Stephen Hopkins
28th, 30th, 32nd, and 34th Governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
In office 1755–1757
Preceded by	William Greene
Succeeded by	William Greene
In office 1758–1762
Preceded by	William Greene
Succeeded by	Samuel Ward
In office 1763–1765
Preceded by	Samuel Ward
Succeeded by	Samuel Ward
In office 1767–1768
Preceded by	Samuel Ward
Succeeded by	Josias Lyndon
3rd, 5th, and 17th Chief Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court
In office May 1751 – May 1755
Preceded by	Joshua Babcock
Succeeded by	Francis Willet
In office August 1755 – May 1756
Preceded by	Francis Willet
Succeeded by	John Gardner
In office June 1770 – October 1775
Preceded by	James Helme
Succeeded by	John Cooke
Personal details
Born	March 7, 1707 Providence,Colony of Rhode Island, British America
Died	July 13, 1785 (aged 78) Providence,State of Rhode Island, U.S.
Spouse(s)	(1) Sarah Scott (2) Anne Smith
Relations	Martha Hopkins Round (sister)[1] Esek Hopkins, brother
Occupation	Surveyor, Politician, Chief Justice, Congressional Delegate, Governor
Known for	signer of theUnited States Declaration of Independence
Signature

Stephen Hopkins (March 7, 1707 – July 13, 1785) was aFounding Father of the United States.^[2] He served as governor of theColony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations,chief justice of theRhode Island Supreme Court, and was a signer of both theContinental Association andDeclaration of Independence. Hopkins was from a prominent Rhode Island family. His grandfather, William Hopkins, was an influential colonial politician, while his great-grandfatherThomas Hopkins was among theoriginal settlers ofProvidence Plantations. Thomas sailed from England in 1635 alongside his cousin,Benedict Arnold, who later became the first governor of the Rhode Island colony under theRoyal Charter of 1663.

As a child, Hopkins was a voracious reader, becoming a serious student of the sciences, mathematics, and literature. He became a surveyor and astronomer and was involved in taking measurements during the 1769transit of Venus across the Sun. He began his public service at age 23 as a justice of the peace in the newly established town ofScituate, Rhode Island. He soon became a justice of the Inferior Court of Common Pleas, while also serving at times as the speaker of the House of Deputies and president of the Scituate Town Council. While active in civic affairs, he also was part owner of an iron foundry and was a successful merchant who was portrayed inJohn Greenwood's 1750s satirical paintingSea Captains Carousing in Surinam. In May 1747, Hopkins was appointed as a justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court, serving until May 1749.^[3] He became the third chief justice of this body in May 1751, serving until May 1755.^[3] In 1755, he was elected to his first term as governor of the colony, and he served in this capacity for 9 out of the next 15 years.

One of the most contentious political issues of his day was the use of paper money versus hard currency. His bitter political rivalSamuel Ward championed hard currency, whereas Hopkins advocated the use of paper money. The rivalry between the two men became so heated that Hopkins sued Ward for £40,000, but he lost the case and had to pay costs. By the mid-1760s, the contention between the two men became a serious distraction to the government of the colony, and they attempted to placate each other—initially without success. Ultimately, both agreed to not run for office in 1768, andJosias Lyndon was elected governor of the colony as a compromise candidate.

In 1770, Hopkins once again became chief justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court, and he became a principal player in the colony's handling of the 1772Gaspee Affair, when a group of irate Rhode Island citizens boarded a British revenue vessel and burned it to the waterline. In 1774, he was given an additional important responsibility as one of Rhode Island's two delegates to theFirst Continental Congress, his former rival Samuel Ward being the other. Hopkins had become well known in theThirteen Colonies ten years earlier when he published a pamphlet entitledThe Rights of Colonies Examined which was critical of British Parliament and its taxation policies.

Hopkins signed the Declaration of Independence in the summer of 1776 with worseningpalsy in his hands. He signed it by holding his right hand with his left and saying, "My hand trembles, but my heart does not." He served in theContinental Congress until September 1776, when failing health forced him to resign. He was a strong backer of the College of the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations (later namedBrown University) and became the institution's first chancellor. He died in Providence in 1785 at age 78 and is buried in theNorth Burial Ground there. Hopkins has been called Rhode Island's greatest statesman. In 1774, Hopkins owned six or seven slaves, making him among the top five percent of slaveholders in Providence at the time.^[4]

