's Charter of the Massachusetts colonists; this challenge he based on his belief in the separation of spiritual and material rights. Returning to Salem in 1633, Williams became snarled in the debate over the General Court's oath of allegiance, again arguing from his position of the distinction between civil and religious policy. In 1634 he was invited by the Salem congregation to become their pastor. This threatened the very reason for the colonys existence. As a result, in 1635 a very upset and scandalized General Court ordered that he be sent back to England in order to keep him from upsetting the politics of the colonies any further. Therefore, the leaders of Massachusetts tried him and threw him out to keep others from following his ideas. To avoid deportation, Williams left Salem and went south to an Indian settlement. At the mouth of the Moshassuck River, among the Narragansett Indians and a group of Englishmen, he founded the settlement he called Providence. (Polishook) Roger Williams also disagreed with how the Puritans treated the Indians and their land. Land rights of Native Americans were never taken seriously. Rather, they were seen as obstacles to the colonists need for land. The Puritans did not respect the farms of Native Americans. Any evaluation of Roger Williams's significance in early America must necessarily begin with his demand for the absolute religious freedom that has now become one of the most important features of the American way of life. In addition, his accomplishments included the founding of a colony on principles of political democracy and religious equality and the writing of widely influential literary tracts defending the idea of soul liberty; a principle of unquestioned rights for enlightened Americans today (Lauter). These and all his works were drawn from the fountain of Williams's highest principle: love of God, man, and truth....
