Original Intent: The Courts, the Constitution, and Religion

by David Barton

9. Thomas Jefferson, The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, Albert Ellery Bergh, editor (Washington, DC: The Thomas Jefferson Memorial Association, 1904), Vol. XII, p. 392, to Governor John Tyler, May 26, 1810.

  10. Updegraph at 396, citing William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1769), Vol. IV, p. 59.

  11. Updegraph at 398-399.

  12. Updegraph at 399, 402-403, 406-407.

  13. People v. Ruggles, 8 Johns 290 (1811).

  14. Ruggles at 545.

  15. Ruggles at 545-547.

  16. Vidal v. Girard’s Executors, 43 U.S. 127, 132 (1844).

  17. Vidal at 143.

  18. Vidal at 175.

  19. Vidal at 152.

  20. Vidal at 153, 171.

  21. Vidal at 198.

  22. Vidal at 200.

  23. Commonwealth v. Kneeland, 37 Mass. 206, 207 (1838).

  24. Kneeland at 208.

  25. John Bouvier, A Law Dictionary (Philadelphia: George W. Childs, 1870), s.v. “libel.”

  26. Kneeland at 210.

  27. Kneeland at 217.

  28. Kneeland at 218.

  29. Kneeland at 219.

  30. Thomas Jefferson, Memoir, Correspondence, and Miscellanies, From the Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Randolph, editor (Boston: Gray and Bowen, 1830), Vol. IV, p. 27, to Abigail Adams, September 11, 1804.

  31. Benjamin Franklin, The Works of Benjamin Franklin, John Bigelow, editor (New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1904), Vol. XII, p. 131, “An Account of the Supremest Court of Judicature in Pennsylvania, viz., The Court of the Press.”

  32. Debates in the Several State Conventions on the Adoption of the Federal Constitution, Jonathan Elliot, editor (Washington, DC: Printed for the Editor, 1836), Vol. II, p. 449, James Wilson, December 1, 1787.

  33. Joseph Story, Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States (Boston: Hilliard, Gray, and Co., 1833), Vol. III, pp. 731-732, §1874.

  34. Benjamin Rush, Letters of Benjamin Rush, L. H. Butterfield, editor (Princeton University Press, 1951), Vol. I, p. 488, to Andrew Brown, October 1, 1788.

  35. James Kent, Commentaries on American Law (New York: O. Halsted, 1827), Vol. II, pp. 17-18, Lecture XXIV, “Of the Rights of Persons,” quoting Louisiana constitution, Article VI, §21.

  36. Story, Commentaries, Vol. III, p. 733, §1874.

  37. John M’Creery’s Lessee v. Allender, 4 H. & McH. 409 (Md. 1799).

  38. Runkel v. Winemiller, 4 H. & McH. 429 (Md. 1799).

  39. John Witherspoon, The Works of John Witherspoon (Edinburgh: J. Ogle, 1815), Vol. VII, p. 70, “Lectures on Moral Philosopy,” Lecture 9.

  40. See, for example, Witherspoon, Works, Vol. IV, p. 95, Sermon XIX, “Seasonable Advice to Young Persons,” February 21, 1762; Thomas Jefferson, Writings, Vol. III, p. 228, April 28, 1793; John Jay, The Correspondence and Public Papers of John Jay, Henry P. Johnston, editor (New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1893), Vol. IV, pp. 391-393, October 12, 1816; William Findley, Observations on “The Two Sons of Oil” (Pittsburgh: Patterson & Hopkins, 1812), pp. 22-23; et al.

  41. Commonwealth v. Sharpless, 2 Serg. & Rawle 91, 92 (Pa. 1815).

  42. Sharpless at 97, 101, 104.

  43. Davis v. Beason, 133 U.S. 333, 341-343, 348 n. (1890).

  44. Murphy v. Ramsey, 144 U.S. 15, 45 (1885).

  45. “Governor Signs Abstinence Bill,” California Voter’s Guide, Vol. 5, No. 10 (Sacramento: California Coalition for Traditional Values), Fall 1988.

  46. From a letter by the ACLU California Legislative Office to Senator Newton Russell dated April 18, 1988.

  47. Reynolds v. United States, 98 U.S. 145, 165 (1878).

  48. Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia (Philadelphia: Matthew Carey, 1794), Query XIV, p. 211.

  49. See, for example, the explanations in Lindenmuller v. People, 33 Barb 548 (N.Y. 1861); Melvin v. Easley, 52 N.C. 276, 280 (1860) (Manly, J., concurring); Commonwealth v. Has, 122 Mass. 40 (1877); Johnston v. Commonwealth, 22 Pa. 102 (1853); State v. Williams, 26 N.C. 296, 297 (1844); State v. McGee, 75 S.E. 2d 783 (N.C. 1953); Commonwealth v. Wolf, 3 Serg. & Rawle 48 (Pa. 1817); et al.

  50. Melvin at 280, (Manly, J., concurring).

  51. Johnston at 111.

  52. Has at 42.

  53. McGee at 788.

  54. City Council of Charleston v. S.A. Benjamin, 2 Strob. 508, 518-520 (S.C. 1846).

  55. Charleston at 521.

  56. Charleston at 522-524.

  57. Lindenmuller at 561-562.

  58. Lindenmuller at 562, 564, 567.

  59. Shover v. State, 10 Ark. 259, 263 (1850).

  60. Commonwealth v. Nesbit, 84 Pa. 398, 406 (1859).

  61. Nesbit at 406-407, 411.

  62. United States v. Macintosh, 283 U.S. 605, 625 (1931).

  63. Zorach v. Clauson, 343 U.S. 306, 312-314 (1952).

  64. Zorach at 315.

  Chapter 5 The Historical Evidence

  1. Church of the Holy Trinity v. United States, 143 U.S. 457, 465, 470-471 (1892).

  2. Christopher Columbus, Christopher Columbus’s Book of Prophecies, Kay Brigham, translator (Barcelona, Spain: CLIE, 1990; Ft. Lauderdale: TSELF, 1991), pp. 178-179, 182-183.

