Roger Williams first arrived in the Massachusetts Bay Colony on February 5, 1631. However, Williams claimed that he had not found the religious liberty he was seeking. As a result of this, he departed for Rhode Island, where he would one day become president of the colonial government. His writings on religious freedom would later influence the Founding Fathers to believe the same. Additionally, Williams was adamantly opposed to the institution of slavery in America, and for this reason, he has been dubbed the first American abolitionist. He also founded the first American Baptist church in Providence, Rhode Island.
