Flushing Remonstrance

The Flushing Remonstrance was a 1657 Colonial American petition to Peter Stuyvesant, the Governor of the Dutch colony of New Netherland, in which several citizens (none of them Quakers themselves [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/27/opinion/27jackson.html New York Times Op-ed "A Colony With a Conscience" December 27, 2007] ) requested an exemption to his ban on Quaker worship. It is considered a precursor to the United States Constitution's provision on freedom of religion in the Bill of Rights.

Events

Flushing, now in Queens, New York, was then part of the Dutch colony of New Netherland. Stuyvesant had formally banned the practice of all religions outside of the Dutch Reformed Church, the established church of the Netherlands, in the colony. In 1656 William Wickenden, a Baptist minister from Rhode Island was arrested by Dutch colonial authorities, jailed, fined, and exiled for baptizing Christians in Flushing. Many other similar incidents took place prior to the Remonstrance [http://www.reformedreader.org/history/armitage/ch09.htm]

The Flushing Remonstrace was signed on December 27, 1657 by a group of English citizens who were affronted by persecution of Quakers and the religious policies of Stuyvesant.cite news|author=Glenn Collins |title=Precursor of the Constitution Goes on Display in Queens |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/05/nyregion/05remonstrance.html|publisher=The New York Times|date=2007-12-05 |accessdate=2007-12-05 ] cite news |author=Michael Peabody |coauthors= |title=The Flushing Remonstrance |url=http://www.libertymagazine.org/article/articleview/532/1/86/ |publisher= Liberty Magazine |date=November/December 2005 |accessdate=2007-12-05 ]

Four who signed were arrested by order of Stuyvesant. Two immediately recanted, but the writer of the remonstrance, Edward Hart, and sheriff of Flushing Tobias Feake remained firm in their convictions. Both men were remanded to prison where they survived in isolation on rations of bread and water for over a month. After friends and family petitioned Stuyvesant on behalf of the elderly Hart, the clerk was released on penalty of banishment. Feake held out for a few more weeks, but eventually recanted and was pardoned after being fined and banned from holding public office. The town government of Flushing was removed and Dutch replacements were appointed by Stuyvesant.

Subsequently, John Bowne of the colony allowed Quakers to meet in his house. He was arrested in 1662 and brought before Stuyvesant. Unrepentant, Bowne was sentenced to banishment to Holland, though he was of English descent and spoke no Dutch. After several months in the foreign land, Bowne petitioned the directors of the Dutch West India Company. After a month of deliberation, the WIC agreed to support Bowne, and advised Stuyvesant by a letter (1663) that he was to end religious persecution in the colony. One year later, in 1664, the colony fell to British control.

Later history

The earliest copy of the document dates also from 1657 as an official copy of the original, but the original has been lost.

The Queens Borough President's Office held a celebration of the 350th anniversary of the Remonstrance in 2007. Descendants of the signers, Bowne, Stuyvesant, and the arresting officer were invited and in attendance, and the original copy of the Remonstrance was brought down from the State Archives in Albany for display.

ee also

* Remonstrants

References

External links

* [http://www.nyym.org/flushing/remons.html Text of Flushing Remonstrance and information]
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20021213231104/http://thorn.pair.com/thorn/thornlineage/remonstr.htm Flushing Remonstrance]
* [http://www.bownehouse.org/ John Bowne house and historical material]