History of the 1st Amendment

Without question, the 1st Amendment is the law most responsible for protecting our religious liberty in America. As a reminder, it reads, “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.” Without the protections afforded by those forty-five words, I am convinced that the Left would have already enacted law after law making it illegal for Bible believers to preach and practice their faith, not only in the public square, but also in the church house.

And who is directly responsible for the inclusion of our 1st Amendment liberties in the Bill of Rights attached to the US Constitution? A Baptist preacher in Virginia named John Leland. John Leland was one of the few influential men in the era of our nation’s founding who understood the biblical principle of “soul liberty” and his duty as a preacher of the Gospel to involve himself in the political process in its defense. The persecution experienced by Baptists in his state undoubtedly influenced his actions. In the mid-1700s, all colonies, except Pennsylvania and Rhode Island (Baptists founded Rhode Island), had a state church. During that time, more than 30 Baptist preachers were jailed in Virginia for refusing to accept a license from the state where the Anglican church ruled the roost. The problem in Virginia was rectified with Leland’s help when he garnered support from the Baptists for the “Act for Establishing Religious Freedom,” which passed the state legislature in 1786.

In the summer of 1787, the Constitutional Convention met in Philadelphia with hopes of replacing the increasingly ineffective Articles of Confederation. 116 days later, from a blank sheet of paper to the final draft as we know it today, the US Constitution was completed and sent to the states for ratification. Yet, remarkable as it was, it was without a Bill of Rights. 

That is when John Leland raised the alarm. He approached James Madison, one of Virginia’s delegates to the Constitutional Convention, and urged him to add protections for religious liberty. When Madison balked, Leland ran against him as a delegate to Virginia’s convention to ratify the Constitution. With the support of Baptists across Virginia, it became apparent that Leland would defeat Madison. That’s when they arranged to meet at Leland’s farm. Under an oak tree, later marked with a monument that exists to this day, Leland agreed to withdraw from the race in exchange for Madison’s pledge to add an amendment to the Constitution protecting religious liberty, free speech, and a free press. The result was the 1st Amendment.

That is the story I consider every time a Baptist preacher who is free to preach the Gospel amid an increasingly hostile society, thanks to the protections afforded by the 1st Amendment, tells me he does not get involved in politics. I’m thankful that John Leland and the Baptists in Virginia did not take the same approach in their day!