Hopkins was born in Providence in theColony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, the second of nine children of William and Ruth (Wilkinson) Hopkins.^[5] His grandfather William Hopkins was very prominent in colonial affairs, having served for more than 40 years as a deputy from Providence, speaker of the House of Deputies, and major.^[6] His grandmother Abigail Whipple Hopkins was a daughter of Providence settlerJohn Whipple, sister of wealthy Providence merchantJoseph Whipple, and aunt to Deputy GovernorJoseph Whipple Jr.^[6] His great-grandfather was Thomas Hopkins, one of the earliest settlers ofProvidence Plantations.^[7] Thomas Hopkins was orphaned and raised by his uncleWilliam Arnold, and he sailed toNew England in 1635 with his Arnold relatives, including his cousinBenedict Arnold, who became the first governor of the colony under theRoyal Charter of 1663.^[6][7]

The early part of Hopkins's life was spent in the wooded northern part of Providence known as Chopmist Hill, an area that became Scituate, Rhode Island.^[8] There were no schools in this area at the time, but the books belonging to the family were supplemented by a small circulating collection and provided him with reading material, which he consumed voraciously. Historian Irving Richman refers to Hopkins as "a close and severe student, filling up all the spare hours of his life with reading."^[8] John Sanderson writes, "He attached himself in early youth to the study of books and men."^[9] Hopkins gained skills in surveying from his grandfather Samuel Wilkinson.^[8] He used his surveying skills to revise the streets and create a map of Scituate, and later he did the same for Providence.^[10] His father gave him 70 acres (28 ha) of land when he was 19 because of his responsibility as a youth, and his grandfather Hopkins gave him an additional 90 acres (36 ha).^[11]

Hopkins was interested in astronomy and other scientific endeavors, and he was involved in the observation of thetransit of Venus across the face of the Sun on June 3, 1769.Joseph Brown had obtained a complete set of the necessary instruments, including areflecting telescope, amicrometer, and asextant, and an observatory was erected on a hill in Providence (later named "Transit Street" in honor of the event). Brown was assisted by a group that included Hopkins,Benjamin West, and others who were also interested in science. The observation enabled them to very accurately determine the latitude of Providence to the nearestsecond of arc, after which the longitude was determined by comparing observations of theMoons of Jupiter with similar observations made in Cambridge, England.^[12] He was elected to the revivedAmerican Philosophical Society in 1768.^[13]

Hopkins began his public service in 1730 at age 23 when he became a justice of the peace in the newly formed town of Scituate, a position that he held until 1735.^[14] He also became the clerk of Scituate in 1731 which he held for 11 years until moving to Providence in 1742.^[15] Following his tenure as justice of the peace, he became a justice of the Inferior Court of Common Pleas and General Sessions from 1736 to 1746, serving as the clerk of the court for the last five of those years.^[16] Other positions that he held during this time period included president of the Town Council, deputy, and speaker of the House of Deputies.^[15] In 1744, he was elected as a deputy from Providence, which he held for seven years, and he was the speaker of the House of Deputies during two of those years.^[17]

In 1742, Hopkins sold his farm in Scituate and moved to the settled part of Providence.^[10] Here he devoted much energy to commercial interests which helped Providence grow.^[17] He became a merchant who built, owned, and outfitted ships, and he was part owner of the privateering vesselReprisal in 1745, in partnership with John Mawney, sheriff of Providence and son of ColonelPeter Mawney.^[18] In the mid-1750s, Boston portraitistJohn Greenwood was commissioned by a group of sea captains and merchants, including Hopkins, to create a satirical painting. The men were stopped at a major trading port inSuriname on the north coast of South America where Greenwood was living at the time. Greenwood concocted a 22-figure tavern scene, showing himself among the affluent traders, many of whom were caricatured as intoxicated.^[19]

One of Hopkins's enterprises later in life was as a manufacturer, and he became a partner with brothersMoses,Nicholas,Joseph, andJohn Brown in establishing the Hope Furnace.^[18] This enterprise was concerned with iron works which made pig iron and cannons for use during theRevolutionary War.^[20] Hopkins's sonRufus managed the business for four decades.^[18]

In 1755, Hopkins was elected to his first term as governor, defeating his predecessorWilliam Greene by a small margin.^[17] The year was mostly occupied with legislation and work related to the pending war with France.Braddock'sdefeat and the occupation ofCrown Point led the colony to send forces toAlbany. Late in the previous year, Hopkins and his Attorney-General Daniel Updike were delegates from Rhode Island to theAlbany Congress, which convened to discuss the common defense of the collective colonies and to hold a conference with the five Indian tribes to secure their assistance in thwarting French encroachment.^[17][21] He and others consideredBenjamin Franklin's early plan for uniting the colonies, but the principles of the plan were rejected in both the colonies and Great Britain.^[22] As the war with France developed in February 1756, the General Assembly ordered the raising of 500 Rhode Island men for theexpedition to Lake George in New York.^[17]

