John Wise (1652-1725), American Congregational minister, effectively defended the autonomy of individual congregations. His opinions regarding religious and civil democracy foreshadowed the logic of the Declaration of Independence.

John Wise was born in Roxbury, Mass., in August 1652. He studied in the Roxbury free school and graduated from Harvard in 1673. He then studied theology and preached at Branford, Conn. (serving as chaplain during King Philip's War), and Hatfield, Mass. In 1680 he was called to the Second (Chebacco) Church in lpswich. A dispute with the First Church, from which the body was separating, delayed official organization but Wise was installed in 1683 and remained throughout his life.

Known for his democratic principles, Wise encouraged lpswich citizens to resist Governor Edmund Andros's attempt to raise money by a province tax without legislative authorization. He was tried, convicted, and fined for the remonstrance, and Andros briefly deprived him of his ministerial functions. When...