Mr. Nussbaum - Thomas Hooker Biography

This is a short biography on Connecticut founder Thomas Hooker.

Thomas Hooker

The Father of Connecticut

Known as the "Father of Connecticut," Thomas Hooker was widely known as an outstanding preacher, prolific writer, theologian, and inspiration of the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, the state's first constitution. Hooker was from modern day Cambridge (then Newtown), Massachusetts, but became disillusioned with the strict Puritans laws that governed the colony. Only male church members who owned property were allowed to vote. Hooker believed in universal suffrage and opposed the idea that voting should be predicated on church membership. He believed that governing bodies should answer to those that are governed. At odds with the Puritan leadership in Massachusetts, Hooker and 100 of his followers traveled an old Indian road known as the Connecticut Path to modern-day Hartford, Connecticut. Hooker's teachings and sermons gave rise to the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut which established a civil government as well as assured Connecticut was a separate colony from Massachusetts.