The First English Bible In America Printed Was Robert Aitken’s King James ‘Bible Of The Revolution’ Used On The Very First Independence Day

His King James Bible became known as the “Bible of the Revolution,” because it was printed in a small size so copies could be distributed to the soldiers in the Colonial army.

It is true that the Puritan’s brought over the Geneva Bible when they came to what would soon be known as the United States, but in the halcyon days of the American Revolution there was a different bible stuck in the pockets of the soldiers in the Continental Army. What became known as the ‘bible of the revolution’ was Robert Aitken’s 1771 King James New Testament, it was the Bible that ushered in victory for the fledging patriots.

“I am sought of them that asked not for me; I am found of them that sought me not: I said, Behold me, behold me, unto a nation that was not called by my name.” Isaiah 65:1 (KJB)

By 1782, Aitken had secured the backing of Congress to publish the entire King James Bible, one year later the war would be over, and America would officially and formally be a free nation. Those early Americans were not confused about the power behind the ‘word of a king’, and it was no accident or coincidence that the King James Bible was the foundation upon this nation was granted victory by Almighty God. In 1782, the Aitken King James Bible was endorsed by Congress for use in American schools. In 2021, that same Congress is right now crafting ‘hate speech’ laws in an attempt to make use of the Bible a crime. Think about that as you celebrate your freedom this Independence Day.

Robert Aitken’s King James Bible Was The ‘Bible Of The Revolution’

FROM CEDARVILLE UNIVERSITY: Many of the early settlers in America from England came seeking religious freedom. The Pilgrims arrived in 1620 and brought with them the Geneva Bible, not the King James Bible. The KJV was seen as the Bible of the English King and the state Church of England which had been persecuting them. But by the mid-1600s, the King James Bible was arriving in the New World with the increasing flow of settlers.

However, the first Bibles printed in America were not English Bibles. The very first was John Eliot’s Algonquin Indian language Bible which was printed in 1663. The first Bible printed in America in a European language was Luther’s German translation, printed in 1743. It was much later in the colonial period, in 1782, when the first complete King James Bible was printed in America. Prior to that time, English Bibles were readily available as imports from England and the English Crown owned the “copyright” on the printing of the King James Version.

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With the coming of the Revolutionary War, the importation of British goods was seriously curtailed, so Robert Aitken, who had started printing the King James New Testament in the Colonies in 1771, gained the support from the United States Congress to print the entire King James Bible, which he did in 1782. His Bible became known as the “Bible of the Revolution,” because it was printed in a small size so copies could be distributed to the soldiers in the Colonial army.

Late in the 18th century, other printers began publishing the complete King James Bible. Isaac Collins printed his Bible in 1791; the Collins Bible became known as the first “Family Bible” printed in America. Isaiah Thomas published the first illustrated King James Bible in 1791. And John Thompson in 1798 produced the first King James Bible to be hot-pressed in America. This printing technique helped to sear the ink clearly into the paper with heat. Thompson’s Bible was a large pulpit folio, the largest Bible printed in America up until that time. As the new United States of America moved into the 19th century, many new milestones of Bible printing would follow. READ MORE

The Aitken King James Bible was endorsed by Congress for use in schools

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