Christian Origins of Democracy in America

 David Roher HIST 701 

America was founded as a Christian nation. It began in 1620 with the Puritans. We often think of the Puritans as the people in the Thanksgiving story, but we forget it was those first settlers of New England who brought democracy to this “new world”, not the first settlement in Jamestown Virginia. Our first example of democracy comes from the Mayflower Compact, an agreement signed by the Puritans as they were sailing to what would become the Plymouth Colony. The opening line of the document bears proof of their intent to make this a Christian country, “In the name of God, Amen.” There can be no mistaking the intent of this document which clearly spells out that it was written for the purpose of “into a civil body politic.” The puritans did not create a democracy on their voyage over to the new world, they brought the idea with them. The Puritans had been practicing it in England when they “adopted the principle of congregational independence.” Their battles with King James didn’t just inspire them to leave England for a new home, it inspired the Puritans to throw off the yoke of the monarchy. (Burnap, George Washington.  Origin and causes of democracy in America: a discourse. Maryland Historical Society. 1854) 

  Land went hand in hand with Christianity in this new land.  Roger Williams was banished for his religious disagreements with the Puritans, but he didn’t sail for England, he simply moved south to what is now Rhode Island. (Carpenter, Edmund J., Litt.D., Roger Williams, New York, 1909.)  

It wasn’t just the Puritans who benefited from the available land, the Quackers under William Penn & the Catholics under Lord Baltimore also saw this as an opportunity to create a Christian home with a democratic government1. Democracy flourished in this new land because there was land. In England, all the available land was handed down from father to son, but in these British colonies, anyone could become a noble. A “laborer could become a freeholder.” (Burnap, George Washington.  Origin and causes of democracy in America: a discourse. Maryland Historical Society. 1854) 

 Land ownership was at the cornerstone of what it meant to be an American. While Thomas Jefferson used the line “Life, liberty & the pursuit of happiness” in the Declaration of Independence (Jefferson, Thomas. The Declaration of Independence. The National Archives. 1776. https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript ) to avoid the new government from becoming responsible for providing its citizens with land James Madison made sure that land ownership & the right to it would be protected by the US Government when Madison created the Bill of Rights. Both the fourth & fifth amendments mention the protection of one’s property. (Madison, James. The Bill of Rights. The National Archives, 1789. https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/bill-of-rights-transcript ) 

Madison & most of the founding fathers were not as religious as their Puritan ancestors, but they respected their ancestor's devotion. Thomas Jefferson was by no means a religious man, but 150 years after the Puritans established democracy here with the Mayflower Compact, Jefferson was espousing that this was a Christian nation when he whimsy said, “But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.” (Jefferson, Thomas. Notes on the State of Virginia. The Jefferson Monticello. 1782. https://tjrs.monticello.org/letter/2260)