Though today New York symbolizes a place of diversity and acceptance, under English colonial rule in the late 17^th century existed a rigid slave system that treated African slaves harshly and strictly. Not only were slaves unable to own property, but they could not even practice their own religion. As Steven Jaffe writes in, “Educating the Enslaved in Colonial New York”, “Many New York slaveholders resisted the idea of baptizing their slaves or teaching them to read the Bible, fearing that Christianity and literacy might embolden their human property to ask for freedom, or even try to seize it through violent rebellion.” However, Elie Neau directly challenged this notion in 1704 when he opened a revolutionary institution that for the next 19 years would teach the enslaved how to be “thinking literate Christians”. Though he wasn’t an abolitionist, his belief that all people had the right to be educated and religious set the foundation for antislavery activism in the future.

As Jaffe writes in, “Leather Aprons & Silk Stockings: The Coming of the American Revolution in New York”, this brutal treatment of slaves and the taxes and regulations on working New Yorkers sparked a sense of rebellion within them. The New York Tea Party on April 22,1774 showed Parliament that New Yorkers were no longer willing to be oppressed. Workingmen known as “leather aprons” and lawyers known as “silk stockings” felt these similar sentiments. Prior to and during the American Revolution, these groups were forced to work together. However, the aristocratic patricians and the laborers who protested in the streets often couldn’t see eye to eye. Nicholas Lampert in, “Visualizing a Partial Revolution” explains this when describing Paul Revere’s publication of, “The most influential Boston Massacre image.” His image did not accurately depict reality because it showed a revolution led by educated and wealthy whites, while in truth it was led by a diverse and multi-cultured mob. Jaffe concludes though that despite it being a violent war with the tensions between the “leather aprons” and the “silk stockings” constantly arising, in 1783 George Washington triumphantly rode into the streets of New York. However, though the victory was shared between both groups of Patriots, “Those divisions would spark future conflicts and future activism in the name of the revolution’s principles of liberty and independence.”

Lampert mentions that farmers and artisans were left out from the Constitutional Congress and were not invited to draft the new Constitution. This was particularly troubling because the absence of the working class meant that if a strong federal government was created, one again they would be oppressed. Liberty Poles were set up and resistance by laborers one again began. Simply put, “The success of the Conservative elites did not defuse class tensions during the War of Independence (1775-1783) or after. If anything, the tensions heightened.”

This is evident when looking at the 3/5 compromise. The decision to count three fifths of the slaves in a state’s population, “would help to elect slaveholding presidents” from 1800 to the 1850s. It is also evident when looking at the U.S. Voting Rights Timeline. In 1776, only landowners could vote, and the majority of landowners were white male Protestants over the age of 21. In 1787, because there was no national standard for voting, white male landowners still controlled voting for the most part. This is why George Washington was elected in 1787 by only 6% of the population. And lastly in 1790, only “free white immigrants” could become naturalized citizens.

Therefore, despite their undeniable success in the mid-18th century, it seems that at this point in history, many New Yorkers must have questioned how much progress they had really made since the days of Elie Neau.

-Molly Ottensoser

Religion is a staple part of United States’ culture, but with religious diversity comes clashes. Religious persecution continues to persist on since this nation consisted of merely colonies, as seen in Stephen Jaffe’s, “Chapter 1: Let Us Stay: The Struggle of Religious Freedom in Dutch New Netherland.” The movement of Quakers into Dutch New Netherland, now known as New York, gives readers a strong background of the origins of religious persecution  and how its effects evolve this city into a safe haven for individuals of different beliefs to settle.

Acceptance of Quakers in the New England colonies is highly controversial in 17^th century America. Religious uniformity is favored by governor, Peter Stuyvasent, but the desire to grow the colony causes issues over how to deal with foreign religious practices. At that time, the government specifically supports the Dutch Reformed Church, declaring it the official “public” church. However, the idea of a “liberty of conscience” is gaining popularity. The Dutch enjoy the notion of practicing as they please in private without the fear of religious persecution. Many petitions against his rulings are made, notably the Flushing Remonstrance, and temporarily work, but Stuyvasent’s law continues to prevail. It is not until John Bowne persuades the directors of the Dutch West India Company that Stuyvasent is forced to make New Netherland’s toleration policy in line with Amsterdam’s.

As Jaffe notes, “the Dutch idea of freedom of conscience played a role in creating a climate of toleration that persisted even after New Netherland became New York in 1664.” Not only does this statement foreshadow New York City becoming the most diverse settlement in the country in terms of religion, etc., but also marks the beginning of the struggles to come in order to gain complete religious freedom in the United States. This idea that arises in the early 17^th century allows people to question and fight for their beliefs for many years to come and to this day.

Fast forwarding to the signing of the Constitution and the addition of the Bill of Rights, the government addresses religious freedom. The first three lines of the First Amendment states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” This sounds ideal, but what meaning do these words actually hold? The United States Courts gives a quick and thorough explanation of the meaning and origins of this amendment, allowing individuals to better understand what rights it provides. Furthermore, both sites provide the straight forward claim that people have the right to establish and exercise their own faith.

