History of American Government
We view our government as a mechanism to insure our liberty and express our shared will as a people. Historically, this was accomplished in multiple stages by:
- a revolutionary war for independence,
- the abolition of slavery,
- enfranchising women with the vote,
- the end of segregation and
- the general guarantee of voting rights for most Americans.
At each stage in this process, major leadership was provided by secularists and the freethinking fringe of the religious community. Also at each stage in this process, religion was used to sanctify the repressive conditions that left many with severe limitations in either personal liberty or the right to vote.
Through most of the history of European monarchy, it was asserted that the power to rule came directly from God. This “Divine Right of Kings” was substantially discredited during the Enlightenment Era of the 18th century. There are today disturbing tendencies to resurrect the notion of governance by The Divine with inspiration for laws coming directly from God rather than by, of, and for the people.
Justice Antonin Scalia delivered a speech at the University of Chicago Divinity School in January 2002 and later adapted it for print, under the title: "God’s Justice and Ours." In it, he quoted from Roman 13:1-3: “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.”
Historically, and it appears today, those that celebrate government direction from God are using God to justify extreme sanctions such as the death penalty.
The Revolutionary War and the Founding of the United States
Religion was a very repressive force for many people in pre-Revolutionary America. For example, New Haven passed an ordinance in 1651 that all taxpayers would be taxed (“rated”) “for the Ministers Maintaynance.” This applied to everyone, “for not only were members and attendants of the Puritan churches taxed, but Quakers, Baptists, and Church-of-England men were also ‘rated,’ and if they refused to pay to help support the church that they abhorred, they were fined and imprisoned.” (1) Similar forced assessments existed in many other states and localities. Ministers not of the State religion were routinely jailed for preaching illegally. (2)
The Revolutionary War was against another repressive force, Great Britain, which was also taxing the colonies without the consent of its American subjects. Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense” was a major factor in the creation of an American consensus for independence from Great Britain. It was written in 1775 and sold an astonishing 500,000 copies. In this booklet, Paine made no call to anything supernatural and did not seek God's guidance or blessing.
After the Revolutionary War began, Paine wrote a series of nineteen pamphlets starting with “The American Crisis” in December 23, 1776. This started with the immortal words, “These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.” These were the most visible publications used to rally the troops and mobilize support for the cause in the States. Paine’s writings were an immensely important contribution to the Revolutionary War effort.
What were Thomas Paine’s religious views? In 1793, Paine wrote a very influential anti-clerical book titled “Age of Reason.” Paragraph seven starts with, “I do not believe in the creed professed by the Jewish church, by the Roman church, by the Greek church, by the Turkish church, by the Protestant church, nor by any church that I know of.” And paragraph eight says, “All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit.” This unbeliever was the most visible spokesman for the Revolutionary cause.
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History of American Government
Foundational Documents of the United States
