Rare Religious Liberty Document Goes On Display In New York
http://www.au.org/site/News2?abbr=cs_&page=NewsArticle&id=9565#cs9
The Flushing Remonstrance, a little-known but important early document
arguing for religious liberty, went on display at a public library in New
York City last month.
Drafted in 1657 by 30 citizens who lived in the Flushing area, the document
is a heart-felt plea for religious liberty from residents who were alarmed
by persecution of their Quaker neighbors. At the time, New York was under
the control of the Dutch. The Quakers, who were English, sought the right
to dissent from the state-established Dutch Reformed Church.
Some of the signers of the document had allowed Quakers to hold
unauthorized religious meetings in their homes. They boldly admitted this
to Dutch officials, writing to Gov. Peter Stuyvesant, “Therefore, if any of
these said persons come in love unto us, we cannot in conscience lay
violent hands upon them, but give them free egresse and regresse unto our
Town, and houses, as God shall persuade our consciences. And in this we are
true subjects both of Church and State, for we are bounde by the law of God
and man to doe good unto all men and evil to noe man.”
The missive, dated Dec. 27, 1657, did not have the effect the senders had
hoped. In fact, some of its signers were arrested and jailed. They were
released a short time later, and most vowed to continue to support the
Quakers.
One signer, a farmer named John Bowne, was subsequently banished from the
colony for his support of the Quakers. Bowne traveled to the Netherlands
and argued that he should be allowed to return. He was, and his homestead
is now a museum.
The New York Times reported that the Flushing Remonstrance on display at
the Queens Public Library in Flushing is a copy. The original document has
been lost. The version on display in December dates to 1657 and was copied
by a notary from the original. It was damaged in a 1911 fire and is now
held by the New York State Archives. At the library, it was displayed in a
climate-controlled case with special glass that blocks ultraviolet light.
Kenneth T. Jackson, a history professor at Columbia University, told The
Times, “It is an elegant and eloquent statement of what we mean to be as a
people.”
Jackson added that when it comes to religious liberty, “Thomas Jefferson
gets most of the ink. The Remonstrance is not given enough credit, but it
should be in every school curriculum.”
A series of workshops, seminars and conferences was held to mark the
anniversary of the Remonstrance. On Dec. 7, there was a luncheon for
descendants of the document’s original signers.
The Times notes that the Remonstrance’s plea for toleration and religious
liberty certainly came true for Flushing. Today the neighborhood is
incredibly diverse, with dozens of languages spoken and an equal number of
religions practiced.
To learn more about the Flushing Remonstrance or to read it, go to
www.flushingremonstrance.info.
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Designed for the Good of All
The Flushing Remonstrance and Religious Freedom in America
http://www.bownehouse.org/Designed_for_the_Good_of_All_Tabetha_Garman.html
[excerpt]
A thesis presented to the faculty of the Department of History East
Tennessee State University
In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts in
History by
Tabetha Garman, August 2006
Dr. Dale Schmitt, Chair
Dr. Melvin Page
Dr. Douglas Burgess
Keywords: Colonial America, Flushing, Quaker, New Netherlands,
Remonstrance, Religious Freedom
ABSTRACT
Designed for the Good of All:
The Flushing Remonstrance and Religious Freedom in America by Tabetha
Garman
On December 27, 1657, the men of Flushing, Long Island, signed a letter of
protest addressed to the Governor-Director of New Netherlands. Though the
law of the colony demanded otherwise, the men of Vlissengen pledged to
accept all persons into their township, regardless of their religious
persuasion. Their letter, called the Flushing Remonstrance, not only defied
the laws of one of the most powerful, religious governors of the colonial
age, it articulated a concept of religious freedom that extended beyond the
principles of any other contemporary document.
Given its unique place in early American colonial history, why have
historians not devoted more research to the Flushing Remonstrance? The
answer to that question had roots in suppositions widely accepted in the
academic community. This thesis addresses and refutes these assumptions in
full historical context.
[end excerpt]
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You are invited to check out the following:
The Rise of the Theocratic States of America
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/theocracy.htm
American Theocrats - Past and Present
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/theocrats.htm
The Constitutional Principle: Separation of Church and State
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/index.html
[and to join the discussion group for the above site and/or Separation
of Church and State in general, listed below]
HRSepCnS · Historical Reality SepChurch&State
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HRSepCnS/
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.. . . You can't understand a phrase such as "Congress shall make no law
respecting an establishment of religion" by syllogistic reasoning. Words
take their meaning from social as well as textual contexts, which is
why "a
page of history is worth a volume of logic." New York Trust Co. v.
Eisner,
256 U.S. 345, 349, 41 S.Ct. 506, 507, 65 L.Ed. 963 (1921) (Holmes, J.).
Sherman v. Community Consol. Dist. 21, 980 F.2d 437, 445 (7th Cir. 1992)
.. . .
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USAF LT. COL (Ret) Buffman (Glen P. Goffin) wrote
"You pilot always into an unknown future;
facts are your only clue. Get the facts!"
That philosophy 'snipit' helped to get me, and my crew, through a good
many combat missions and far too many scary, inflight, emergencies.
It has also played a significant role in helping me to expose the
plethora of radical Christian propaganda and lies that we find at
almost every media turn.
*****************************************************************
THE CONSTITUTIONAL PRINCIPLE:
SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/index.html
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