Religion and Politics in America from the First Settlements to the Civil War
Religion and Politics in America from the First Settlements to the Civil War
This chapter provides an overview of the striking circumstances that led from America's colonization by religious monopolists to the creation of constitutional freedom of religion in the early United States. It includes a description of many roads not taken, such as the Puritan effort to restrict religious freedom, the Quaker experiment of government by pacifists in colonial Pennsylvania, and the religious anarchy of early Rhode Island. The discussion also ponders the network of events that led from the writing of the Constitution, with its largely secular intentions shaped by its largely secular authors, to the flourishing of religion in the new nation, where Americans were soon looking back with holy gratitude upon the work of those founders.
Keywords: colonization, America, religion, Constitution, Puritan, Quaker
Oxford Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs , and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us .
