Before there was freedom of religion in America, before Thomas Jefferson penned the Virginia Statute, before James Madison hammered out the First Amendment, there was a moment in 1688 when England, ever so cautiously, took a step toward religious tolerance. The Toleration Act of 1688, often referenced by its date of royal assent in 1689, was not a dramatic leap into liberty. It was more like loosening a stiff collar after a long and tense dinner. Yet even this modest breath of fresh air stirred ideas that would cross the Atlantic and take root in American soil.