Stephen Hopkins was an American political leader from
Rhode IslandThe state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
who signed the
Declaration of IndependenceThe Declaration of Independence was a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. John Adams put forth a...
. He served as the Chief Justice and
GovernorA governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
of the English
Colony of Rhode Island and Providence PlantationsThe Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was one of the original English Thirteen Colonies established on the east coast of North America that, after the American Revolution, became the modern U.S...
and was a Delegate to the
Colonial Congress in AlbanyThe Albany Congress, also known as the Albany Conference and "The Conference of Albany" or "The Conference in Albany", was a meeting of representatives from seven of the thirteen British North American colonies in 1754...
in 1754 and to the
Continental CongressThe Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....
from 1774 to 1776. Hopkins was also the first chancellor of the
College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations (predecessor to
Brown UniversityBrown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
) in conjunction with the presidency of the Baptist Reverend James Manning.
Hopkins was born in
Providence, Rhode IslandProvidence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
, the son of William and Ruth (Wilkinson) Hopkins. Hopkins' younger brother,
Esek HopkinsCommodore Esek Hopkins was the first and only Commander in Chief of the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War. He was also an accomplished merchant captain and privateer.-Early life and career:...
, became the first commander in chief of the
Continental NavyThe Continental Navy was the navy of the United States during the American Revolutionary War, and was formed in 1775. Through the efforts of the Continental Navy's patron, John Adams and vigorous Congressional support in the face of stiff opposition, the fleet cumulatively became relatively...
. Hopkins grew up on a farm in
Scituate, Rhode IslandScituate is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 10,329 at the 2010 census.-History:Scituate was first settled in 1710 by emigrants from Scituate, Massachusetts...
and was self educated. He moved back to Providence in 1742 and worked as a
foundryA foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal in a mold, and removing the mold material or casting after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals processed are aluminum and cast iron...
man,
merchantA merchant is a businessperson who trades in commodities that were produced by others, in order to earn a profit.Merchants can be one of two types:# A wholesale merchant operates in the chain between producer and retail merchant...
, ship owner, and surveyor.
At 19, he married Sarah Scott, with whom he had seven children, five of whom lived to maturity. Following Sarah's death, he married a widow named Anne Smith, but they did not have children together.
Early political career
When Scituate Township separated from Providence in 1732, Hopkins plunged into politics. During the next decade, he held the following elective or appointive offices: moderator of the first town meeting of Scituate, town clerk, president of the town council, town solicitor, justice of the peace, justice and clerk of the Providence County Court of Common Pleas (in 1732, he became Chief Justice of that court).
He served in Rhode Island's colonial assembly (1732–1752, 1770–1775) and was its Speaker from 1738 to 1744, and again in 1749. In 1754, he represented Rhode Island at the
Albany CongressThe Albany Congress, also known as the Albany Conference and "The Conference of Albany" or "The Conference in Albany", was a meeting of representatives from seven of the thirteen British North American colonies in 1754...
in New York, where he and others considered
Benjamin FranklinDr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
's early plan for uniting the colonies and arranging an alliance with the Indians, in view of the impending war with France. He was elected Governor of Rhode Island nine times (1755–1756, 1758–1761, 1763–1764, and 1767).
Founding a new nation
Hopkins spoke out against British tyranny long before the revolutionary period. In 1764 he published a pamphlet
"The Rights of the Colonies Examined" whose broad distribution and criticism of taxation and
ParliamentThe Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England. In 1066, William of Normandy introduced a feudal system, by which he sought the advice of a council of tenants-in-chief and ecclesiastics before making laws...
built his reputation as a revolutionary leader.
In 1773, he freed his slaves, and the following year, while serving in the Rhode Island Assembly in 1774, he introduced a bill that prohibited the importation of slaves into the colony. This became one of the first anti-slavery laws in the new
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
He led the colony's delegation to the Continental Congress later in 1774, along with Samuel Ward, and was a proud signer of the Declaration of Independence. He recorded his name with a trembling right hand, which he had to guide with his left. Hopkins had
cerebral palsyCerebral palsy is an umbrella term encompassing a group of non-progressive, non-contagious motor conditions that cause physical disability in human development, chiefly in the various areas of body movement....
, and was noted to have said, as he signed the Declaration, "My hand trembles, my heart does not." Hopkins is easily distinguishable in
John TrumbullJohn Trumbull was an American artist during the period of the American Revolutionary War and was notable for his historical paintings...
's famous
paintingJohn Trumbull's Declaration of Independence is a 12-by-18-foot oil-on-canvas painting in the United States Capitol Rotunda that depicts the presentation of the draft of the Declaration of Independence to Congress...
as the gentleman standing in the back wearing a hat.
John AdamsJohn Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...
appreciated Hopkins's contributions, writing:
"...Governor Hopkins of Rhode Island, above seventy Years of Age kept us all alive. Upon Business his Experience and judgment were very Usefull. But when the Business of the Evening was over, he kept Us in Conversation till Eleven and sometimes twelve O Clock. His Custom was to drink nothing all day nor till Eight O Clock, in the Evening, and then his Beveredge was Jamaica Spirit and Water. It gave him Wit, Humour, Anecdotes, Science and Learning. He had read Greek, Roman and British History: and was familiar with English Poetry particularly PopeAlexander Pope was an 18th-century English poet, best known for his satirical verse and for his translation of Homer. He is the third-most frequently quoted writer in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, after Shakespeare and Tennyson...
, Tompson [Thomson] and MiltonJohn Milton was an English poet, polemicist, a scholarly man of letters, and a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell...
