Noah Webster - "Schoolmaster of the Nation"

Noah Webster (1758-1843) is the “Father of American Scholarship and Education.” It has been said that 'no single American has contributed so much to American education as Noah Webster...”

Webster was an educator, statesman, lexicographer and the “Schoolmaster of the Nation.”

He served his country as a soldier in the Continental Army during the American War for Independence. Webster was elected and served nine terms in the Connecticut General Assembly. He served in the Legislature of Massachusetts for three terms. While serving in the legislature of Massachusetts, Webster sought to have funds appropriated for education. Furthermore, Webster also served as a judge.

Webster believed that government had a responsibility to:

“Discipline our youth in early life in sound maxims of moral, political, and religious duties.”

Throughout the 19^th Century, Webster was known by more Americans than anyone except George Washington. This was primarily due to his infamous “Blue-backed speller” and his “American Dictionary of the English Language.” Webster published self teaching textbooks through which he sought to make America intellectually independent from Great Britain and Europe. He chose to produce educational materials which would impart the principles which gave birth to the liberties we enjoy in America. Noah Webster realized that the quality of education in America would have a profound effect upon the success of our Republican system of government. He knew that the responsibility to educate ones children rests upon the parents and the individual. He firmly believed the foundation upon which sound education is established is found in the Bible.

“In my view, the Christian religion is the most important and one of the first things in which all children, under a free government, ought to be instructed.. No truth is more evident to my mind than that the Christian religion must be the basis of any government intended to secure the rights and privileges of a free people.”

Noah Webster wrote his infamous “Blue-backed Speller” in 1783. The title of his Primer is actually “The Elementary Spelling Book” which is affectionately spoken of as the “Blue-backed Speller.” His American Spelling Book was first written in 1780 when he taught in New York.

This single book did more for American education than any other single book except the Bible. The Speller was written to instill in the minds of the reader, “the first rudiments of the language and some just ideas of religion, morals, and domestic economy.” A publishing record was set when a million copies of the Blue-backed Speller were purchased in a year for one hundred years. Americans throughout the country learned the letters of the alphabet, morality, and patriotism from his dictionary, spellers, catechisms, and history books.

The fundamental premise of the Speller is that “God's word, contained in the Bible, has furnished all necessary rules to direct our conduct.” His Speller contained a “Moral Catechism” which contained rules from Scripture upon which moral conduct was founded. The Blue-backed Speller included a catechism, a paraphrased account of creation from Genesis, and a considerably large section from the Sermon on the Mount. Included in the Speller are selections such as “He who came to save us, will wash us from all sin; I will be glad in his name.”

Webster completed his masterpiece “An American Dictionary of the English Language – with pronouncing vocabularies of Scripture, classical and geographical names” after twenty-six years of research and work. He mastered twenty-eight languages by the time he completed and published his dictionary in 1828. The dictionary contained 70,000 entries and 20,000 new definitions. Webster created an English vocabulary that had standardized spelling for the first time in English speaking history.

A selection from the Preface of his magnificent work proclaims:

“In my view, the Christian religion is the most important and one of the first things in which all children, under a free government ought to be instructed...No truth is more evident to my mind than that the Christian religion must be the basis of any government intended to secure the rights and privileges of a free people. 

To that great and benevolent Being, who, during the preparation of this work, has sustained a feeble constitution amidst obstacles and toils, disappointments, infirmities and depression; who has borne me and my manuscripts in safety across the Atlantic, and given me strength and resolution to bring the work to a close, I would present the tribute of my most grateful acknowledgments. 

And if the talent which He entrusted to my care, has not been put in the most profitable use in his service, I hope it has not been “kept laid up in a napkin” and that any misapplication of it may be graciously forgiven.”

New Haven
Noah Webster 

 The monumental work reflects the Christian character of a humble man who diligently worked to create a scholarly work for the benefit of American citizens.

He generously utilized scriptural references and defined words utilizing scripture. His dictionary contained the greatest number of definitions based upon the Bible than any other secular volume. His 1828 version of the American Dictionary contained a luxuriant measure of the Holy Scriptures. The context of a word to be used was clarified by verses from the Old and New Testament.

An example of this clarification is in the definition of the word “faith.”

Being justified by faith. Rom. v.
Without faith it is impossible to please God. Heb. xi.
For we walk by faith, not by sight. 2 Cor. v.
With the heart man believeth to righteousness. Rom. x.
Your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. Rom.
Hast thou faith? Have it to thyself before God. Rom. xiv.
Children in whom is no faith. Deut. xxxii.

The definition of the word “property” is given:

"The exclusive right of possessing, enjoying and disposing of a thing; ownership. In the beginning of the world, the Creator gave to man dominion over the earth, over the fish of the sea and the fouls of the air, and over every living thing. This is the foundation of man's property in the earth and all its productions...The labor of inventing, making or producing any thing constitutes one of the highest titles to property. It is of the greatest blessings of civil society that the property of the citizen is well secured.”

