The Flushing Remonstrance: Defending Religious Freedom

More than a century before the First Amendment became part of the Bill of Rights, residents of what is now Queens were already wrestling with a question that would become central to American identity: Who gets to decide what a person believes or how they worship?

In 1645, Flushing, then known as Vlissingen, received a charter under Dutch rule that promised its inhabitants would enjoy the "Liberty of Conscience" in keeping with the comparatively tolerant religious traditions of the Dutch Republic. This charter existed, however, alongside laws that favored the Dutch Reformed Church. As New Netherland grew more religiously diverse, the boundaries of that promise of liberty became increasingly strained.

They were put to the test in 1656, when Director-General Peter Stuyvesant issued an ordinance limiting public religious services to the Dutch Reformed Church. Stuyvesant's ordinances also mandated the confiscation of ships that brought Quakers to New Netherland and imposed fines on anyone who sheltered a Quaker.

In August of 1657, 12 Quakers from England arrived on Long Island. Two of them, women, began preaching in New Amsterdam, were arrested, and were banished from the colony. That same summer, one of the men from the group, Robert Hodgson, was arrested for preaching in Hempstead and was beaten and ultimately banished. Then, in September 1657, Henry Townsend, who lived in Jamaica, was arrested, imprisoned, and fined for hosting Quaker meetings at his house.

To protest this persecution, a group of citizens of Flushing drafted a petition to Stuyvesant. This petition, the Flushing Remonstrance, was put to paper by town clerk Edward Hart, who is said to have written it based on opinions expressed at a village meeting. While he did not cite a particular writer, some sources suggest that Sheriff Tobias Feake, a leader of the group, played a significant role in its composition. The document was signed by 30 residents of Flushing (none of whom were Quakers) and hand-delivered to Stuyvesant by Feake.

Copy of the Flushing Remonstrance and graphic poster, on display at the Bayside Historical Society Castle until November 20, 2026.

The Flushing Remonstrance is an attack on Stuyvesant's ordinances and a defense of freedom of conscience. The signers end their petition in clear defiance, affirming their intention to do their duty as they see fit and referencing the rights they were guaranteed in their 1645 charter:

Therefore if any of these said persons come in love unto us, we cannot in conscience lay violent hands upon them, but give them free egresse and regresse unto our Town, and houses, as God shall persuade our consciences, for we are bounde by the law of God and man to doe good unto all men and evil to noe man. And this is according to the patent and charter of our Towne, given unto us in the name of the States General, which we are not willing to infringe, and violate, but shall houlde to our patent and shall remaine, your humble subjects, the inhabitants of Vlishing.

Two days after the Remonstrance was presented, four town officers who had signed the document were arrested, including Sheriff Tobias Feake and Edward Hart. Two of the four recanted, but Hart and Feake were imprisoned, and Feake was fined and prohibited from holding office. Persecution of Quakers continued, and Stuyvesant banned most town meetings.

In 1662, Flushing resident John Bowne was arrested for holding Quaker meetings at his house, imprisoned in New Amsterdam for several months, and ultimately deported. He made his way to the Dutch Republic and presented his case to the Dutch West India Company, which governed New Netherland. Citing practical business concerns, the company directors sided with Bowne: "We doubt very much whether we can proceed against them…without diminishing the population and stopping immigration…. You may therefore shut your eyes, at least not force people's consciences, but allow everyone to have his own belief, as long as he behaves quietly and legally, gives no offense to his neighbors, and does not oppose the government."

Bowne's successful challenge of Stuyvesant's ordinances helped enshrine the principle of religious liberty in the colonies and was an important precursor to the First Amendment of the Constitution. But more than an early defense of freedom of religion, the Remonstrance is evidence of people putting that principle into practice, speaking on behalf of others even when doing so challenged the government's authority and put them at great personal risk.