Three Commonwealths, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island; Their Early Development.

The article discusses the development of the commonwealths of Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. The author comments on how New England was settled to promote religious freedom and how Puritan settlers derived their system of government from forms of church government such as Congregationalism. The election of the Massachusetts colony's first government by freemen as defined in its charter is discussed. The colony of Connecticut was formed by preacher Thomas Hooker, who proposed the creation of a constitution to define the limits of political power. The exile of theologian Roger Williams from Massachusetts led him to establish the Rhode Island colony at Providence, Rhode Island, which promoted the separation of church and state.