After two years in office, Hopkins was defeated by William Greene for the governorship, but Greene died in office in February 1758, and Hopkins once again became governor.^[23] The most divisive political issue of the day was the use of hard money, or specie, versus the use of paper money, and Hopkins sided with paper.^[24] Another issue was Newport interests versus Providence interests.^[17] For several years, Hopkins was locked in a bitter rivalry withSamuel Ward ofWesterly, a strong supporter of hard currency and also a champion of Newport, and Hopkins sued Ward for slander, putting damages at £40,000. The case was moved to Massachusetts for a fair trial; the judgment went against Hopkins by default in 1759, and he paid the costs.^[24]

For ten years, the two men went back and forth as Governor of the colony, each at the head of a powerful party.^[24] Ward led the wealth and conservatism of Newport, Narragansett, and Kent County, while Hopkins represented the growing strength of Providence and Bristol Counties. The two men had been likened to gladiators in an arena, thirsting for each other's life.^[23] Hopkins eventually lost to Ward, who was finally elected Governor in 1762.^[25]

In 1763, Hopkins won back the governorship, and signs of reason between the two men appeared the following year when Ward wrote to Hopkins proposing that both resign their "pretensions to the chief seat of government."^[23] On the same day, without the knowledge of this letter, Hopkins wrote to Ward inviting him to accept the position of deputy governor, which had just been vacated by the death ofJohn Gardner.^[26] Neither man accepted the proposal of the other, but the stage had been set for future cooperation.^[26]

In early 1765, theStamp Act was passed by both houses of Parliament in England. This act was a scheme for taxing the colonies, directing that all commercial and legal documents must be written on stamped paper sold at fixed prices by governmental officers, and also directing that a duty be applied to newspapers. Parliament assumed the right to tax the colonies and put additional duties on sugar, coffee, and other articles, and required that lumber and iron from the colonies only be exported to England.^[25]

The news of the act infuriated Americans, andSamuel Adams of Massachusetts invited all the colonies to a congress of delegates to meet in New York to discuss relief from the unjust taxes. The Rhode Island General Assembly passed resolutions in August 1765 following the lead ofPatrick Henry ofVirginia. Rhode Island's appointed stamp distributor was Attorney General Augustus Johnson, who refused to execute his office "against the will of our Sovereign Lord the People."^[25] The Rhode Island General Assembly met again atEast Greenwich in September 1765, choosing delegates to the New York congress and appointing a committee to consider the Stamp Act.^[27] The committee reported six resolutions that pointed to absolving all allegiance to the British Crown unless the grievances were removed. The Stamp Act was repealed in 1766, with news reaching America in May to public rejoicing.^[28]

In 1764, an act was passed incorporating the college in Rhode Island. Ward and Hopkins both strongly supported an institution of higher learning within the colony, and both became trustees ofRhode Island College.^[26] Hopkins also became one of the school's most generous supporters and the school's first chancellor, which position he held until his death in 1785.^[25]

Rhode Island's election of 1767 was as hotly contested as ever, but Hopkins beat Ward by the widest margin of any of their previous elections. In 1768, Hopkins proposed to Ward that the two men should relinquish their claims on the elections and agree to a compromise candidate. Ward accepted the proposal,Josias Lyndon was elected as governor, and Ward and Hopkins met and united in a cordial friendship for the remainder of their lives.^[29]

In November 1764, the Rhode Island General Assembly published Hopkins's pamphletThe Rights of Colonies Examined.^[26] This pamphlet was directed primarily at the Stamp Act and helped build Hopkins's reputation as a revolutionary leader, with its broad distribution and criticism of taxation and Parliament.^[30] The text begins, "Liberty is the greatest blessing that men enjoy, and slavery the heaviest curse that human nature is capable of;" it goes on to present a clear and logical review of the relationship of the American colonies with England. The paper received widespread circulation and brought hearty approval from throughout the colonies. HistorianThomas Bicknell called it "the most remarkable document that was issued during the period preceding the War of the Revolution." Massachusetts GovernorThomas Hutchinson wrote of the paper, "it was conceived in a higher strain than any that were sent out by other colonies." It was printed widely, and Hopkins became recognized as one of the leaders of public opinion in the colonies.^[29]

