gorton’s history, in reports published in the Proceedings of the R. I. Historical Society.^[5] Palfrey has touched it lightly and with scant justice in his History of New England, and Fiske, in his Beginnings of New England, has given it inadequate treatment.^[6] Other historians have alluded to Samuell Gorton but to distort and misrepresent his actions and opinions.

A mere rehash of the narratives of Mackie, Arnold, and Brayton would be unworthy of the attention of this learned Society. To ignore their conscientious efforts to do justice to the founder of Warwick and co-worker with Roger Williams in the building of a Commonwealth dedicated to the principle of Soul Liberty, would, on the other hand, be unjust and impossible to one who would rightly sketch the history and estimate the work of Samuell Gorton. In the light of all that these just-minded sons of Rhode Island have written upon this subject, I have studied it anew and independently, making use of all available printed material, and also of valuable unpublished manuscripts and town records. I have arrived at certain conclusions, quite unexpected when I commenced my investigations, concerning Gorton’s political and religious philosophy, which, if correct, will modify previously received opinions of the man and his work, and which seem to me sufficiently vital and important to merit the attention of all students of American history. It is the main object of this paper to set forth the substance of these conclusions, with some reference to the documentary evidence on which they are based. For the instruction of those who have not made this somewhat obscure episode in Rhode Island history a special subject of investigation, some account of the leading facts of Samuell Gorton’s career becomes a preliminary necessity.