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Paper #102041 :: Influential Literature in the Founding of the Union
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A discussion of Nathaniel Niles' sermon of 1774 as a precursor to Thomas Jefferson's "Declaration of Independence" and "An Act for Establishing Religious Freedom", and Thomas Paine's "Common Sense".

Written in 2008; 840 words; 3 sources; APA; $ 29.95

Paper Summary:

This paper examines a sermon by Massachusetts statesman and preacher Nathaniel Niles, delivered in 1774, that would prefigure some of the more recognized and influential works of revolutionary America, including Thomas Jefferson's "Declaration of Independence" (1776) and "An Act for Establishing Religious Freedom" (1777); and Thomas Paine's "Common Sense". The paper holds that literature of the period leading up to and inspiring the revolution would play a key part in proliferating the ideas of democracy, of the natural rights of man and of the various themes of social justice which would contribute to the theoretical founding of the Union. It points out that Niles spoke of the natural tendency of individuals toward civil liberty, the sense of a divine endorsement of individual liberty and an explication of the logical movement toward democratic governance. The paper concludes that all three works protest to an intercession between administrative practicality, social morality and divine providence and argue that the desire of the colonists for independence could be viewed as a larger resistance to the European practices of monarchical colonialism which had shaped the globe for centuries prior.

From the Paper:

"In addition to the social inclination toward civil liberties, Niles also speaks to the divinity of such a consideration, arguing with a recurrent parallel that God himself considers personal and civil liberty to be gifts of the highest order. Remarking on multiple occasions of the Jews' struggle to gain freedom from their Egyptian oppressors, the author expresses a sentiment which compares the injustice of this slavery to the injustice of British tyranny in the colonies. To make the case that God would specifically endorse the colonialist cause, he asserts that of the Jews that God "promised them freedom from the oppression of their enemies as a testimony of his favour in case of their obedience; and as chastisement for their disobedience, he threatened them with servitude." (Niles, 266) Niles' purpose here is to remark upon the divinity in the quest for political liberty, using his pulpit as a forum through which to espouse a spiritualized sense of resistance to the monarchy. This parallels the proposition found in Jefferson's Act, which impels the reader to observe the improprieties of a theoretical--though clearly Britain-inspired--force which "hath established and maintained false religions over the greatest part of the world, and through all time." (Jefferson, 14) Here, Jefferson equates the British imposition of authority throughout the colonized world with a misrepresentation of God's will. His content speaks of an oppressive religious system but bears the mark of allegation against the British abuse of Christianity."

Tags: union democracy, civil liberties, colonialism colony monarchy providence

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