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The case for World Heritage status

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CONTENTS

3 Executive Order from Rhode Island Governor

4 Our Mission

5 Who We Are

6 World Heritage Convention

7 World Heritage in the U.S.

8 Our Concept: Outstanding Universal Value

9 Our Concept: Description of Site

10 Our Concept: Comparative Analysis

11 Nominating Process

12 Timeline

13 Press

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WHEREAS, the U.S. Department of the Interior has announced it will update the Tentative List of sites eligible for consideration as a World Heritage site;

WHEREAS, in 2008, the U.S. National Park Service recognized the nomination submitted by the Newport World Heritage Organization, entitled “Application for Inclusion of a Property in the U.S. World Heritage Tentative List – Colonial Newport and the “Lively Experiment” as “worthy of future consideration” as a U.S. World Heritage site;

WHEREAS, Newport’s promising nomination should be updated and resubmitted in order to be more competitive in achieving a place on the Tentative List; and

WHEREAS, World Heritage recognition of Colonial Newport’s “outstanding universal value” can be expected to strengthen national and international recognition of Rhode Island’s abundant historic sites and structures and assist in attracting engaged travelers to visit this state and enjoy its resources.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, LINCOLN D. CHAFEE, by virtue of the authority vested in me as Governor of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations do hereby order as follows:

1. The Newport World Heritage Commission is created.2. The Governor shall serve as Honorary Chairman of the Commission3. Members of the Commission shall be appointed by the Governor and serve at the Governor’s pleasure4. The Commission shall:

• Prepare a revised World Heritage nomination proposal to be submitted to the National Park Service to be considered for inclusion on the U.S.Tentative List;

• Solicit and accept grant and charitable funds or in-kind contributions from public and private individuals and organizations to support this effort.5. This Executive Order shall remain into effect until December 31, 2016 or the date on which the Secretary of Interior completes the Tentative List process,

whichever is first.

Establishing the Newport World Heritage Commission

State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations • October 21, 2014

EXECUTIVE ORDER

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• Tell Rhode Island’s important story of religious freedom, tolerance, and inclusion

• Support tourism in Rhode Island, particularly from international locations

• Encourage the preservation and celebration of significant Rhode Island sites and structures

OUR MISSION

Achieve inscription of Colonial Newport and Providence as a World Heritage site in order to:

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Mark BrodeurCommerce RI

Paul CarrollNewport Civic Investment

Meryle CawleyTouro Synagogue FoundationErin Donovan-BoyleNewport County Chamber of Commerce

Mohamad Farzan AIAAmerican Institute of Architects

Garry Fischer MDRedwood Library

Linford Fisher Ph.DBrown University

Ronald Lee FlemingUS/ICOMOS Board of Trustees

Elizabeth Francis Ph.DRI Council for the Humanities

Tom GoddardNewport Historical Society

C. Morgan Grefe Ph.DRI Historical Society

John Hattendorf Ph.DUS Naval War College

Eric HertfelderNewport World Heritage Committee

Karen Jessup Ph.DNational Trust for Historic Preservation

Ed KanePreservation Society of Newport County

Hasan-Udin Khan RIBARoger Williams University

William Leeman Ph.DSalve Regina University

Paul McGreevyRI Director of Business Regulation

Karen MellorRI Information & Library Services

Michael J. Murray Esq.Attorney, Newport Business

Naomi NevilleNeville Architecture

Ronald Onorato Ph.DUniversity of Rhode Island

Mary RiggsNational Society of Colonial Dames

Pieter RoosNewport Restoration Foundation

Ted SandersonRI Hist. Preservation & Heritage Com

Timothy SandifordArchaeologist/ GIS Specialist

Bailey SiletchnikRI Jewish Historical Asso, Touro Board

Evan SmithDiscover Newport

Jonathan StevensGovernor Lincoln Chafee

Joyce Stevos, Ph.DRhode Island Black Heritage Society

Val TalmagePreserve RI

Ruth TaylorNewport Historical Society

Kaitlynne WardRI State Collections Manager

Jeremy Wells, Ph.DRoger Williams University

Jo YellisNewport World Heritage Committee

Ken YellisNewport World Heritage Committee

Richard YoungkenNational Trust for Historic Preservation

COMMISSIONMEMBERS

WHO WE ARE

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• The Convention establishes the World Heritage Committee (WHC) as a unit of UNESCO