Providence is defined as:

"The care and superintendence which God exercises over his creatures...Some persons admit a general providence, but deny a particular providence, not considering that a general providence consists of particulars. A belief in divine providence is a source of great consolation to good men. By divine providence is understood by God himself."

Unfortunately, thousands of Scriptures have been removed from secularized contemporary dictionaries that bear his name but reflect humanistic thought.

Webster created the “American Dictionary of the English Language,” a “Grammar,” his “Blue-backed Speller,” and “The Webster Bible.” He custom tailored the King James Bible for the American reader.

In 1833, Webster translated the Common Version of the Holy Bible, containing the Old and New Testament, with Amendments of the Language. Webster made the following declaration in the preface to his Bible:

The Bible is the Chief moral cause of all that is good, and the best corrector of all that is evil, in human society; the best book for regulating the temporal concerns of men, and the only book that can serve as an infallible guide to future felicity...It is extremely important to our nation, in a political as well as religious view, that all possible authority and influence should be given to the scriptures, for these furnish the best principles of civil liberty, and the most effectual support of republican government. 

The principles of genuine liberty, and of wise laws and administrations, are to be drawn from the Bible and sustained by its authority. The man, therefore, who weakens or destroys the divine authority of that Book may be accessory to all the public disorders which society is doomed to suffer.

There are two powers only, sufficient to control men and secure the rights of individuals and a peaceable administration, these are the combined force of religion and law, and the force or fear of the bayonet.

Noah Webster
New Haven, 1833 

Furthermore, he continued to write on several topics: religion, politics, education, music, economics, commercial interests, medical and social commentary, and science. Noah Webster was the first American to promote a Constitutional Convention and personally presented a document to George Washington supporting the proposition which he composed. Through his efforts, copyright legislation was included in the Constitution of the United States. He was largely responsible for Article I, Section 8 of the United States Constitution concerning copyrights.

He became the founder of a college, served in state government, published a magazine and a newspaper.

A dedication to Ezra Stiles, President of Yale College appears on the second page of Webster's American Spelling Book – Containing an easy Standard of Pronunciation. The Grammatical Institute of the English Language contained the American Spelling Book which was published in 1790.

The dedication to President Stiles declared:

“This first part of a Grammatical Institute of the English Language is, with permission, most humbly inscribed, as a testimony of my veneration, for the superior talents, piety and patriotism, which enable him to preside over that seat of literature, with distinguished reputation, which render him an ornament to the Christian Profession, and give him an eminent rank among the illustrious characters that adorn the revolution.”

Webster writes in the preface to his dictionary published in 1848:

"If the language can be improved in regularity, so as to be more easily acquired by our own citizens and by foreigners, and thus be rendered a more useful instrument for the propagation of science, arts, civilization and Christianity...”'

“And if the talent which (God) entrusted to my care, has not been put to the most profitable use in his service, I hope it has not been 'kept laid in a napkin,' and that any misapplication of it may be graciously forgiven.”

Concerning education, Webster declared:

“Education is useless without the Bible.”

“The Bible was America's basic text book in all fields.”

“God's Word, contained in the Bible, has furnished all necessary rules to direct our conduct.”

In 1823, Webster wrote these words in his textbook:

“It is alleged by men of loose principles, or defective views of the subject, that religion and morality are not necessary or important qualifications for political stations. But the Scriptures teach a different doctrine. They direct that rulers should be men who rule in the fear of God, able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness. 

But if we had no divine instruction on the subject, our own interest would demand of us a strict observance of the principle of these injunctions. And it is to the neglect of this rule of conduct in our citizens, that we must ascribe the multiplied frauds, breeches of trust, peculations and embezzlement of public property which astonish even ourselves; which tarnish the character of our country; which disgrace a republican government; and which will tend to reconcile men to monarchs in other countries and even our own.”

In 1832, the History of the United States was authored and published by Noah Webster.

"The brief exposition of the constitution of the United States will unfold to young persons the principles of republican government; and it is the sincere desire of the writer that our citizens should early understand that the genuine source of correct republican principles in the Bible, particularly the New Testament or the Christian religion.

The religion which has introduced civil liberty is the religion of Christ and His apostles , which enjoins humility, piety, and benevolence' which acknowledges in every person a brother, or a sister, and a citizen with equal rights. This is genuine Christianity, and to this we owe our free Constitutions of Government.

The moral principles and precepts contained in the Scriptures ought to form the basis of all our civil constitutions and laws...All the miseries and evils which men suffer from vice, crime, ambition, injustice, oppression, slavery, and war, proceed from their despising or neglecting the precepts contained in the Bible.

When you become entitled to exercise the right of voting for public officers, let it be impressed on your mind that God commands you to choose for rulers just men who will rule in the fear of God. The preservation of a republican government depends on the faithful discharge of this duty;

If the citizens neglect their duty and place unprincipled men in office, the government will soon be corrupted; laws will be made not for the public good so much as for selfish or local purposes;

Corrupt or incompetent men will be appointed to execute the laws; the public revenues will be squandered on unworthy men; and the rights of the citizens will be violated or disregarded.
If a republican government fails to secure public prosperity and happiness, it must be because the citizens neglect the divine commands, and elect bad men to make and administer the laws.”

