Politics & Government
Coventry Man, Former Secretary of State Inman, Joins Predecessors for Historic State House Announcement
Four decades of Secretaries of State gather for the historic announcement.
PROVIDENCE - Former Secretaries of State Kathleen Connell, Jim Langevin and Ed Inman of Coventry joined Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis at the State House to announce plans to celebrate the 350th anniversary of Rhode Island’s Royal Charter of 1663.
Mollis recognized his predecessors for their work preserving the historic document, which was the first to grant English colonists religious freedom and introduced the famous phrase “lively experiment.”
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Plans include a professional restoration of the Charter, creating a Charter exhibit room at the State House, a State House gala and a public forum on the Charter’s influence on the First Amendment featuring U.S. Supreme Court Justice Kagan.
Housed in a steel vault since 1915, the Charter is on display outside the Senate Chamber on the second floor of the State House. Connell served as Secretary of State from 1987-1993. Langevin served from 1997-2001. Inman served from 2001-2003. Mollis has been Secretary of State since 2007.