• The WHC’s 21 member countries meet annually to consider nominations and other matters

• Its Advisory Bodies include:– ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites) for cultural properties– IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) for natural properties

• The WHC oversees development of the World Heritage List, a compendium of natural and cultural propertiesdetermined to have an adequate protective structure and outstanding universal value– Member countries are limited to two nominations per year– As of 2015, there are 1,031 sites on the List, 23 of which are in the United States and its territories

An international treaty adopted in 1972 through which ratifying nations agree to cooperate to conserve and protect their cultural and natural heritage sites, particularly those that have been determined to possess outstanding universal value.

WORLD HERITAGE CONVENTION

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The World Heritage program in the U.S. is administered by the National Park Service.Under U.S. law, all private properties submitted for nomination must have the owners’ written consent. World Heritage designation does not subject properties to United Nations jurisdiction in any way.As of 2015, the following U.S. sites have made it to the World Heritage List; they are listed in order of inscription:• Mesa Verde National Park (AZ)• Yellowstone National Park (WY)• Everglades National Park (FL)• Grand Canyon National Park (CO)• Independence Hall (PA)• Wrangell-St. Elias/Glacier Bay National Park (AK)• Redwood National Park (CA)• Mammoth Cave National Park (KY)• Olympic National Park (WA)• Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site (IL)• Great Smoky Mountains National Park (TN)• La Fortaleza/San Juan National Historic Site (Puerto Rico)

• Statue of Liberty (NY)• Yosemite National Park (CA)• Chaco Culture (NM)• Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (HI)• Monticello and the University of Virginia (VA)• Taos Pueblo (NM)• Carlsbad Caverns National Park (NM)• Waterton Glacier International Peace Park (Montana/Alberta)• Papahānaumokuākea (HI)• Monumental Earthworks of Poverty Point (LA)• San Antonio Missions (TX)

WORLD HERITAGE IN THE U.S.

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Rhode Island’s “lively experiment” in religious freedom and toleration represents a singular innovation in the modern world where:

• Full religious freedom was legally guaranteed to all

• A wall of separation was established between church and state

• Religious freedom and toleration proved robust, persistent, and influential

Outstanding Universal Value

OUR CONCEPT

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Colonial Newport and Providence bear unique witness to the embrace of religious and cultural diversity as physically manifested in the configuration of public spaces and structures that were the armatureof community life.

The ensemble bears witness to the power of an idea of freedom and acceptance that emerged out of more than a century of religious strife.

NEWPORTColony House (1740)Brick Market (1762)Great Friends Meeting House (1699)Trinity Church (1725)Touro Synagogue (1763)Redwood Library & Athenaeum (1747)Common Burying Ground (1660s)

PROVIDENCERoger Williams National MemorialFirst Baptist Church in America (1774-1775)University Hall (1770)Market House (1775)Tillinghast Burial Ground (1660s)

Description of Site

OUR CONCEPT

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LOCATION FOUNDED FULL RELIGIOUS LIBERTY?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Virginia 1607 NO. Anglicanism established. Protestant hegemony, with Catholics explicitly forbidden. Quakers also targeted,

with laws established forbidding blasphemy, etc.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Bermuda 1609 NOT ENTIRELY. Protestant plurality of Anglicans, Presbyterians, Independents, Anabaptists, and Quakers.

