Founder of Connecticut Colony: Thomas Hooker

The Connecticut Colony was founded in 1636 by Reverend Thomas Hooker, a prominent Puritan minister who led approximately 100 settlers from the Massachusetts Bay Colony to the Connecticut River Valley.

Hooker's Background

• Born ~1586 in Leicestershire, England
• Cambridge-educated; prominent Puritan preacher in Essex
• Fled to Netherlands (1630) under Archbishop Laud's persecution
• Emigrated to Massachusetts (1633); minister at Newtown (Cambridge)

Founding the Colony

• Motivation: Land pressure, desire for more autonomous governance, theological differences with MA leaders
• Journey: June 1636 — overland trek with families, livestock, belongings (2 weeks)
• Settlements: Hartford, Windsor, Wethersfield — became core river towns
• Government: Hooker's Fundamental Orders (1639) — considered first written constitution in America, establishing representative government not limited to church members

Key Contributions

• Democratic innovation: "The foundation of authority is laid in the free consent of the people"
• Religious tolerance advocacy: Argued for broader suffrage beyond church membership
• Oratorical leadership: Sermon on Deuteronomy 1:13 ("choose wise men") inspired Fundamental Orders
• Intercolonial diplomacy: Negotiated with Native nations (Pequot War), other colonies

Legacy

• Died 1647 (epidemic); buried in Hartford's Ancient Burying Ground
• Statue at Connecticut State Capitol
• Hooker's "Free Consent" principle influenced US Constitution
• Descendants include J.P. Morgan, multiple governors, senators

Hooker exemplifies the "Puritan as democrat"—using covenant theology to justify popular sovereignty, laying groundwork for American constitutionalism.