Isaac Backus (January 9, 1724 – November 20, 1806) was a leading Baptist minister during the era of the American Revolution who campaigned against state-established churches in New England.

In "An account of the life of Isaac Backus" (completed to 1756), he provides genealogical information and a chronicle of events leading to his religious conversion.

Born in the village of Yantic, now part of the town of Norwich, Connecticut, Backus was influenced by the Great Awakening and the works of Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield.

Throughout his professional career Backus travelled extensively in New England, helping to organize churches and settle disputes among various Baptist groups.

The Warren Baptist Association was established in 1767; Backus was a member of the Grievance Committee formed to work toward elimination of persecution by civil authorities.

As an agent of the Committee he worked to keep the issue of separation of church and state before the general public; and in 1774 he travelled to Philadelphia with other Baptists to seek assistance from the First Continental Congress.

He argued for ratification of the U.S. Constitution in 1790, convinced that in effect it stood for separation of church and state by prohibiting any religious test for officeholders.

"[2] Isaac Backus’s advocacy for religious freedom was deeply influenced by the ideologies of Roger Williams and John Locke, pivotal figures who shaped his thinking.

Williams' pioneering arguments for the separation of church and state in colonial America profoundly impacted Backus, embedding a strong opposition to religious establishments in his works.

[3] Glazier [4] notes that Isaac Backus underwent an abrupt transformation from a critic of the Massachusetts State Legislature in 1774 to a staunch supporter of the American revolution in 1775.

In a famous letter to John Adams on Jan 19, 1774, Backus wrote: "I hope, sir, that you will give proof both to the Court and to the world, that you regard the religious, as well as the civil rights of your countrymen; that so large number of a peaceable people, and so hearty friends to their country as any in the land, may not be forced to carry their complaints before those who would be glad to hear that the legislature of the Massachusetts deny to their fellow servants that liberty which they so earnestly insist upon for themselves."

According to Chileab Smith, the General Court in 1768 "impowered our oppressors to gather money of us or sell our lands for the payment of their minister, and the finishing of their meeting house."

On Sunday, April 23, 1775, following the battles of Concord and Lexington, he chose as his text 1 Chronicles 12:32: "And if the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment."

In 1769, James Manning—pastor of the church in Warren and president of Rhode Island College [now Brown University] -- established an organization called the Warren Association to address church/state grievances: "Whereas complaints of oppressions, occasioned by a non-conformity to the religious establishment in New England, have been brought to this Association, and whereas the laws obtained for preventing and redressing such oppressions have, upon trial, been found insufficient (either through defect in the laws themselves, or iniquity in the execution thereof); and whereas humble remonstrances and petitions have not been duly regarded, but the same oppressive measures continued: This is to inform all the oppressed Baptists in New England that the Association of Warren, (in conjunction with the Western or Philadelphia Association) is determined to seek remedy for their brethren where a speedy and effectual one may be had.

In order to pursue this resolution by petition and memorial, the following gentlemen are appointed to receive well attested grievances, to be by them transmitted to the Rev.

The annual reports of the association were typically concise, consisting of one page of well-composed text, written on heavy paper, and noted for their excellent penmanship.

WA reports follow a standard format: The first paragraph is a flowery (King James English) "Greetings" highlighting ways God had blessed their church during the past year.

Backus's WA files constitute one of the most complete records of church affairs in eighteenth century New England.

Glazier [4] suggests that the most important document in the Yale collection is Chileab Smith's account of the persecution of the Baptists in Ashfield, Massachusetts.

And let the history of all nations be searched, from that day to this, and it will appear that the imposing of religious tests hath been the greatest engine of tyranny in the world.

[6]In the same speech Backus also praised the constitution for giving the federal government the power to tax and eventually (after twenty years) regulate or abolish the slave trade.

It also encompassed any practice or institutional form that reduced individual freedom of choice which Backus compares to pedobaptism (infant baptism).

Stephen Hopkins owned at least seven slaves who are named in two wills: Adam, Bonner, Fibbo, Primus, Priamus, Prince and St. Jago.