Church of England established, although officially in 1691 liberty was given to all to worship in their own way.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Plymouth 1620 NO. Local unofficial Protestant toleration, but laws against Quakers.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Barbados and 1627 NO. Church of England ascendent; Catholic worship in public not tolerated, although Quakers, Anabaptists, Leeward Islands and Jews were present; seems only Anglicans allowed to use churches.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Maryland 1632 NO. Religious liberty for Trinitarian Christians only; penalties for blasphemy (i.e. re: blessed virgin, apostles, or

evangelists), anti-Trinitarianism, and not observing the Sabbath; explicit protection of Catholicism.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Rhode Island 1636 YES. Full religious liberty; no blasphemy provisions or penalties; Jews present by 1658; Roger Williams

argued for full religious liberty even for atheists, Turks, and Catholics; no established church; church and state separate.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Connecticut 1639 NO. Toleration for Trinitarian Christians.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________New Hampshire 1639 NO. Toleration for Christians/Protestants, but privileged Congregationalism.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Jamaica 1655 NO. Protestant toleration; Catholicism suppressed; after the Restoration (1660), Church of England established;

blasphemy laws.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Breda 1660 NO. Charles II requested “liberty to tender consciences”; used some of the language that shows up later in the (Netherlands) RI charter.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Bombay 1665 NO. Strong Catholic (Jesuit) presence; Catholics could worship freely at first; some Catholic property seized;

local natives not allowed to worship publicly.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Carolinas 1669 NO. Officially colony open to Jews, heathens, and dissenters, but required to acknowledge that there was a

God who should be publicly worshiped; atheists, scoffers, and non-monotheists excluded.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________New York 1674 NOT FULLY. Broad Protestant hegemony, but some toleration of Jews and dissenters. Anti-Catholicism strong

at first. Church and state not separate.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Pennsylvania 1682 NO. 1693 “Law Concerning Liberty of Conscience” ensured liberty of conscience/freedom to worship only to

those who believed in God; non-Trinitarians, atheists, and even (sometimes) Catholics not given full freedom.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Delaware 1701 NO. Tolerance of Christians–not required to worship as long as acknowledged God. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Georgia 1732 NO. Toleration for non-Catholic Christians and Quakers; Anglicanism favored.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Surinam 1651-1667 NOT FULLY. Power given to proprietors to grant religious liberty to nonconformists; full freedom of worship

given to Jews in 1665 (and given rights as English subjects).__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Dunkirk 1658-1662 NO. Catholicism tolerated, but public Catholic processions were banned and priests were required to swear an

oath of allegiance.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Tangier 1662-1684 NO. Officially Anglican; no other forms of Protestantism tolerated. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________New Jersey 1676/1702 NO. Although in theory, West New Jersey favored religious liberty.

Comparative AnalysisDemonstrates that Colonial

Newport and Providence represent not only the world’s first legal, codified establish-

ment of religious freedom and separation of church and state,

but a radical innovation in social organization and cultural

temperament.

OUR CONCEPT

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• Step One: Inclusion in country’s Tentative List of potential World Heritage Sites – The National Park Service has announced plans to revise the U.S.

Tentative List in 2016– Sites must be on the Tentative List for one year before they can be

submitted for nomination

• Step Two: Nomination dossier submitted to World Heritage Committee for review by Advisory Bodies (ICOMOS for cultural properties)

– On-ground evaluation by Advisory Body representative– Desk review of nomination dossier

• Step Three: Recommendations of the Advisory Bodies considered at the World Heritage Committee annual meeting

NOMINATING PROCESS

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October 21, 2014 Newport World Heritage Commission established

May 14, 2015 Proposal for Nomination submitted to the National Park Service

Fall, 2015 Expert Panel reviews proposed nominations submitted to the National Park Service

2016 National Park Service announces revised Tentative List

TIMELINE

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PRESS

“Providence is now part of Newport’s bid to be included on the U.N. World Heritage list.”THE NEWPORT DAILY NEWS, JULY 2015

THE NEWPORT DAILY NEWS, MARCH 2015

Ken Yellis, chairman of the Newport World Heritage Commission’s Technical CommitteeTHE NEWPORT DAILY NEWS, MARCH 2015

THE NEWPORT DAILY NEWS, OCTOBER 2014

“There was a distinct culture in Colonial Newport, not just of toleration. It was a way of life.”

“The application will be based on the role Newport played in U.S. history and in developing ideas that still have international repercussions.”

“State and community leaders are kicking off a new effort to includeNewport on the United Nations World Heritage List that highlights theworld’s most important natural wonders and cultural sites.”