Flushing Remonstrance Early American Literature

Flushing Remonstrance, Early American Lit

Freedom comes under various prerogatives and religious freedom is something America has prided itself with for a long time now. The right to exercise religious rituals without having to consent to governmental tolerance in this respect is an important feature of the Flushing Remonstrance. Written and presented in 1657 to the infamous Peter Stuyvesant, the Dutch Director-General of the colony of New Netherland, the petition was aimed at "disarming" The governor whose intention was to ban Quakers and to prevent their community from expanding. Today, it is common for the Flushing Remonstrance to be referred to as either ?the forerunner to the First Amendment? Or the ?precursor of the Constitution, ? The terminology marking the document's significant role in having foregrounded advocation for religious rights.

It was written and signed by 31 inhabitants of Flashing in response to Stuyvesant's persecution toward Quakers. Stuyvesant was known to have little to no tolerance for religious groups other than the Dutch Reformed Church. After the governor's action to fine and send to Holland a man on basis of having allowed Quakers to organize meetings at his house, the decision belonging to members of non-Quakers community was taken to declare religious freedom and ?let every man stand or fall to his own Master. (Flushing Remonstrance 1657) Quakers had been arrested and sentenced to jail at the governor's orders, other times even being subjected to torture. The extremes of the punishments were protested against by deciding to formally address Stuyvesant through the intermediary of the petition. The latter dismissed Quaker communities as radical and considered their presence a threat to his attempts of establishing a unified society. The governor also held in contempt other religious groups which he thought would "infect" The new colony. In this respect, the document argued that the only authority to have the right of judgment over ?who is good, who is evil, who is true and who is false? was God and God alone. Beyond spiritual reasoning, the signatories perpetuated their position by relating it to constitutional law as well. Holland's legislation had ensured from as early as 1579 that ?each individual enjoys freedom of religion and no one is persecuted about his religion. (as quoted in Bodian 2) Consequently, it was stated in the document that insofar as the state of Holland extends ?the law of love, peace and liberty? To ?Jews, Turks and Egyptians, as they are considered sons of Adam, ? then constitutional reasoning would include ?all in Christ Jesus. The petition was further aimed at pointing the unconscionable of Quakers' persecution and prosecution since the latter did not represent a threat either to the communities they lived in or the government. It wrote that ?if these said persons come in love unto us, we cannot in conscience lay violent hands upon them, (…), for we are bounde by the law of God and man to doe good unto all men and evil to noe man.