Civil Rights
Samuel Adams, who has been called 'The Father of the American Revolution' wrote The Rights of the Colonists in 1772, which stated: "The rights of the colonists as Christians...may be best understood by reading and carefully studying the institution of the Great Law Giver and Head of the Christian Church, which are to be found clearly written and promulgated in the New Testament."
“We have now to consider the civil rights of man, and to show how the one originates from the [natural rights of man]. Man did not enter into society to become worse than he was before, not to have fewer rights than he had before, but to have those rights better secured. His natural rights are the foundation of all his civil rights.” - Thomas Paine, “The Rights of Man”, December 23, 1776. From Common Sense, the Rights of Man, and Other Essential Writings of Thomas Paine. New York: Penguin Books, 1984, pg. 151.
“We have now to consider the civil rights of man, and to show how the one originates from the [natural rights of man]. Man did not enter into society to become worse than he was before, not to have fewer rights than he had before, but to have those rights better secured. His natural rights are the foundation of all his civil rights.” - Thomas Paine, “The Rights of Man”, December 23, 1776. From Common Sense, the Rights of Man, and Other Essential Writings of Thomas Paine. New York: Penguin Books, 1984, pg. 151.
