Flushing Remonstrance: Rare Book of the Week

This week's Rare Book of the Week, the Flushing Remonstrance, one of the earliest exercises of religious liberty in New York, is only on view for a very limited period. 

From April 8-10, The New York Public Library will present The Flushing Remonstrance: Let Everyone Remain Free, a rare display concerning religious liberty featuring the Flushing Remonstrance, an important document that codified the First Amendment. The exhibition explains the origins of the document, how it endured, and its legacy today. Rarely seen by the public, it is being loaned to NYPL thanks to a partnership with New York State Archives Partnership Trust and the New York City Landmarks 60 Alliance to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the passage of the NYC landmarks law.

Authored in 1657 by Dutch settlers in modern-day Flushing, Queens, the Flushing Remonstrance petitioned Director-General Peter Stuyvensant to withdraw his edict banning Quaker worship, citing the colony’s promise of religious tolerance under Dutch governance. While Stuyvesant ignored the petition, the Remonstrance was a crucial precedent in the fight for religious freedom. In 1662, John Bowne was jailed and exiled to the Netherlands for hosting Quaker meetings in his home - his successful appeal to the Dutch West India Company helped secure greater religious tolerance in New Netherland. Today, the Remonstrance is considered a foundational document for religious liberty and freedom of conscience, and its principles were later enshrined in the First Amendment to the Bill of Rights. 

On view for a limited time in the Edna Barnes Salomon Room at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, the singed petition can be seen alongside a photograph of the 1911 Capitol fire it survived, a 1658 map of New Amsterdam, and a 1941 comic book illustrating the Flushing Remonstrance, the subject of a collaborative event between the Historical Society of the New York Courts and the New York State Archives as seen in the Society's YouTube film below.

“The Flushing Remonstrance is a powerful reminder that the fight for free expression is as urgent today as it was in 1657,” said Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel, Chair of the NYC Landmarks60 Alliance and Steward of the New York State Archives Partnership Trust. “This exhibition allows us to witness a bold act of conscience that still speaks to us across the centuries.”

Brent Reidy, Andrew W. Mellon Director of Research Libraries at The New York Public Library added, “The Flushing Remonstrance is a remarkable testament to courage in the face of injustice. Although this petition did not bring change as quickly as Dutch colonists hoped, its principles endured and were eventually enshrined in the Bill of Rights.” 

“The Flushing Remonstrance is one of more than 250 colonial and New York State records the State Archives is responsible for maintaining and preserving,” said Brian Keough, New York State Archivist. “We are pleased to partner with The New York Public Library to publicly display the document alongside related records documenting religious tolerance in Dutch New York. This helps ensure our state’s rich history is remembered for generations to come.”