It's talking about the first shot of the Revolutionary War
The United States agreed to engage in a "Europe First Strategy" with Great Britain because its priority was to help its allies first defeat the Nazis. Following the Nazis successful invasion of France the United States sought to prevent the Nazis from invading Great Britain and instead defeat them first.
Before the revolution the church had all authority and everyone believed what the church said. It undermined it because any scientific evidence that went against the church weakened the church. Officials feared that as people began to believe scientific ideas, then people would start to question the Church, making people doubt key elements of the faith. Officials feared that scientific ideas would threaten the powerful influence of the Church.
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