Rider, Sidney S. An Inquiry concerning the Origin of the Clause in the Laws of Rhode Island (1719-1783) Disfranchising Roman Catholics (Rhode Island Historical Tracts. Second Series, No. 1). Providence: Sidney S. Rider, 1889. First Edition. [11335]
Recently bound in blue cloth, gilt titles to spine, 8 1/2 x 6 1/2 inches. Original blue wrappers retained, 72 pp. "S. 2, #1" on the ffep. Good. Hardcover.
Limited to 250 copies.
This historical study addresses the charge that colonial Rhode Island mistreated Roman Catholics. Rider argues that Roman Catholics were protected in their rights and persons to a degree not allowed in England, whose colony Rhode Island was. He states that the restrictions regarding Roman Catholics voting or holding political office were imposed by England, and not from the colony itself. They could, however, own land and serve in the military without the requirement of an oath denying their religious beliefs, something not then tolerated in England.
Sidney Smith Rider (1833-1917), b. Brainards' Bridge, New York; d. Providence, Rhode Island. As a lad of 12 years of age he moved with his family to Rhode Island, where he was apprenticed to Charles Burnett, a Providence bookseller. He took an avid interest in Rhode Island history, and was eventually able to acquire Burnett's bookshop. Rider assembled the largest private collection of materials related to the history of Rhode Island, which was purchased for the Brown University Library in 1903. He published several serials on book collecting and Rhode Island History, including The Bibliomaniac, Book Notes, The Literary News, and Rhode Island Historical Tracts.
