Cody McEachern

Topic Paper: What did the American founders truly intend with the First Amendment?
RELS 2400 Mon,Wed 5:30pm
11/30/16

Founders of America and the 1st Amendment

The First Amendment states,

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Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or

prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press;
or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a
redress of grievances.
As the first Amendment in the Bill of Rights it has an implied importance to the character,
and priority, of not only the men who drafted it but also the nation that supports and sustains it.
The people that settled and organized this great nation were fleeing the bonds of religious
oppression and tyranny. It seems natural that the first thing they try to do is abolish any chance
of what they just ran from, from creeping back into the society they had began to establish. I am
excited to outline a few points that promote this view i have of the beauty of our great nation that
has been built upon the shoulders, the pen, and the courage of these our Founding Fathers.
First Id like to outline the situation that most of these people came from and their
background. 2 . . . , there are 204 unique individuals in this group of Founding Fathers. These
are the people who did one or more of the following: signed the Declaration of Independence,
signed the Articles of Confederation, attended the Constitutional Convention of 1787, signed the
Constitution of the United States of America, served as Senators in the First Federal Congress

(1789-1791) or served as U.S. Representatives in the First Federal Congress . . . most of the
major figures that people generally think of in this context are included using these criteria,
including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Adams, Benjamin Franklin, John
Adams, John Hancock, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and more.

Religious Affiliation of U.S.

Founding Fathers

# of Founding Fathers

% of Founding Fathers

Episcopalian/Anglican

88

54.7%

Presbyterian

30

18.6%

Congregationalist

27

16.8%

Quaker

4.3%

Dutch/German Reformed

3.7%

Lutheran

3.1%

Catholic

1.9%

Huguenot

1.9%

Unitarian

1.9%

Methodist

1.2%

Calvanist

0.6%

TOTAL

204

( I checked their percentages and i think they may have miscalculated)

We see a that a large portion of the Founding Fathers were Episcopalian/ Anglican,
Presbyterian or Congregationalist. These major groups were highly persecuted in most of the
European societies in that era or before the formal establishment of the nation. It makes
complete sense to me why the first thing these Fathers do is destroy any chance of this
tyranny they and their ancestors had been under, and had been fleeing for generations, from

showing its ugly head again. I feel that it is very clear that this was their intention, they had
foresight because of the atrocities they had been witnesses and recipients of.
This foresight brings up my next point of address. The FUTURE! These Fathers had
children and families of their own (many of them). They had to have thoughts of their children
living in this land free of the madness they had seen. Is this not what every parent dreams,
hopes, and prays for (to whatever deity or universe you believe in) for their children? In
participating in these actions the Founding Fathers basically gambled everything on the hope
that the results of their actions would result in a better life for their posterity. The cost of their
actions very well could be the lives of not only their comrades but that of their family, the very
ones they had made the decision for.
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And those who led the effort to step up and break away from King George

would face serious consequences: not just the vengeance of the British throne, but their
unwavering commitment to the cause of freedom would come at high personal price as
well.
Then here is a great evidence of their courage,
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But in spite of the obvious cost, they considered the impact their actions would
have for the people of America . . . at a crucial moment in history, these men were
willing to step up and sacrifice their personal comforts for the good of their countrymen.
Like John Adams, each had doubts about the wisdom of breaking free from England and
the prospects of their success. But they were committed to the ideals of equality and
responsible government.
This outlines the true character of these courageous men, they thought more of the
future than they did for their very lives. This feels like the true meaning of patriotism to me. Its
the idea of sacrificing everything you hold dear for yourself for the freedom and the peace of

others. We are the beneficiaries of so much sacrifice on our behalf! The intentions of the
Founding Fathers, i see with this point, is that of freedom of posterity. They endured the long
dark nights of tyrannus reign and rebellion so that we could live in the light of true freedom.
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They understood from Scripture that government is a sacred trust given by God

to protect the inherent rights of people created in His image.

This is the one issue that i feel most strongly about, the duty to God that they felt they
had to fulfill and preserve. This was a huge motivator for the people at that time. Sadly, it may
not be as much so now days. This quotation brings to light the position that many, especially
Benjamin Franklin, had concerning this matter.
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The Declaration of Independence contended that King George was abusing his

God-given power as leader of England and the American colonies. It was their
responsibility as decent men, they stated in their document, to challenge him on this for
the sake of his subjects. Benjamin Franklin himself recommended a national motto in
defense of their actions.
Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God.
The Founding Fathers were men of great courage and conviction. Rebellion from the
greatest world power on Earth at the time is no small matter! Yet, they felt commissioned by
God to do that very thing. In doing so they would ensure that the idea of religious freedom would
permeate this land forever. If not only from the ink of their pen but the blood of the patriots who
offered the ultimate sacrifice of their own lives for the cause of freedom.
The intentions of the Founding Fathers were so deep and complex at the same time as
being truly simple. Being deep because of the individual grievances every man suffered under
and the emotional psyche of every individual. It being simple by being an innate desire of a
nation to be truly happy and free. Summarizing into 3 clear intentions of the Founding Fathers

would be; relief from oppression, establishment of peace for the future, and preservation of that
peace through religious freedom. May our great nation forever be this way so as to honor those
who gave everything to make it so now!

Works Cited

1) "First Amendment." LII / Legal Information Institute. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2016.
https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/first_amendment
2)

"Adherents.com." Religion of the Founding Fathers of America. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Nov.
2016. http://www.adherents.com/gov/Founding_Fathers_Religion.html

3) "The Courage of America's Founding Fathers." The Courage of America's Founding Fathers.
N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2016.
http://www.familylife.com/articles/topics/life-issues/relationships/men/the-courage-of-america
s-founding-fathers