material culture

We’ve spent a lot of time this summer and fall considering ideals about religious toleration in Rhode Island, much of which was possible thanks to the 1663 Charter.  Most of these topics have related to Judeo-Christian religious ideas, and to the European settlers. ...

Last week we looked at a map of colonial Newport and explored how the built landscape reflected the town founders’ ideals.  As the early settlers arrived in Newport while escaping religious persecution elsewhere, the town was built to accommodate people with many different...

When many of us think about the past, we think about words.  Words fill the diaries, newspapers, speeches, account books, government documents, and other items that we use to tell the story of the past.  Thus far, our blog series has focused on words: we explored what...