In May 1747, Hopkins was first appointed as a justice of theRhode Island Superior Court, whose long title was the "Superior Court of Judicature, Court Of Assize, and General Gaol Delivery."^[31] In 1751, he became thethird Chief Justice of this court, which he held until 1755 when he became governor.^[32] Hopkins was once again appointed as Chief Justice of the court in 1770 after a total of nine years as governor; he served until October 1775 while simultaneously serving as a delegate to theContinental Congress.^[33]

One of the most important events with which Hopkins dealt during his final tenure as Chief Justice was theGaspee Affair. In March 1772, Deputy GovernorDarius Sessions in Providence sent a letter of concern to GovernorJoseph Wanton in Newport, having consulted with Chief Justice Hopkins. Sessions expressed alarm that the British schoonerGaspee had been cruising theNarragansett Bay, disrupting the traffic by stopping and searching commercial ships.^[34] Sessions wrote:

I have consulted with the Chief Justice thereon, who is of the opinion that no commander of any vessel has any right to use any authority in the Body of the Colony without previously applying to the Governor and showing his warrant for so doing and also being sworn to a due exercise of his office – and this he informs me has been the common custom in this Colony.^[34]

Sessions went on to request that the governor take measures to bring the ship's commander to account. A chain of threatening correspondence ensued between the governor andGaspee's commander LieutenantWilliam Dudingston, and Dudingston's superior AdmiralJohn Montagu. On the night of June 9–10, a party of incensed colonists attacked the vessel and burned it to the waterline.^[18] Officially, Sessions was outraged at the incident and offered the colony's assistance in bringing the perpetrators to justice. To ameliorate retribution by the British authorities, Rhode Island officials took visible steps to find the culprits who burned the ship.^[18] Behind the scenes, however, Sessions and Hopkins did all they could to thwart any attempts to identify the attackers.

A royal commission was appointed by the Crown to investigate the incident, which demanded that any indicted person be sent to London for trial. This prompted the colonists to form theCommittees of Correspondence.^[18]LoyalistMassachusetts GovernorHutchinson further aggravated the colonists' sensitivities by urging the Crown to rescind theRhode Island Royal Charter.^[18]

Sessions conferred with Chief Justice Hopkins, lawyer John Cole, andMoses Brown, and the four men drafted a letter to Massachusetts' statesmanSamuel Adams. Adams replied by urging Rhode Island to remain defiant, or at least to stall matters by appealing the creation of the royal commission.^[18] Governor Wanton was put at the head of this commission but was compliant with Sessions' and Hopkins's attempts to frustrate the aims of the commission.^[18] Sessions, Hopkins, and others coordinated their efforts to lose evidence, threaten potential witnesses, and discredit those who testified. The vast majority of Rhode Island's citizens were supportive of the attackers and kept quiet about their identities. A year after the incident, the royal commission was terminated without a single indictment.^[18]

In 1774, theFirst Continental Congress convened, and both Ward and Hopkins were chosen as the delegates from Rhode Island. Hopkins, at age 68, was senior to every delegate there, and only he andBenjamin Franklin had attended theAlbany Congress 20 years earlier.^[35] Over the previous several years, Hopkins had developed palsy in his hands, and this greatly affected his ability to write. At the seating of this congress, Henry Arniett Brown wrote, "yonder sits the oldest of them all. His form is bent, his thin locks, fringing a forehead bowed with age and honorable service, and his hands shake tremulously as he folds them in his lap. It is Stephen Hopkins."^[35]

The congress was called to protest the actions of Great Britain and to secure the rights and privileges of the 13 colonies. Both Hopkins and Ward had already predicted that independence would only come with war. Hopkins told his associates in Congress, "Powder and ball will decide this question. The gun and bayonet alone will finish the contest in which we are engaged, and any of you who cannot bring your minds to this mode of adjusting the quarrel, had better retire in time."^[35]

Hopkins was again elected as a delegate to theSecond Continental Congress which met on May 10, 1775, following the Aprilattacks on Concord and Lexington.^[35] This congress convened to manage the war effort, and eventually declared independence from Great Britain. In July 1775, they adopted a national postal system that was devised byWilliam Goddard, with Benjamin Franklin appointed as the firstPostmaster General. This was an idea that had already been implemented in Rhode Island a month earlier.^[36] In December 1775, Hopkins was on a committee to report a plan for furnishing the colonies with naval armament. His 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 newContinental Navy. Hopkins was instrumental in framing naval legislation and drafting the rules and regulations necessary to govern the fledgling organization during theAmerican 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 brotherEsek Hopkins, an appointment that proved to be unfortunate.^[37]

