Immigrants arrive in the United States with the belief that they would enjoy the simple rights guaranteed to all Americans: freedom of religion and speech. Our government defends these rights to the fullest with the laws they constitute, but there are still areas that still prevent these two rights. From the courts, the Pledge of Allegiance, the Constitution, and our presidents past and present, the word “God” has been institutionalized and ingrained in us. When the United States was founded, “God” meant everything to most, but over the years the nation has become more diverse. From a mainstream of Christian beliefs to hundreds of diverse people, the United States is no longer a nation ruled by a single “God.” Obstacles to dissent have besieged the American people and they have prevailed, but there are new issues to address on the nation's record, "God" being one of them. Since the beginning of U.S. history, immigrants have been lured with the possibility of free speech. Speech, one of the rights enjoyed by every person, is the backbone of the nation. In 1619, the first House of Burgesses, the very first representative legislature of what is now the United States. The House of Burgesses was assembled by the permanent settlers of Jamestown in what is now Virginia in hopes of giving voice to the citizens of Virginia (Woodburn 57-58). These men gave the people of the colony a voice in their laws. English settlers came from Britain hoping to free themselves from the treacherous twists and turns of British kings and queens, their courts, and ever-changing religions. A year later (1620), the Pilgrims took a big chance by traveling thousands of miles on the May Flower in search of relief middle of paper......April 5, 2011. Independence Hall Association, comp. “The Pledge of Allegiance.” USHistory.org. Np, and Web. April 12, 2011. Historical information on the Pledge of AllegianceTable 75. Self-declared religious identification of the adult population: 1990 to 2008. 2010. Census Bureau. Internet. April 10, 2011 Toy, David A. “The Pledge: The Constitutionality of an American Icon.” Journal of Law and Education 34 (2005): n. page. Academic LexisNexis. Internet. April 13, 2011. Information on the Pledge of Allegiance. Woodburn, James Albert and Thomas Francis Moran. Elementary American History and Government. New edition, ed. revised and expanded. 1919. New York: Longmans, Green & Co., 1922. Print. Initial information about the Maison des Bourgeois.