By the second decade of the eighteenth century, the city of Newport had become the center of Rhode Island's economic life.[10] The secular nature of Rhode Island's founding principles were deeply integrated into the physical plan of this city. Newport curled around a wide and deep bay whose fortuitous geography allowed for both an easy exit to the ocean and protection from storms on three sides. Numerous docks thrust out into the harbor, and at the central point of the harbor's arc, an earth-work pier called the Long Wharf stretched more than a third of a mile into the bay, providing moorings for the large trade vessels that frequently docked at Newport.
For the convenience of these traders, a large two-story brick market stood at the point where the Long Wharf met the land. A wide cobbled square was laid out on a gentle incline between the Long Wharf and the Colony House, the seat of Newport's government, creating a striking contrast to the typical grass-covered common and white church that could be found at the center of most towns and cities in colonial New England. [11] From the moment visitors stepped onto the Newport docks, they would have been acquainted with the character of the town. There was not a church in sight. It was clear that secular politics and profit ruled this city.
The focus on trade in Newport did not completely overwhelm the city's religious life, however. Scattered among the many rows of colonial houses were a variety of religious buildings where Baptists, Quakers, Congregationalists, Episcopalians, Moravians, and Jews went to worship (Newport was not only the center of Quaker life in New England, but also the center of Jewish life, boasting the first synagogue in America). In most cities in the American colonies, the dominant religions played an important role in shaping the style of governance. This was not the case in Newport. Rather, the members of these many sects came together in the secular pursuit of wealth. Newport's trade networks were originally founded upon pre-existing religious and familial links. By the early eighteenth century, Newport's commercial economy