In 1832, Noah Webster wrote in Advice to the Young:

“The 'Advice to the Young,' ...will be useful in enlightening the minds of youth in religious and moral principles, and serve...to restrain some of the common vices of our country...To exterminate our popular vices is a work of far more importance to the character and happiness of our citizens than any other improvements in our system of education.”

Throughout his life, Webster affirmed this following declarations:

“For this reason society requires that the education of youth should be watched with the most scrupulous attention. Education, in a great measure, forms the moral characters of men, and morals are the basis of government.”

“Education should therefore be the first care of a legislature; not merely the institution of schools, but the furnishing of them with the best men for teachers. A good system of education should be the first article in the code of political regulations; for it is much easier to introduce and establish an effectual system for preserving morals, than to correct by penal statutes the ill effects of a bad system.”

“The goodness of a heart is of infinitely more consequence to society than an elegance of manners; nor will any superficial accomplishments repair the want of principle in the mind. It is always better to be vulgarly right than politely wrong.”

“The education of youth [is] an employment of more consequence than making laws and preaching the gospel, because it lays the foundation on which both law and gospel rest for success.”

“Republican government loses half of its value, where the moral and social duties are...negligently practiced. To exterminate our popular vices is a work of far more importance to the character and happiness of our citizens, than any other improvements in our system of education.”

“By taking revenge, a man is even with his enemy, but by passing it over, he is superior.”

Webster was a loving father to his seven children. Before his death in 1843, Noah Webster made this public profession of faith:

“I know whom I have believed, and that he is able to keep that which I have committed to Him against that day.”

Gleaned from "America's Providential History" by Mark A. Beliles & Steven K. McDowell.
Also: "America's God and Country - Encyclopedia of Quotations" by William J. Federer

Early Education in the American Colonies

The Reverend John Cotton of Boston, Massachusetts willed half his property to establish a school to provide an education to children who were disadvantaged or orphaned. The Boston Latin School became the first school that was established in America outside of the home.

The Christians throughout colonial America recognized their God given responsibility to educate their children. Furthermore, they also saw it as their responsibility to educate the general public. In obeying Christ's command found in the Great Commission of Matthew 28. They firmly believed the responsibility to 'disciple all nations' was accomplished through “teaching them to observe all that I commanded you.”

Matthew 28:19-20
“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”

Between 500 and 1500 AD, the light of the Word of God had been hidden from the common people. The want of access to the truth of the Bible kept the common man ignorant throughout the Middle Ages.

John Wycliffe had access to the Scriptures and through his studies became convinced that “Scripture must become the common property of all.” It was actually Wycliffe who first declared that there might be a “a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.”

John Wycliffe translated the Bible from Latin into English in 1382. Wycliffe became the “Morning Star of the Reformation” for he preceded the men of the Protestant Reformation by one hundred and fifty years.

After translating the Bible into English, Wycliffe sought to implant the truth of the Holy Scriptures in the hearts of men, women, and children throughout England. He distributed his Bible, books about the Bible, and tracts throughout the whole of England.

Wycliffe sent his followers which received the derogatory name of “Lollards” throughout the villages and towns of England to distribute his Bibles and Christian literature. The term “Lollard” was a label of ridicule which actually means 'idle babbler'. It was through the efforts of the Lollards that many people throughout England learned to read the Scriptures for themselves.

Professor G.V. Lechler declares that the Lollards: “were, above all, characterized by a striving after holiness, a zeal for the spread of scriptural truth, for the uprooting of prevalent error, and for Church reform. Even the common people among them were men who believed; and they communicated, as by a sacred contagion, their convictions to those around them. Thus they became mighty.”

In the American colonies; almost every child was educated due to the colonists firm conviction and desire to have their children read the Scriptures. Parents understood the Biblical command of Deuteronomy 6:4-7 and Ephesians 6:4

Deuteronomy 6:4-7
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.”

Ephesians 6:4 “
“And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”

American education was primarily centered in the home during the first 150 to 200 years. Although home education may have been supplemented by tutors and schools; education was the responsibility of parents and rested upon the home. This was the case until the child was around eight or nine years of age. At the age of eight or nine; children may have had tutors or attended a school. Ministers were generally the tutors. If there were too many children in a neighborhood, a pastor would teach a group of children in his home. Hence, these 'schools' became the first grammar schools beginning in the late 1600s. At the age of thirteen a child would enter an apprenticeship program or attend a college.


Luther, Tyndale, Calvin and preachers of the Reformation became advocates for the education of the common folk. The strong desire to educate their children was found among the Pilgrims, Puritans, and Quakers. A primary reason why the Pilgrims came to America was to escape the ungodly influence that education in Europe had upon their children.


Cotton Mather declared:

“The schools of learning and religion (in Europe) are so corrupted as most children, even the best and wittiest, and of the fairest hopes, are perverted, corrupted, and utterly overthrown by the multitude of evil examples and licentious behavior in these seminaries.”

The first free common school in America was established by the “Old Deluder Law” of 1647.

Historian John Fiske declared: “In 1647 the legislature of Massachusetts enacted a law with the preamble: 'It being one chief purpose of that old deluder, Satan, to keep men from the knowledge of the Scriptures,' it was therefore ordered that every township containing fifty families or householders should set up a school in which children might be taught to read and write, and that every township containing one hundred families or householders should set up a school in which boys might be fitted for entering Harvard college.”

The Old Deluder Satan Law of 1647 was passed by the legislatures of Massachusetts and Connecticut to prevent illiteracy. Furthermore, it was passed into law to preclude the abuse of power over the common man ignorant of scriptures.

“It being one chiefe project of that old deluder, Sathan, to keepe men from the knowledge of the scriptures, as in former time... 

It is therefore ordered...[that] after the Lord hath increased [the settlement] to the number of fifty howshoulders, [they] shall forthwith appoint one within their towne, to teach all such children as shall resorte to him, to write and read... 

and it is further ordered, That where any towne shall increase to the number of one hundred families of howshoulders, they shall sett up a grammar schoole for the university.”

The parents of the children or general inhabitants would pay the wages of the teacher. The existence of 'public' schools although required by law, was not enforced. Furthermore, they were not under the authority of a state board. The curriculum, methodology and administration of the 'public' schools was under local control of the parents in the community. Throughout the following decades, 'public' schools were established in other New England towns and villages. These schools actually involved a small percentage of the children being educated. The vast majority of children were educated in the home, church, and private sector.

Samuel Blumenfeld states that “by 1720 Boston had far more private schools than public ones, and by the close of the American Revolution many towns had no common schools at all.” 

New York and Pennsylvania had public schools as those in New England in urban areas but not in the rural areas of the colonies.


There were no 'public' schools in the southern colonies until 1730 and by 1776 there were only five public schools in the south.


The home was where the majority of children were educated throughout the American colonies even during the American Revolution.

Samuel Blumenfeld declared: “Of the 117 men who signed the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution, one out of three had only a few months of formal schooling, and only one in four had gone to college. They were educated by parents, church schools, tutors, academies, apprenticeship, and by themselves.”

New Guide to the English Tongue

The New Guide to the English Tongue was published England in the year 1740. The book was published by Thomas Dilworth and was universally adopted throughout the schools in New England by 1765.

The New Guide to the English Tongue contained spelling, reading and grammar lessons and was “adorned with proper Scriptures.”

The first lesson of the guide contained words have three letters or less.

No Man may put off the Law of God.
The Way of God is no ill Way.
My Joy is in God all the Day.
A bad Man is a Foe of God.

Thomas Dilworth declared that he sought to rescue:

“Poor creatures from the Slavery of Sin and Satan by setting the word of God for a Lantern to our feet and a Light to our Paths.”

The “Schoolmaster to America” - Noah Webster used only Thomas Dilworth's New Guide to the English Tongue and the Holy Bible in his earliest school.

New England Primer – 1690

The Pilgrim's and Puritans had a profound belief that all must seek the Word of God in the Bible. Hence, they firmly believed in educating their children to read. For this purpose hornbooks were created which consisted of the alphabet accompanied with a text from the Bible. The alphabet and Biblical text were mounted on a board which was covered with a thin sheet of transparent animal horn. Eventually, children utilized the New England Primer which was printed in Boston in 1690.


By 1691, the Primer was entering it's second edition and was advertised by Benjamin Harris of Boston. The oldest extant copy of the New England Primer is dated 1737. 

The Primer was known as the “Little Bible of New England” and is considered to be the most influential school book in the history of American education. The Primer was three by five inches and contained an eighty-eight page devotional. The New England Primer was the school book of America during the end of the 1600's and early 1700's. There were over three million copies of the Primer which were printed containing the alphabet and some scripture verses. Consequently, the actual manner in which the alphabet was taught utilizing the Bible clearly indicates the Christian nature of this most important book in the history of America.

A - In Adam's Fall

      We sinned all.

B - Heaven to find,

      The Bible Mind.

C - Christ crucify'd

      For sinners dy'd.

D - The Deluge drown'd

      The Earth around.

E - Elijah hid

      By Ravens fed.

F - The judgment made

      Felix afraid.

G - As runs the Glass,

      Our Life doth pass.

H - My Book and Heart

      Must never part.

J - Job feels the Rod,

     Yet blesses GOD.

K - Proud Korah's troop

     Was swallowed up.

L - Lor fled to Zoar,

     Saw Fiery Shower

     On Sodom pour.

M - Moses was he

      Who Israel's Host

       Led thro' the Sea.

N - Noah did view

      The old world & new.

O - Young Obadias,

      David, Josias

      All were pious.

P - Peter deny'd

     His Lord and cry'd.

Q - Queen Esther sues

      And saves the Jews.

R - Young pious Ruth,

      Left all for Truth.

S - Young Sam'l dear

     The Lord did fear.

T - Young Timothy

      Learnt sin to fly.

