40. The Maryland Toleration Act, 1649
The English Roman Catholics were cruelly oppressed. No priest of that faith was allowed to live in England. And Roman Catholics who were not priests had to pay heavy fines simply because they were Roman Catholics. Lord Baltimore hoped that his fellow Catholics might find a place of shelter in Maryland, and many of the leading colonists were Roman Catholics. But most of the laborers were Protestants. Soon came the Puritans from Virginia. They were kindly received and given land. But it was evident that it would be difficult for Roman Catholics, Episcopalians, and Puritans to live together without some kind of law to go by. So a law was made that any Christian might worship as he saw fit. This was the first toleration act in the history of America. It was the first toleration act in the history of modern times. But the Puritan, Roger Williams, had already established religious freedom in Rhode Island (p. 33).
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