Virginia's dissenters, primarily Presbyterians and Baptists, demanded religious liberty in return for supporting the American Revolution. The resulting negotiations not only brought Virginia, and America, religious freedom, but politicized dissenters and republicanized the polity. Importantly, dissenters demanded strict separation of church and state, rejecting the notion of a "Christian nation."

John Ragosta is an Instructor at the University of Virginia School of Law and Adjunct Professor, Randolph College

• Introduction


• 1.: Virginians Dissent: Snakes, Hornets, and Brimstone


• 2.: Negotiating Support for the War and Religious Freedom


• 3.: British Failures and Plans for Success


• 4.: Mobilizing Support: Did the Dissenters Fight?


• 5.: After the War: A Resurgent Establishment and the End of Compulsion


• 6.: What Did They Fight, and Bargain, For?


• Epilogue


• Notes


• Bibliography


• Index