V - Vasthi for Pride,

      Was set aside.

W - Whales in the Sea

       GOD's Voice obey.

X - Xerxes did die,

      And so must I.

Y - While youth so chear

      Death may be near.

Z - Zaccheus he

     Did climb the Tree

     Our Lord to see.

This cherished prayer was included in the New England Primer:

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep;
If I should die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my soul to take."

The prayer was originally recorded in the Enchiridion Leonis which is dated 1160 A.D.

William Penn (1644 - 1718)

William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania, was the son of Admiral William Penn of the British Navy. Admiral Penn was the British officer who discovered the island of Bermuda. He also helped to strengthen King Charles II's throne in England.

Penn was a student at Oxford University and studied law. Thomas Loe preached a sermon which profoundly affected the young twenty-two year old Penn. The title of the sermon which touched Penn's heart was “The Sandy Foundation Shaken.”

William Penn broke his father's heart by giving up a brilliant future when he became a Quaker and converted to the Christian truths he found in the Society of Friends.  At that time, the Quakers were the object of ridicule and scorn throughout England.

The proclamation which follows is from his Treatise on the Religion of the Quakers:

“I do declare to the whole world that we believe the Scriptures to contain a declaration of the mind and will of God in and to those ages in which they were written; being given forth by the Holy Ghost moving in the hearts of holy men of God' that they ought also to be read, believed, and fulfilled in our day; being used for reproof and instruction, that the man of God may be perfect. They are a declaration and testimony of heavenly things themselves, and, as such, we carry a high respect for them. We accept them as the words of God Himself.”

William Penn became a Quaker preacher and author who suffered imprisonment over three times for the faith he had in Jesus Christ. Penn was imprisoned in the Tower of London for eight months. At this time of imprisonment, Penn wrote his treatise “No Cross, No Crown.”

“No Pain, no palm; no thorns, no throne; no gall, no glory; no cross, no crown...”

“Christ's cross is Christ's way to Christ's crown. This is the subject of the following discourse, first written during my confinement in the Tower of London in the year of 1668, now reprinted with great enlargement of matter and testimonies, that thou mayest be won to Christ, or if won already, brought near to Him. It is a path which God in his everlasting kindness guided my feet into, in the flower of my youth, when about two and twenty years of age."

"He took me by the hand and led me out of the pleasures, vanities, and hopes of the world. I have tasted of Christ's judgments, and of his mercies, and of the world's frowns and reproaches. I rejoice in my experience, and dedicate it to thy service in Christ..."

"The unmortified Christian and the heathen are of the same religion, and the deity they truly worship is the god of this world. What shall we eat? What shall we drink? What shall we wear? And how shall we pass away our time? Which way may we gather and perpetuate our names and families in the earth? It is a mournful reflection, but a truth which will not be denied, that these worldly lusts fill up a great part of the study, care and conversation of Christendom."

“The false notion that they may be children of God while in a state of disobedience to this holy commandments, and disciples of Jesus though they revolt from his cross, and members of his true church, which is without spot or wrinkle, notwithstanding their lives are full of spots and wrinkles, is of all other deceptions upon themselves the most pernicious to their eternal condition for they are at peace in sin and under a security in their transgression."

Furthermore, he admonishes one to:

“Read my “No Cross, No Crown.” There is instruction. Make your conversation with the most eminent for wisdom and piety, and shun all wicked men as you hope for the blessing of God and the comfort of your father's living and dying prayers. Be sure you speak evil of none, not of the meanest, much less of your superiors as magistrates, guardians, teachers, and elders in Christ.”

George Fox, the founder of the Society of Friends, was accompanied by William Penn who traveled and preached with Fox. During their travels, Penn became acquainted with other Quakers and Christians of various denominations who desired to worship God in the own ways.

William Penn records in his work Travels in Holland and Germany:

“As I have been traveling, the great work of Christ in the earth has often been presented to my view, and the day of the Lord hath been deeply impressed upon me, and my soul and spirit hath frequently been possessed with an holy and weighty concern for the glory and name of the Lord and the spreading of his everlasting truth.”

Penn's father had been a courageous office in the King's Navy and upon his death; King Charles owed him a very large amount of money. King Charles chose to repay the debt with a land grand in America since he was short on finances.

William Penn, as heir of his father's estates, received a grant from King Charles II in 1681. All of the land between Maryland and New York was granted to Penn as payment for the debt. In the year that followed; William Penn received from the Duke of York, the region of land which is now the State of Delaware.

Penn planned on naming the territory Sylvania which means 'woodland'  but King Charles changed the name to Pennsylvania. Since the Society of Friends were those people who helped to establish the state, Pennsylvania became known as The Quaker State.

The quotation which follows is from a letter Penn wrote to a friend on January 1, 1681:

“Make and establish such laws as shall best preserve true Christian and civil liberty, in all opposition to all unchristian....practices.”

“I eyed the Lord in obtaining it and more was I drawn inward to look to Him, and to owe it to His hand and power than to any other way. I have so obtained it, and desire to keep it that I may not be unworthy of His love. God that has given it to me through many difficulties, will, I believe, bless and make it the seed of a nation.”