. And the flow of his Soul made all his reading our own, and seemed to bring to recollection in all of Us all We had ever read. I could neither eat nor drink in those days. The other Gentlemen were very temperate. Hopkins never drank to excess, but all he drank was immediately not only converted into Wit, Sense, Knowledge and good humour, but inspired Us all with similar qualities."
Hopkins' knowledge of the shipping business made him particularly useful as a member of the naval committee established by Congress to purchase, outfit, man and operate the first ships of the new
Continental NavyThe Continental Navy was the navy of the United States during the American Revolutionary War, and was formed in 1775. Through the efforts of the Continental Navy's patron, John Adams and vigorous Congressional support in the face of stiff opposition, the fleet cumulatively became relatively...
. Through his participation on that committee, Hopkins was instrumental in framing naval legislation and drafting the rules and regulations necessary to govern the fledgling organization during the American War for Independence. The first American naval squadron was launched on February 18, 1776. Hopkins used his influence to secure the position of commander in chief of the new navy for his brother
Esek HopkinsCommodore Esek Hopkins was the first and only Commander in Chief of the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War. He was also an accomplished merchant captain and privateer.-Early life and career:...
, an appointment that proved to be unfortunate.
In September 1776, Hopkins' poor health forced him to resign from the Continental Congress and return to his home in Rhode Island. From 1777 to 1779, Hopkins remained an active member of Rhode Island's general assembly.
Stephen Hopkins died at his home in Providence on July 13, 1785, at the age of 78 and is interred in the
North Burial GroundThe North Burial Ground is a cemetery in Providence, Rhode Island, dating to 1700. Providence had no public burial ground and no Common until the year 1700 because Rhode Island's religious and government institutions were so rigorously kept distinct, dating back to its founding by Roger...
there.
Legacy
Hopkins helped to found a subscription library, the Providence Library Company, in 1753, and was a member of the Philosophical Society of
NewportNewport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
.
The town of
Hopkinton, Rhode IslandHopkinton is a town in Washington County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 8,188 at the 2010 census.The villages of Ashaway and Hope Valley are located in Hopkinton.-Geography:Hopkinton is found at 41.461 N latitude and 71.778 W longitude...
, was later named after him.
The
SS Stephen HopkinsThe SS Stephen Hopkins was a United States Merchant Marine Liberty ship that served in World War II. She was the first US ship to sink a German surface combatant during the war....
, a
liberty shipLiberty ships were cargo ships built in the United States during World War II. Though British in conception, they were adapted by the U.S. as they were cheap and quick to build, and came to symbolize U.S. wartime industrial output. Based on vessels ordered by Britain to replace ships torpedoed by...
named in his honor, was the first U.S. ship to sink a German surface warship in
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Hopkins is renowned in historical calligraphy as author of "the worst signature on the Declaration of Independence."
Foundation of Brown University
Although largely self-educated, Hopkins was instrumental in the establishment of the
College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence PlantationsBrown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
(now Brown University) as a founding trustee or fellow along with the Reverend James Manning, Samuel Ward,
John BrownJohn Brown I was an American merchant, slave trader, and statesman from Providence, Rhode Island. In 1764, John Brown joined his brothers Nicholas Brown and Moses Brown as well as William Ellery, the Baptist Reverend James Manning, the Baptist Reverend Isaac Backus, the Congregationalist Reverend...
,
Nicholas Brown, Sr.Nicholas Brown, Sr. was a Providence, Rhode Island merchant who co-founded the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, which was renamed Brown University after Brown's son Nicholas Brown, Jr. in 1804...
,
Moses BrownMoses Brown was a co-founder of Brown University and a New England abolitionist and industrialist, who funded the design and construction of some of the first factory houses for spinning machines during the American industrial revolution, including Slater Mill.-Early life:Brown was the son of...
, the Baptist Reverend
Isaac BackusIsaac Backus was a leading Baptist preacher during the era of the American Revolution who campaigned against state-established churches in New England....
, the Baptist Reverend
Samuel StillmanDr. Samuel Stillman was an American Baptist minister. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and raised in South Carolina, he married Hannah Morgan and took a pastorate in South Carolina for several years....
, and the Congregationalist Reverend
Ezra StilesEzra Stiles was an American academic and educator, a Congregationalist minister, theologian and author. He was president of Yale College .-Early life:...
. Hopkins served as Brown's first chancellor from 1764 to 1785.
http://www.brown.edu/Administration/Corporation/downloads/charter-of-brown-university.pdf His home on the Brown campus, the
Gov. Stephen Hopkins HouseThe Governor Stephen Hopkins House, built in 1708, is a museum and National Historic Landmark in Providence, Rhode Island that was the home of Stephen Hopkins, a governor of Rhode Island and signatory of the Declaration of Independence....
, is now a U.S.
National Historic LandmarkA National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
.
In fiction
In the musical
17761776 is a musical with music and lyrics by Sherman Edwards and a book by Peter Stone. The story is based on the events surrounding the signing of the Declaration of Independence...
, which tells the story of the drafting and signing of the Declaration of Independence, Stephen Hopkins is a main character, played by veteran character actor Roy Poole. He is depicted as a well-meaning, but cantankerous, maverick politician and drunkard, whose force of personality helps keep the Continental Congress together. When asked for his vote on opening debate on Virginia's resolution on independence, the representative from Rhode Island to the Continental Congress declares: "I’ve never seen, heard, nor smelled an issue that was so dangerous it couldn’t be talked about. Heck yes, I’m for debating anything!"
External links