08-R369

2008 -- S 2784

Enacted 07/08/08

J O I N T R E S O L U T I O N

CELEBRATING THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF NATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE MADE BY JOHN CLARKE AND THE RHODE ISLAND KING CHARLES CHARTER OF 1663 TO THE COLONY AND STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

Introduced By: Senators Paiva-Weed, Gibbs, and C Levesque

Date Introduced: March 04, 2008

     WHEREAS, John Clarke joined with Roger Williams and several other religious

dissidents to explore and settle the island of Aquidneck in peace with Wampanoag and

Narragansett Indians; and

     WHEREAS, John Clarke completed a commission to author the Rhode Island Charter of

1663 and successfully negotiated that Charter with King Charles II, the reluctant king of England;

and

     WHEREAS, The Rhode Island Charter of 1663 established unheard of rights including

separation of church and state, religious liberty, and reversed a land grab by John Winthrop Jr. for

the Colony of Connecticut. By proving that such liberties were possible, the Rhode Island

Charter of 1663 ignited the flames of democracy in America; and

     WHEREAS, News of freedoms granted by the Charter of 1663 quickly spread throughout

Western Europe where it attracted those who were dispossessed and persecuted. The resulting

influx created a legacy of exceptional art, architecture, craft, and writing for the Colony and State

of Rhode Island, a legacy that continues to enrich the world; and

     WHEREAS, Upon his decease, John Clarke established America’s oldest active

testamentary trust bequeathing his extensive lands to the care of widows and children’s education

“from time to time – forever”. The John Clarke trust currently distributes 90 educational

scholarships per year to Rhode Island children; now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this General Assembly of the State of Rhode Island and Providence

Plantations hereby deems that the works of John Clarke and the Rhode Island Charter of 1663 are

of immeasurable benefit to the citizens and State of Rhode Island, and therefore proclaims the

first Monday in the month of October be annually celebrated as “John Clarke Day”; and be it

further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and he hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to the John Clarke Society.

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LC02417

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