William Penn desired to make friends of the Indians who inhabited the region where he sought to establish his colony. Among his first acts was to establish friendship with the Indians and insisted on purchasing the land from them. His colony was never attacked by the Indians according to historical records for he sought to be just and fair in dealing with the Indians.

He wrote to this letter to the Indians on August 18, 1681 before coming to the colony:

“My friends: 

There is one great God and Power that hath made the world and all things therein, to whom you and I and all people owe their being and well-being, and to whom you and I must one day give an account for all that we doe in the world; This great God hath written His law in our hearts by which we are taught and commanded to love and help and doe good to one another and not to doe harm and mischief one unto another... 

“Now this great God hath pleased to make me concerned in my parts of the world, and the king of the country where I live, hath given unto me a great province therein, but I desire to enjoy it with your love and consent, that we may always live together as neighbors and friends, else what would the great God say to us, who hath made us not to devour and destroy one another, but to live soberly and kindly together in the world... 

I have great love and regard toward you, and I desire to gain your love and friendship by a kind, just and peaceable life, and the people I send are of the same mind, and shall in all things behave themselves accordingly... 

I shall shortly come to you myself at which time we may more freely and largely confer and discourse of these matters. Receive those presents and tokens which I have sent to you as a testimony to my goodwill to you and my resolution to live justly, peaceably and friendly with you. 

I am your loving friend, William Penn.

The famous Frame of Government for his new colony was written on April 25, 1682. Penn's wisdom expressed in the charter profoundly influenced the charters of the other colonies. His Frame of Government was to establish: 

“...laws as shall best preserve true Christian and civil liberty in opposition to all unchristian licentious and unjust practices, whereby God may have his due, Caesar his due, and the people their due...”

“The originator and descent of all human power [is] from God.. first, to terrify evil doers; secondly, to cherish those who do well..."

"Government seems to me to be a part of religion itself – a thing sacred in its institutions and ends..." 

"Government, like clocks, go from the motion men give them; and as governments are made and moved by men, so by them they are ruined too. Wherefore governments rather depend upon men, than men upon governments. Let men be good, and the government cannot be bad; if it will be ill, they will cure it...” 

"That, therefore, which makes a good constitution must keep it, - namely men of wisdom and virtue, - qualities that, because they descend not with worldly inheritance, must be carefully propagated by a virtuous education of youth." 

"[It is therefore enacted] that all persons...having children...shall cause such to be instructed in reading and writing, so that they may be able to read the Scriptures and to write by the time they attain to 12 years of age.”

As a Quaker, Penn experienced a great deal of persecution for his faith. He sought to establish a colony as a land of religious freedom which would be tolerant to Christians of every denomination.

William Penn printed broadsides and leaflets in six different languages advertising his colony of religious toleration inviting persecuted Christians across Europe to emigrate to Pennsylvania. Quakers, Mennonites, Moravians, Lutherans, Schwenkfelders, and Dunkards (Church of the Brethren) came to Pennsylvania from Sweden, England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, and Germany.

He sought to establish a city which he named Philadelphia - “The City of Brotherly Love” where Christians could work together in love. As a devout Quaker, William Penn believed that true religion was not of ceremonial rituals held each Sunday. To him true religion was faith in Christ which was the foundation for a daily walk through life and inspiration.

His Prayer for Philadelphia is inscribed on plaque which is on the wall of Philadelphia City Hall for all to read: Penn delivered his Prayer for Philadelphia in 1684:

“And thou, Philadelphia, the Virgin settlement of this province named before thou wert born, what love, what care, what service and what travail have there been to bring thee forth and preserve thee from such as would abuse and defile thee.” 

“O that thou mayest be kept from the evil that would overwhelm thee. That faithful to the God of thy mercies, in the Light of Righteousness, thou mayest stand in the day of trial, that thy children may be blest of the Lord and thy people saved by His Power.”

William Penn issued his Charter of Privileges in 1701 which he granted to the province of Pennsylvania:

"Almighty God being the only Lord of Conscience...and Author as well as object of all Divine Knowledge, faith and worship, who only doth enlighten the minds and persuade and convince the understanding of people, I do here by grant and declare: 

All persons living in this province, who confess and acknowledge the One Almighty and Eternal God to be the Creator, Upholder, and Ruler of the world, and that hold themselves obliged in conscience to live peaceably and justly in civil society, shall in no wise be molested or prejudices for their religious persuasion or practice. 

And that all persons who also profess to believe in Jesus Christ the Savior of the World, shall be capable to serve this government in any capacity, both legislatively or executively.


No people can be truly happy, though under the greatest employment of civil liberties, if abridged of ...their religious profession and worship."

William Penn believed that true godliness enabled men to live better lives in the world seeking to mend a broken world.

“True Godliness doesn't turn men out of the World, but enables them to live better in it, and excites their endeavors to mend it.”

He wrote to Peter the Great, Czar of Russia:

“If thou wouldst rule well, thou must rule for God, and to do that thou must be ruled by him...Those who will not be governed by God will be ruled by tyrants.”

