Reprinted from a letter to the editor in the Sakonnet Times, April 2, 1998: No other city or town in America than Portsmouth has ever claimed to be the birthplace of democracy for good reason. None of them is. All towns that settled along the east coast up to 1638 and for some time thereafter were all under the control of the King of England and the state-controlled Church of England. These included the earlier but lost colony of Jamestown, VA, and the much earlier Catholic settlement at St. Augustine, Florida, under the Spanish. The Plymouth Pilgrims left their English homeland and landed on that famous rock in 1621. They came here (Massachusetts) to get away from the harsh and intolerable conditions regarding church and state to see if things could improve. They didn't. At this time, 1638, 19 men signed a compact in the Town of Boston and proceeded to settle Portsmouth. The now famous Portsmouth Compact begins in part, "We whose names are underwritten do hereby solemnly in the presence of Jehovah incorporate ourselves into a Bodie Politic," etc. (It does not say "Bodie Religious".) They agreed to be guided by God, not ruled by him or any other tenet. This compact on paper is now in the custody of the Rhode Island Secretary of State. In 1936, a bronze tablet mounted on a large pudding stone boulder at Founders Brook was unveiled at the time as part of Portsmouth’s celebration of the birth of the State of Rhode Island. It was hot July day and about 500 people were in attendance, including the governor of the State and many other dignitaries (including this writer at age 10). The wording of the tablet is as follows: "1638-1936 Erected to Honor The Memory and Perpetuate The Sprit and Ideas of the Founders of the First Government in the World to Allow and to Insure to its Citizens Civil and Religious Liberty Established on This Site in the Year 1638." (Then follows the wording of the compact followed by the signers.) As part of Gov. Theodore F. Greene’s lengthy speech he said, in part, "The Rhode Island founders established (in Portsmouth) the principles of a true democracy with absolute religious freedom even for those who disagreed them … This spread through the State and nation and found its way into the (US) Constitution and thus Portsmouth, through its original compact, has contributed to the nation." Charles P. Sisson, another dignitary from the State, said in his speech, in part, "every state in the union now embodies in its fundamental laws the spirit of the Portsmouth Compact which, in its execution, was the main thread of religious liberty." Actually, Greece experimented with democracy but, if one examines it under a strong glass, impurities can be found. But this paper is about Portsmouth and America. Much more evidence exists and it is there for the finding. Portsmouth, RI, Birthplace of American Democracy. There. It has been said. Let anyone refute it if they can. Until then, brag about it! John T. Pierce, Sr. Portsmouth
Webmaster's notes: Mr. Pierce, a retired Portsmouth Police Chief, has written extensively on the history of Portsmouth, including a book entitled Historical Tracts of the Town of Portsmouth, Rhode Island, 1991: Portsmouth, RI; Hamilton Printing Company. There has been some dispute as to whether or not this was a true democracy, in that not everyone could vote. We cannot apply a modern definition of democracy to the 17th century, any more than we can say democracy did not exist prior to women's suffrage amendment of the early 20th century. As stated by Mr. Pierce, the claim may or may not be accurate, but until we see proof, the claim stands.
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