Stephen Hopkins (politician)

Stephen Hopkins ( born March 7, 1707 Providence, Rhode Iceland, colony of the Kingdom of Great Britain, USA Today, † July 13, 1785 ibid ) signed the Declaration of Independence for Rhode Iceland to the United States, making it one of the founding fathers of the United States.

Hopkins was the only son of William and Ruth Hopkins, nee Wilkinson. He grew up on a farm in Scituate and attended the public school. In 1742 he moved back to Providence and worked as a merchant, ship owner and surveyor. Hopkins helped in 1754 to found the subscription library, and was a member of the Philosophical Society of Newport. Although he was largely self-taught, Hopkins served from 1764 to 1785 as chancellor of Rhode Iceland College (now Brown University ). In 1764 he published the pamphlet "Investigation of the rights of the colonies ", the wide distribution and its critique of taxation and the Parliament established his reputation as a leader in the American independence movement. Hopkins suffered from cerebral palsy and has been known to say at the signing of the Declaration of Independence: " May my hands are shaking, my heart does not. "

Hopkins served from 1732 to 1752 and from 1770 to 1775 in the colonial Parliament Rhode Island, and from 1738 to 1744 and 1749 as its speaker. He represented Rhode Iceland 1754 at the Albany Congress and was elected governor of the colony of Rhode Iceland ( 1755-1756, 1758-1761, 1763-1764 and 1767) nine times. During his time in Parliament of Rhode Iceland Hopkins brought in 1774 a bill that banned the importation of slaves into the colony. It was one of the first anti-slavery laws in the United States. He led the state delegation to the Continental Congress until September 1776, when his health forced him to leave his post. Hopkins died at his home in Providence, and was buried there on the North Cemetery.

The town of Hopkinton was named after him. The SS Stephen Hopkins, a Liberty cargo ship named in his honor, was the first U.S. ship that sank a German surface ship in World War II.