Not knowing if he would ever see his wife and children again, William Penn wrote:

My dear Wife and Children: 

My love, which neither sea nor land nor death itself can extinguish or lessen toward you, most endearly visits you with eternal embraces, and will abide with you forever; and may the God of my life watch over you and bless you, and do good in this world and forever! 

Some things are upon my spirit to leave with you in your respective capacities, as I am to the one a husband and to the rest a father, if I should never see you more in this world. 

My dear wife, remember thou wast the love of my youth and much the joy of my life; the most beloved as well as the most worthy of all my earthly comforts; and the reason of that love was more thy inward then thy outward excellencies, which yet were many. 

God knows, and thou knowest it, I can say it was a match of Providence's making and God's image in us both was the first thing, and the most amiable and engaging ornament in our eyes. Now I am to leave thee, and that without knowing whether I shall ever see thee more in this world; take my counsel into thy bosom and let it dwell with thee in my stead while thou livest. 

First: Let the fear of the Lord and a zeal and love to his glory dwell richly in thy heart; and thou wilt watch for good over thyself and thy dear children and family, that no rude, light, or bad thing be committed; else God will be offended, and He will repent Himself of the good He intends thee and thine...” 

And now, my dearest, let me recommend to thy care my dear children; abundantly beloved of me as the Lord's blessing, and the sweet pledges of our mutual and endeared affection. Above all things endeavor to breed them up in the love and virtue, and that holy plain way of it which we have lived in, that the world in no part of it get into my family. 

I had rather they were homely than finely bred as to outward behavior; yet I love sweetness mixed with gravity and cheerfulness tempered with sobriety. Religion in the heart leads into this true civility, teaching men and women to be mild and courteous in their behavior, an accomplishment worthy indeed of praise.”

On title page of his Book of Psalms, William Penn wrote:

"Set forth and allowed to be sung in all churches, of all the people together, before and after morning and evening prayer, and moreover in private houses for their godly solace and comfort, laying apart all ungodly songs and ballads: which tend only to the nourishing of vice and corruption of youth.”

In his sermon “A Summons or call to Christendom – In an earnest expostulation with her to prepare for the Great and Notable Day of the Lord that is at the Door” William Penn declared:

“For in Jesus Christ, the light of the world, are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge; redemption and glory; they are hid from the worldly Christian, from all that are captivated by the spirit and lusts of the world: and whoever would see them (for therein consists the things that belong to their eternal peace) must come to Christ Jesus the true light in their consciences, bringing their deeds to Him, love Him and obey Him; whom God hath ordained a light to lighten the Gentiles and for His salvation to the ends of the earth.”

The 1819, Biographical Review of London described William Penn:

"[William Penn] Established an absolute toleration; it was his wish that every man who believed in God should partake of the rights of a citizen; and that every man who adored Him as a Christian, of whatever sect he might be, should be a partaker in authority.”

William Penn's wisdom was “derived from the book of the gospel statutes.” He recognized the basis of good government as Christian character.

John Calvin - Huguenots

A year after Luther's translation of the New Testament into German; Jacques Lefevre d'Etaples published the New Testament in the French language. Lefevre's translation of the New Testament was published in 1523 two years prior to Tyndale's English translation. By 1530, the whole Bible was available and became known as the Antwerp Bible. Pierre Robert Olivetan published another translation in 1535 which was revived in 1557 and became the basis for the Geneva Bible.

In 1534, John Calvin, a French Protestant, was twenty-five when he met with his cousin Robert Olivetan and Lefevre – translator of the Bible. After leaving the Roman church in Noyon, France, he was briefly put into prison. Assuming a disguise, Calvin chose to live in Paris upon his release from prison and worshiped secretly in homes and wooded groves utilizing passwords. He eventually fled to Germany and then to Geneva which is situated near Lake Leman in Switzerland.

Geneva, Switzerland officially voted to become Protestant as a result of the preaching and influence of Ulrich Zwingli. Zwingli became the founder of the Protestant movement in Switzerland while Luther founded the Protestant church in Germany. Zwingli served as chaplain to the Swiss army. Tragically, he died in a battle in 1531.

Calvin wrote his infamous Institutes of Christian Religion in 1536. The Council of Geneva ordered John Calvin to do something which he felt he could not obey without violating his conscience. He was banished from Geneva upon which he traveled to Strasbourg where he became the pastor of a congregation which was comprised of French refugees. He continued to pastor the church in Strasbourg for three years and met a French refugee named Idelette whom he married.

Calvin was invited by the Council to return to Geneva in 1541 where he authored “Ecclesiastical Ordinances” The Ecclesiastical Ordinances included policies for physical health, safety of citizenry, education, sanitation requirements, and policies for jails.

Rosalie Slater states in her work “Teaching and Learning America's Christian History” 

“No writing of the Reformation era was more feared by Roman Catholics, more zealously fought against and more hostilely pursued, than Calvin's Institutes.”

