Roger Williams

This definitive short biography explores the life of Roger Williams (1603-1683): first champion for the separation of church and state, advocate for a Native American population abused by British colonists, cofounder of the Baptist Church, and founder of the state of Rhode Island. Edwin Gaustad, the world's leading scholar of Roger Williams , tells the story of this crucial figure in American history with an eye to the debate that continues to be hotly contested in the U.S. to this day: where do we draw the line between church and state?