Was our nation founded on religious freedom? Can you tell fact from fiction about America’s religious roots?

This great nation was founded on principles of equality and religious freedom, and the Bible formed the moral pillars from which our constitution was born. See how much you know about the birth of our nation and the principles that forged this great country.

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What year did Columbus set sail?

In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue! On August 3, 1492, Christopher Columbus started his voyage across the Atlantic Ocean with a crew of 90 men and three ships. It took Columbus and his crew 61 days to make it to what is now the Bahamas.
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What world leader(s) funded Christopher Columbus' expedition across the Atlantic Ocean?

Columbus spent nearly a decade trying to convince someone to pay for his voyage; he lobbied Portugal, England, and France to no avail. When Columbus originally approached King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain, they weren't interested either, but by 1486, with the help of Queen Isabella's confessors, he was able to convince the Spanish monarchs to fund his quest.
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The purpose of Columbus' first voyage was to prove the world was round.

Christopher Columbus never set out to prove the earth was round. In fact, by 1492, most people, including Columbus and his Spanish patrons, had known the earth was round for thousands of years. Columbus' own writings suggest that he believed God was sending him westward.
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True or false? Columbus intended to evangelize the New World.

This is true! Columbus was very much interested in evangelizing. Believing he was traveling to Asia, Columbus particularly wanted to convert the Grand Khan of China, who had already expressed interest in Christianity.
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The prevailing thought among European monarchs at the time of Charles I, who reigned from 1625-1642, was the idea that their power was mandated from God. What is this political doctrine called?

The idea of the Divine right of kings really gave the king free rein to do as he pleased. According to the belief, no one—not the aristocracy, or the lawmaking body, or any other earthly authority—had the authority to judge the king or tell him what to do.
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William Penn's advanced democratic political ideals were a great inspiration to the founding fathers. Philadelphia was the first city that Penn planned and built in his colony. What does the word "Philadelphia" mean?

Philadelphia is Greek for brotherly love! There was an ancient city in western Asia Minor (now modern-day Turkey) named Philadelphia. It is discussed in Revelation 3:7. It was this verse that Penn probably had in mind when he named the city.
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Who was the first person to sign the Constitution of the United States?

As president of the Convention, George Washington signed first, followed by other delegates grouped by state in progression from north to south. Washington, however, signed near the right margin of the page, and when the delegates ran out of space, they began a second column of signatures to the left. There were 39 signatures in total.
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Who first used the words "wall of separation" in talking about church and state?

It is commonly mistaken that Thomas Jefferson originated the idea of a "wall of separation," but it actually goes back much further, to the 1600s, when Roger Williams referred to a "wall of separation between the Garden of the Church and the Wilderness of the world." The context of the quote was his long-running debate with a clergyman in the nearby Puritan colony of Massachusetts who had justified Massachusetts' persecution of people who defied Puritan orthodoxy.
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Who was the first President to live in the White House?

John Adams took up residence in the White House on November 1, 1800. In the first few days of his residency, he wrote a letter to his wife, Abigail, containing this prayer: "I pray Heaven to bestow the best of blessings on this House, and all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof."