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American Revolution: Battle of Religion and Politics

 

            ​A nation is judged by the political attributes of their leader. When British colonists decided to leave England to settle in a foreign land, they had several ideas for what they did not want to see in their leader. However, the religious emigration process from Britain to American had an effect on their decision making as a nation. As the U.S. began to grow, America's founders learned from the British monarchy's principles, incorporated those ideas into the Bill of Rights, and have eventually became the Land of the Free.
             Under the direction of King George III, the Roman Catholics did not have full civil rights and could not defy the rights and privileges of the Church of England. In 1700's, brave people seeking a better life, left their native land to have a new start without rules and a ruler. .
             An idea taken from the mistakes of the King and Parliament is "Kings are servants, not the proprietors of the people," said Thomas Jefferson (A Summary View of the Rights of British America; 1774). Valuing the democracy over monarchy, America's founders could begin forming the laws of their land.
             After declaring independence from Britain, Americans had the freedom to create laws of the land based on the mistakes of British rule and the new political ideas of their own by opening "the way to tyranny by the central government" (The Bill of Rights: Description; 2014). Men with education came up with the Articles of Confederation, then the United States Constitution. The Bill of Rights are the first ten amendments of the Constitution. The First Amendment gives people the freedom of speech, press, assembly, religion and petition. In Britain, Catholicism was the main religion, so in some ways, it was incorporated into American way of life. The U.S. Pledge of Allegiance says "under God" and the dollar bills say "In God We Trust". Also, an American flag is folded into a triangle (to represent the Father, Son, Holy Spirit) when there is a fallen soldier.


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