Considered part of the “pulpit of the American Revolution,” and a leading advocate of the separation of church and state in Revolutionary-era America, Baptist pastor Isaac Backus was a pillar of early American evangelical thought. His works such as Appeal to the Public for Religious Liberty and Government and Liberty Described and Ecclesiastical Tyranny Exposed open a valuable window into early America and the development of the ideals of religious liberty.

In this treatise, Isaac Backus, an important voice in the “pulpit of the American Revolution,” discusses the problems of church-state relations, rallying the cry for religious liberty. Noting the unique roles of ecclesiastical and civil government, Backus argues for their separation and the protection of freedom of conscience. Backus argues that the “true liberty of man is, to know, obey, and enjoy his Creator, and to do all the good unto, and enjoy all the happiness with and in his fellow creat...