Father of American Democracy, Thomas Hooker (1596-1647)

484 pp. Foreword by Donald C. Bergquist. A Pilgrim's guide to the England he knew, the great people, and the stirring events leading to his becoming a pre-eminent figure in the founding of Puritan New England. Includes maps, photographic illustrations, bibliography, index, and genealogical tables. "Thomas Hooker (July 5, 1586 – July 7, 1647) was a prominent English colonial leader, who founded the Colony of Connecticut after dissenting with Puritan leaders in Massachusetts. He was known as an outstanding speaker and an advocate of universal Christian suffrage. Called today "the Father of Connecticut", Rev. Thomas Hooker was a towering figure in the early development of colonial New England. He was one of the great preachers of his time, an erudite writer on Christian subjects, the first minister of Cambridge, Massachusetts, one of the first settlers and founders of both the city of Hartford and the state of Connecticut, and cited by many as the inspiration for the "Fundamental Orders of Connecticut", which some have called the world's first written democratic constitution establishing a representative government."