During the American Revolution, Virginia made dramatic strides in the development of religious freedom. As a colony, Virginia had an established church—the Church of England—supported by establishment taxes; in the years leading up to the Revolution, the colony jailed scores of “dissenting” ministers who preached without a license, primarily Baptists. With the adoption of Article XVI of the Virginia Declaration of Rights (1776), Virginia promised a “free exercise of religion.” By the end of 1776 taxes for the established church were suspended, and in 1779 they were repealed. Other reforms eliminated many regulations and limitations to which dissenting religionists had been subjected. This liberalization was threatened in 1784, however, when a majority of the Virginia House of Delegates, led by Patrick Henry, tentatively approved a proposal to impose a tax that would support the ministers or teachers of all Christian denominations. This was called the Bill Establishing a Provision for Teachers of the Christian Religion. After Henry was elevated to the governorship, removing him from the legislature, James Madison led a successful effort to delay the passage of the general assessment, or statewide tax, until the General Assembly could hear from citizens. In 1785 Madison’s eloquent Memorial and Remonstrance against Religious Assessments was published anonymously as part of the successful petitioning campaign in opposition to the general assessment. Thousands of Virginia citizens endorsed copies of Madison’s Memorial and Remonstrance and other petitions to the House of Delegates decrying a general assessment.