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BOOK REVIEWS AND NOTES Edited by Edwin B. Bronner Colonial Rhode Island: A History. By Sydney V.James. (AHutory of the American Colonies. By Milton M. Kleinand JacobE. Cooke, Editors.) New York: Charles Scribner's Sons,1975. Pp.xviii, 423. $15.00. Sydney James' study of colonial Rhode Island fills a void in an important aspect of colonial American history. His work supplies a comprehensive study noteworthy for its reliability. James is a careful historian and this work demonstrates his steadiness in synthesizing a vast amount of material. Rhode Island originated with at best an uncertain chance of enduring. Founded by malcontents, it barely survived their bickering, attacks by Massachusetts , boundary disputes with Connecticut, and die uncertainties of English politics. Merged briefly with the Dominion of New England, Rhode Island resumed its separate ways after the Dominion's overthrow in 1689, but not for long as English authorities sought to bring it under control . In one of the most important chapters of the book, James details how Governor Samuel Cranston managed early in the eighteenth century to continue Rhode Island's separate ways, mollify English authorities, and bring order to a hitherto rather disorganized colony. Subsequent chapters discuss the paper money controversies and the Ward-Hopkins factional disputes. In die latter case, James argues that religious affiliation was probably the most important factor in determining political preference (Friends, for example , tended to favor the Hopkins faction). With a similarly capable touch, James examines the coming of independence and Rhode Island's adjustments to the new nation. In other chapters James deals widi social and economic history and with religious groups. Readers of this journal will be particularly interested in the treatment of Friends which is carefully and accurately done. Also useful is James' discussion of other churches, a helpful perspective against which to measure Rhode Island Quakers. As a detailed survey of colonial Rhode Island, this book will be the standard work for years. James has done extensive research in all pertinent primary and secondary sources. The book reads well and a current of quiet humor runs throughout: James does not take eidier himself or colonial Rhode Islanders too seriously. Among the many volumes of recent vintage which focus on the colonial and revolutionary periods, this book stands out as the best encountered by this reviewer. Colorado State UniversityArthur J. Worrall Colonial New Jersey—A History. By John E. Pomfret. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1973. xix, 327 pages. Illus. $12.50. Historians of Massachusetts, Virginia, and Pennsylvania have an easy task compared widi those who write about New Jersey. In die colonial period 59 ...

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