Three hundred years ago Roger Williams was fighting for many of the principles of democracy threatened today. He was the first American to demand that a government should be the instrument of the people, working for the greatest good of the greatest number. He was the first champion in the western hemisphere for freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and the separation of church and state. Time and again he risked his own life in his crusade against religious and racial intolerance, as he battled successfully for fairness and lack of prejudice in dealings with the Indians and with early settlers of all religious faiths.

Americans are just beginning to realize what Roger Williams did for us, and it is strange that only lately have we begun to take the measure of such a leader. This is partly because of his own modesty and also because his beliefs were so far in advance of his times that few contemporaries recognized his genius. But today the principles Roger Williams fought for are in the minds of all Americans. Young and old are groping to find the clean, daylit spaces where the seeds of liberty were planted.

"This life of Roger Williams easily takes top rank among biographies for young people. Written with deep conviction of the importance of Williams' philosophy, its purpose never clogs the action. Has vitality and beauty."—Publisher's Weekly. 

From the dust jacket