Hello Needforspeed is back, Today I'm going to talk about Thomas Jefferson. As you guys remember my topic is about freedom and Thomas Jefferson talked about freedom in the declaration of independent. In the Declaration of Independence have received more attention than Jefferson's phrase "All men are created equal." But how would Jefferson and the other signers of the declaration believe this when slavery existed in the colonies? Some slave owners argued that slaves would become equal and worthy of natural rights only when they became civilized. For Jefferson, a life-long owner of slaves, this was a much more complex issue.
The website that I used was www.crf-usa.org/foundations-of-our-constitution/natural-rights.html

Today we will be talking about Roger Williams 'freedom of speech'.Roger Williams (c. 1603–1683), founder of Rhode Island, was a key figure in forging the distinctive American character. The American was a self-governing man who was equal to all others in his enjoyment of freedom. Williams helped to create this American by making an intellectual connection that led to a unique protection of personal freedom. Liberty required the complete separation of church and state. A man’s conscience must be free from all interference from authority.
Williams was intimately acquainted with the consequences of state involvement in religion, and he prudently emigrated to the New World before open violence erupted. An early wave of Puritans called Pilgrims had founded a colony at Plymouth in 1620. In February 1631, Williams and his wife arrived at the colony of Boston in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, where they were warmly welcomed. The welcome did not last long. Williams was immediately offered a prized teaching position, which he immediately rejected owing to a commitment to “separatism” — the belief that Puritans should break completely from a corrupt Church of England. In volume 1 of Conceived in Liberty, Murray Roth bard explained, “An individualist and a fearless logician, Williams had concluded that the Puritan church in Massachusetts, being Separatist de facto, should also be Separatist de jure: that is, should break openly from communion with the Church of England. In short, he pursued the Puritans’ logic further than they were willing to go, and thus embarrassed the Puritans a great deal.”
Williams also rejected the governing document of the colony —the Massachusetts Bay Charter — in part because it sanctioned the confiscation of Indian land; arguably, Williams was also the first American abolitionist to argue against slavery. He also objected to the charter’s civil punishment of religious dissent and disobedience. The latter position particularly outraged authorities. But Williams insisted that the individual alone could determine his relationship with God; all interference by authority was unjustified. “Forced worship stinks in God’s nostrils,” he proclaimed and provided specific criticisms. To find more information go on the link below!


Roger Williams: The Separation of Conscience and State - The Future ...

Hello! I'm a student at PFHS my history teacher wanted us to make a blog. He told us to follow a particular theme through American history, and I have chosen the theme of freedom. Americans like to define themselves in terms of it. The Economist has published an article on the state of freedom in America. It wonders, how much does America live up to this ideal? The article focuses mainly on the government, and its activities during "the war on terror". The United States has incarcerated suspects without trial in Guantanamo and is eavesdropping on Americans' phone calls. But while citizens' privacy is infringed, the government is increasingly secretive. Until the situation improves, we can hardly call ourselves the land of the free.