USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Religious freedom, or even tolerance, was not supported by Virginia’s government until 1776. Just as in England across the Atlantic Ocean, the power of Virginia’s government was united with the power of the Church of England (Anglican church) as an “established” religion. Quakers were expelled from the colony by Gov.

Detailed explanation-2: -The Virginia Company was formed both to bring profit to its shareholders and to establish an English colony in the New World. The Company, under the direction of its treasurer Sir Thomas Smith, was instructed to colonize land between the 34th and 41st northern parallel.

Detailed explanation-3: -The purposes of the representatives of the Virginia Company of London, who landed at present-day Jamestown in May 1607, were not only to colonize but also to Christianize, to open new areas for trade, and to guard against further inroads by the Spanish, who already had colonized what is now Florida.

Detailed explanation-4: -The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom is a statement about both freedom of conscience and the principle of separation of church and state. Written by Thomas Jefferson and passed by the Virginia General Assembly on January 16, 1786, it is the forerunner of the first amendment protections for religious freedom.