The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations declared its absolute independence from Great Britain by a nearly unanimous vote on May 4, 1776; the Continental Congress adopted theUnited States Declaration of Independence two months later on July 2. Hopkins had to support his palsied right hand with his left as he signed the document, remarking, "my hand trembles, but my heart does not."^[36] The gathering of theFounding Fathers was depicted inJohn Trumbull'sDeclaration of Independence, where Hopkins is pictured standing in the back wearing a hat.^[38][39][40]

John Adams appreciated Hopkins's contributions during the congressional sessions:

Governor Hopkins of Rhode Island, above seventy Years of Age kept us all alive. Upon Business his Experience and judgment were very Useful. 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 wasJamaica 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 particularlyPope,Tompson andMilton. 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.^[41]

Stephen Hopkins was a slave owner, like the majority of the signers of theDeclaration of Independence, and he mentioned five slaves in his 1760 will^[42] consisting of a man, woman, and three boys. They were bequeathed to close members of his family with instructions for their care; this was highly unusual for any slave owner. The woman was named Fibbo (or Phibo, Phebe) and was to go to his wife Anne and be treated "so that Servitude may not be a Burthen to her"; the man was named Saint Jago and was to go to his oldest son Rufus and be treated "so that his Life may be rendered easy and comfortable." The will was never proved because Hopkins lived another 25 years, and circumstances changed its provisions.^[43]

On October 28, 1772, Hopkins freed Saint Jago and wrote the following in the manumission document:

But, principally, and most of all finding that the merciful and beneficent goodness of Almighty God; by the blessed Gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord: hath by the blessed Spirit taught all, who honestly obey its Divine Dictates, that, the keeping any of his rational Creatures in Bondage, who are capable of taking care of, and providing for themselves in a State of Freedom: is, altogather inconsistent with his Holy and Righteous Will.^[44]

Hopkins felt that the bondage of self-sufficient "rational creatures" was against God's will; he also thought that unconditional freedom for some slaves would be irresponsible on his part. To this end, he refused to free his woman slave Fibbo, even though it cost him his membership in the Quaker meeting.^[44] His rationale was that "she had Children that needed the Immediate Care of a Mother."^[45] It appears that Hopkins's remaining slaves were not freed until after his death, but at least two of them (Primus and Bonner Jr.) had been living semi-independently for several years before his death.^[46]

Hopkins introduced a bill in 1774 while serving in theRhode Island Assembly which prohibited the importation of slaves into the colony.^[47] This became one of the first anti-slave trade laws in the United States.^[48] There were several pressures occurring in the colony which led to greater restrictions on the slave trade, the greatest of which was the pressure applied by the Quakers, who were a large percentage of Rhode Island's population.^[49]

In September 1776, poor health forced Hopkins to resign from the Continental Congress and return to his home in Rhode Island, though he remained an active member of Rhode Island's general assembly from 1777 to 1779. He died at his home in Providence on July 13, 1785, at age 78, and he is buried in theNorth Burial Ground there.^[50]

Hopkins helped to found theProvidence Library Company in 1753, and he was a member of the Philosophical Society ofNewport.^[51][52] The town ofHopkinton, Rhode Island was named after him. TheSSStephen Hopkins is aliberty ship named in his honor, and it was the first U.S. ship to sink a German surface warship inWorld War II.^[18]

Hopkins was instrumental in the establishment of theCollege in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations (now Brown University) as a founding trustee. He served as Brown's first chancellor from 1764 to 1785.^[53]His home was originally located at the corner of Hopkins and South Main Streets in Providence, but it was moved twice after his death, both times to other locations on Hopkins Street. It is now located at 15 Hopkins Street, at the corner of Benefit Street, on the edge of theBrown University campus, and is aNational Historic Landmark.^[18]

In his diary, the ReverendEzra Stiles wrote of Hopkins, "I well knew Gov. Hopkins. He was a man of penetrating astutious Genius, full of Subtlety, deep Cunning, intriguing & enterprizing." Stiles added that Hopkins was a "man of a Noble fortitude & resolution" and "a glorious Patriot!"^[54] Hopkins has been given strong accolades from numerous historians, including Sanderson,Arnold, andBicknell, but Richman simply called him "the greatest statesman of Rhode Island."^[55]