J. H. Merle d'Aubigne wrote in his History of the Reformation:

“The renovation of the individual, of the church, and of the human race, is his theme...”

“The reformation of the sixteenth century restored to the human race what the middle ages had stolen from them; it delivered them from the traditions, laws, and despotism of the papacy; it put an end to the minority and tutelage in which Rome claimed to keep mankind forever; and by calling upon man to establish his faith not on the words of a priest, but on the infallible Word of God, and by announcing to every one free access to the Father through the new and saving way – Jesus Christ, it proclaimed and brought about the hour of Christian manhood.”

“An explanation is, however, necessary. There are philosophers in our days who regard Christ as simply the apostle of political liberty. These men should learn that, if they desire liberty outwardly, they must first possess it inwardly...”

“There are, no doubt, many countries, especially among those which the sun of Christianity has not yet illuminated, that are without civil liberty, and that groan under the arbitrary rule of powerful masters. But, in order to become free outwardly, man must first succeed in being free inwardly...

“The liberty which the Truth brings is not for individuals only; it affects the whole of society. Calvin's work of renovation, in particular, which was doubtless first of all an internal work, was afterwards destined to exercise a great influence over nations.”

The citizens of Geneva, through Calvin's encouragement,worked hard to make their city a model of Biblical government.

Calvin established the first Protestant university known as the Geneva Academy. Theodore Beza became the rector of the academy. Geneva became a haven for French Huguenots seeking refuge from the tyranny in France. Furthermore, it became a refuge and haven for Protestants throughout Europe. Geneva became a training center for French Huguenots and European protestants seeking refuge. Huguenot is a German word which means “Confederate.”

The Huguenots experienced severe oppression and persecution but continued to thrive until 1553. In 1553, five Huguenots were burned at the stake. This event actually failed in the attempt to quench the Protestant movement in France. Within four years a third of all Frenchmen (300,000) were Protestants.

After two years passed, a Confession of Faith of the Reformed Churches was composed by a national synod meeting in Paris. Consequently, the Pope issued an edict which made reading the Bible illegal!

Three years would pass and in 1562 the number of Protestant Churches grew from 300 to 2000 throughout France. The French Huguenots formed a political alliance to protect their religious freedom because of severe violations against their freedom of worship.

30,000 Protestants were massacred as they worshiped on St. Bartholomew's Day in 1572. The French Huguenots became convinced of the need to defend themselves by force if necessary. The Biblical foundation of their position was articulated in Vindicae Contra Tyrannos (A Defense of Liberty Against Tyrants) which was published in1579. It is believed that Philippe DuPlessis Mornay was the author of Vindicae. His reasoning was drawn from the wellspring of Calvin's writings. The document also became a precedent for the American colonists during the American War for Independence.

France was plunged into civil war between Protestants and Catholics and finally ended with the Edict of Toleration of 1598. The edict guaranteed both political and religious freedom to certain partitioned areas of France.

J. H. Merle d'Aubigne declared: 

“Lastly, Calvin was the founder of the greatest of republics. The pilgrims who left their country in the reign of James I and, landing on the barren shores of New England, founded populous and mighty colonies, are his sons, his direct and legitimate sons; and that American nation which we have seen growing so rapidly boasts as its father the humble reformer on the shores of the Leman.”

An old Huguenot song proclaims: 

“Spirit who made them live, awaken their children, so that they may know how to follow them.”

Johannes Gutenberg (1400 – 1468)

Johannes Gutenberg (1400 - 1468) was a German who was responsible for creating the movable type printing press. His invention helped revolutionize Western Europe during the Middle Ages. The printing press prepared the way for the rapid dispersion of thoughts and ideas through the printed medium. It was the invention of the movable type printing press which became the technology that made the Reformation possible.

The Gutenberg printing press assured that the light of truth would not be put out by neither civil nor ecclesiastical governments. Before the invention of the movable type printing press; it would take scribes over a year to hand copy one Bible. Hence, Bibles were scarce and expensive. The printing press was instrumental in spreading knowledge which liberated men and women. Within ten years of the invention of the press; the total number of books increased from 50,000 to 10 million.

Charles Coffin declared: 

“Through the energizing influence of the printing press, emperors, kings, and despots have seen their power gradually waning, and the people becoming their masters.”

The 42 line Mazarin Bible is known today as the Gutenberg Bible, was the first book of any significance which was printed on Gutenberg's printing press. He wrote the following comments in 1455.

“God suffers in the multitude of souls whom His word can not reach. Religious truth is imprisoned in a small number of manuscript books which confine instead of spread the public treasure. Let us break the seal which seals up holy things and give wings to Truth in order that she may win every soul that comes into the world by her word no longer written at great expense buy hands easily palsied, but multiplied like the wind by an untiring machine.”

“Yes it is a press, certainly, but a press from which shall flow in inexhaustible streams the most abundant and most marvelous liquor that has ever flowed to relieve the thirst of men. Through it, God will spread His word; a spring of pure truth shall flow from it; like a new star it shall scatter the darkness of ignorance, and cause a light hithertofore unknown to shine among men.”