It is essential to grasp the two major parts of the first amendment concerning religion — the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause. Firstly, “the Establishment Clause prohibits the government from “establishing” a religion.” Noticing the quotation marks around establishing, the reader can assume that there is some ambiguity in the term. Basically, its meaning changes over time. Back then, “establishing” referred to the creation of state-sponsored churches. The government was not allowed to declare or financially support a national religion. However, now, it goes beyond that. Its definition is mainly based off of the rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court case, Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971), which allows the government to assist religion under certain conditions. As long the purpose is secular, neither prohibiting nor inhibiting religion, and is not interfering between church and state, it is valid.

Pertaining to this topic is the debate over school-sponsored prayer. In the case of Engel v. Vitale (1962), the court rules this to violate the Establishment Clause. Although highly argued, the decision allows students of all distinct backgrounds to attend public school and worship as they please. Baruch College is a great example of a government-funded university that is extremely diverse in faiths, yet all are embraced and have a place to practice. This carries into the second division of the first amendment, which is the Free Exercise Clause.

While some may claim this to be contradictory of the Establishment Clause, the Free Exercise Clause “protects citizens’ right to practice their religion as they please, so long as the practice does not run afoul of a “public morals” or a “compelling” governmental interest.” Essentially, American citizens have the right to accept any religious belief and engage in religious rituals. However, it gets tricky because the clause does allow for violation of general laws due to religious reasons, which technically means the government is giving special recognition to certain religions, but nevertheless, this law is fair. As seen in Prince v. Massachusetts (1944), the Supreme Court does prioritize health and safety over religious beliefs by ruling children must receive necessary vaccinations, regardless of faith.

Keeping with the discussion about activism in New York, both the origins of religious persecuation/toleration and the First Amendment prove how far people will go to stand with their beliefs. Analyzing these two texts allows readers to to dig deeper into times before religious freedom and understand the struggles and feats that are made and continued to be. From the Quakers to Supreme Court cases, religious freedom shows to be significant in our country, especially New York City, which is considered a melting pot of theologies.

When approaching these three poems, in order to truly understand and analyze them, I think about the time these poems were published and what was going on at that time. The first poem I read was “I Hear America Singing” by Walt Whitman. This poem was published in 1860 and acknowledges different common men in America, their jobs, and the pride they have in their jobs. During this time, slavery was a big issue in America. At the same time, however, Lincoln was nominated president and stood with the anti slavery movement. This causes more people to gain jobs while being proud of their work. Although the different men and women have different tasks, they each “sing” with pride their work. In addition, the Industrial Revolution was a big part of this time which creates another sense of patriotism through the people of America because of its great advancements. “I, too” by Langston Hughes was published in 1926. This is a time where many people are moving out of their farms to live in cities, New York City being a popular place among people who are planning to move because of its different communities. The 1920s is a decade of change because of how many people are starting to be consumers instead of farming what they need for themselves and being satisfied with that. America becomes a world power because of this, and American culture is now seen being spread throughout the whole world. Not only that, but different races become more confident in their work and potential, due to events happening in New York such as the Harlem Renaissance. In this poem, Langston Hughes describes that although “I am the darker brother”, he declares that soon he will be the wealthy one at the table having the most power rather than the servant (2). People in America are clearly now starting to become confident and patriotic regardless of their race. They believe in themselves, something that was not seen when African Americans were under slavery. “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus was published in 1883. Around this time we know the second industrial revolution occurred which contained the advancements of electricity and steel. As Lazarus describes “a mighty woman with a torch” I automatically think of the Statue of Liberty (4). In the poem, Lazarus also describes this woman as a welcoming figure to many people coming in from different countries specifically looking for religious freedom and economic opportunity. The author of this poem clearly believes that America is the place where anyone should come to because of its reputation of making dreams happen. Not just America, but throughout the entire world, New York is seen as the prominent city where work happens and anything can get done.

Although these three poems were all written at different times, they all carry a common theme. The theme of being patriotic and open to every race is seen in all three of these poems. Instead of being labeled as where you came from or who your grandparents were, we now are all labeled as one, Americans. Americans who have the same pride for the same country. Hughes is aware that his race is different than the people who he is serving, however he realizes that they are both in America, where everyone now has the same chance at being successful, especially in the 1920s. Whitman describes different jobs belonging to different people however connects them in their shared love and pride for working in America. Lazarus is patriotic herself, as she describes the Statue of Liberty that is going to be given to America soon which will ultimately let anyone in and give everyone the same chance. She explains that the Statue will constantly cry, “Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” (13-14). The golden door is a symbol of America in this description. All of these authors were raised in New York, which says a lot about their perspective on work and change in America, since New York was a prominent place for immigrants to settle and find opportunity.

Michelle Nazar M.N