Hopkins married Sarah Scott in 1726, the daughter of Sylvanus Scott and Joanna Jenckes and a descendant ofProvidence Plantations settlersRichard Scott and Katharine Marbury; Marbury was the youngest sister ofAnne Hutchinson.^[20] Richard Scott was the first Quaker in Providence.^[56]

Hopkins had seven children, five of whom lived to maturity. His wife died on September 9, 1753, at age 46, and Hopkins married Anne Smith, the daughter of Benjamin Smith. They did not have children together. Hopkins's younger brotherEsek Hopkins became the first commander in chief of theContinental Navy, and his brother William became a celebrated merchant.^[57] Hopkins's cousin was Quaker preacherJemima Wilkinson, with whom he was friends.^[58]

• List of colonial governors of Rhode Island
• List of chief justices of the Rhode Island Supreme Court
• List of Brown University people
• Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
• Memorial to the 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence
• Other organizations the signer belonged to

• Arnold, Samuel Greene (1894).History of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. Vol. 2. Providence: Preston and Rounds.ISBN 9781429022767.{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
• Austin, John Osborne (1887).Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island. Albany, New York: J. Munsell's Sons.ISBN 978-0-8063-0006-1.{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
• Bamberg, Cherry Fletcher; Hopkins, Donald R. (January 2012). "The Slaves of Gov. Stephen Hopkins".New England Historical and Genealogical Register.33:11–27.ISBN 978-0-7884-0293-7.
• Bicknell, Thomas Williams (1920).The History of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. Vol. 3. New York: The American Historical Society.OCLC 1953313.
• Browning, Charles Henry (1883).Americans of Royal Descent. Philadelphia: Porter & Coates.
• Moriarity, G. Andrews (April 1944). "Additions and Corrections to Austin's Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island".The American Genealogist.20:224–25.
• Richman, Irving Berdine (1905).Rhode Island: A Study in Separatism. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. p. 191.Stephen Hopkins.
• Sanderson, John; Conrad, Robert Taylor (1846).Biography of the Signers to the Declaration of Independence. Philadelphia: Thomas, Cowperthwait & Company.Stephen Hopkins.
• Smith, Joseph Jencks (1900).Civil and Military List of Rhode Island, 1647–1800. Providence, RI: Preston and Rounds, Co.hopkins.
• Staples, William R. (1845).The Documentary History of the Destruction of the Gaspee. Providence: Knowles, Vose, and Anthony.Hopkins.

Online sources

• "'1776,' the Musical Still Tugs at America's Heart". The Georgetowner. March 15, 2012. RetrievedMay 18, 2012.
• "Burton family". Rootsweb at Ancestry.com. 2012. RetrievedMay 19, 2012.
• "Charter of Brown University"(PDF). Brown University. 1945. RetrievedOctober 27, 2012.
• "Colonial American Merchants Satirized in Art"(PDF). National Humanities Center. 2009. RetrievedSeptember 18, 2012.
• "Coyne Genealogy (Amey Whipple & Robert Gibbs)". Rootsweb at Ancestry.com. 2012. RetrievedMay 19, 2012.
• "Ford's Brings History Alive by Humanizing Founding Fathers". The Washington Diplomat. May 2012. RetrievedMay 18, 2012.
• "Governor (and Chief Justice) Stephen Hopkins (1707–1785)". Gaspee Virtual Archives. July 2009. RetrievedMay 12, 2012.
• "Interactive John Trumbull's "Declaration of Independence"". Quiz-tree.com. RetrievedMay 18, 2012.
• "John Adams autobiography part 1". Massachusetts Historical Society. Archived fromthe original on February 11, 2012. RetrievedNovember 11, 2008.
• "Key to "Declaration of Independence". American Revolution.org. RetrievedMay 18, 2012.
• "Key to Trumbull's Declaration of Independence". wikimedia.org. RetrievedMay 18, 2012.
• "Memorable quotes for 1776". IMDb. 2012. RetrievedOctober 27, 2012.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toStephen Hopkins (politician).

• Chronological list of Rhode Island leadersArchived April 2, 2021, at theWayback Machine
• Stephen Hopkins's BiographyArchived September 6, 2006, at theWayback Machine by Rev. Charles A. Goodrich (1856) at ColonialHall.com
• United States Congress."Stephen Hopkins (id: H000781)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Encyclopedia BrunonianaArchived July 10, 2019, at theWayback Machine
• Biography VI - Stephen HopkinsArchived May 2, 2008, at theWayback Machine
• Report of the Brown University Steering Committee on Slavery and Justice
• National Park Service biography

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