  3. Historical Collections: Consisting of State Papers and other Authentic Documents: Intended as Materials for an History of the United States of America, Ebenezer Hazard, editor (Philadelphia: T. Dobson, 1792), Vol. I, pp. 50-51.

  4. Hazard, Historical Collections, Vol. I, p. 72.

  5. Holy Trinity at 466; see also Hazard, Historical Collections, Vol. I, p. 119.

  6. William Bradford, History of Plymouth Plantation (Boston: Little, Brown, and Co., 1856), p. 24.

  7. John Winthrop, The Winthrop Papers, Stewart Mitchell, editor (Boston: Historical Society, 1931), Vol. II, pp. 292-295, “A Model of Christian Charity,” 1630.

  8. Hazard, Historical Collections, Vol. I, p. 252.

  9. Hazard, Historical Collections, Vol. I, pp. 327-328; see also William MacDonald, Select Charters and Other Documents (New York: The MacMillan Co., 1899), pp. 53-54.

  10. J. Moss Ives, The Ark and the Dove (New York: Longmans, Green and Co., 1936), p. 119; see also Joseph Banvard, Tragic Scenes in the History of Maryland and the Old French War (Boston: Gould and Lincoln, 1856), p. 32.

  11. North Carolina History, Hugh Talmage Lefler, editor (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1956), p. 16.

  12. Hazard, Historical Collections, Vol. II, pp. 612-613.

  13. A Collection of Charters and Other Public Acts Relating to the Province of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia: B. Franklin, 1740), p. 1.

  14. Benjamin Trumbull, A Complete History of Connecticut, Civil and Ecclesiastical, From the Emigration of its First Planters from England (Hartford: Hudson & Goodwin, 1797), pp. 528-533.

  15. Hazard, Historical Collections, Vol. I, p. 463.

  16. The Grants, Concessions, and Original Constitutions of the Province of New-Jersey, Aaron Leaming and Jacob Spicer, editors (Philadelphia: W. Bradford, 1758), Preface.

  17. John Fiske, The Beginnings of New England (Boston: Houghton, Mifflin & Co., 1898), pp. 127-128.

  18. The Code of 1650, Being a Compilation of the Earliest Laws and Orders of the General Court of Connecticut (Hartford: Silus Andrus, 1822), p. 2; see also Holy Trinity at 467.

  19. Code of 1650, p. 2; see also Holy Trinity at 467.

  20. Hazard, Historical Collections, Vol. I, p. 463.

  21. Hazard, Historical Collections, Vol. II, p. 1.

  22. John Locke, A Collection of Several Pieces of Mr. John Locke Never Before Printed (London: J. Bettenham, 1720), pp. 3, 41, 45, 46.

  23. A Collection of Charters, pp. 10-12; see also Thomas Clarkson, Memoirs of the Private and Public Life of William Penn (London: Richard Taylor & Co., 1813), Vol. I, p. 299-305.

  24. Code of 1650, pp. 92-93.

  25. Edward Kendall, Travels Through the Northern Parts of the United States (New York: I. Riley, 1809), Vol. I, pp. 270-271.

  26.
Benjamin Pierce, A History of Harvard University (Cambridge, MA: Brown, Shattuck, and Co., 1833), Appendix, p. 5.

  27. The Laws of Harvard College (Boston: Samuel Hall, 1790), pp. 7-8

  28. The Harvard Graduates’ Magazine (Menasha, WI: George Banta Publishing Co.), September 1933, p. 8, from the article “Harvard Seals and Arms” by Samuel Eliot Morison. English translation also confirmed to the author in an October 18, 1995, letter from a curatorial associate at the Harvard University Archives.

  29. The Charter and Statutes of the College of William and Mary in Virginia (Williamsburg: William Parks, 1736), p. 3.

  30. William & Mary Rules (Richmond: Augustine Davis, 1792), p. 6

  31. Noah Webster, Letters to a Young Gentleman Commencing His Education (New Haven: Howe & Spalding, 1823), p. 237.

  32. Documentary History of Yale University, Franklin B. Dexter, editor (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1916), p. 27, Proceedings of the Trustees, November 11, 1701.

  33. Documentary History of Yale, p. 32.

  34. Daniel Dorchester, Christianity in the United States (New York: Hunt and Eaton, 1890), p. 245.

  35. The Catalogue of the Library of Yale College in New Haven (New London: T. Green, 1743), prefatory remarks; see also The Catalogue of the Library of Yale College in New Haven (New Haven: James Parker, 1755), prefatory remarks.

  36. The Laws of Yale College in New Haven in Connecticut (New Haven: Josiah Meigs, 1787), pp. 5-6, Chapter II, Article 1, 4.

  37. Appletons’ Cyclopedia of American Biography, James Grant Wilson and John Fiske, editors (New York: D. Appleton and Co., 1888), s.v. “Aaron Burr,” “Timothy Edwards/Jonathan Edwards,” Samuel Davies,” and “Samuel Finley.”

  38. The Laws of the College of New-Jersey (Trenton: Isaac Collins, 1794), pp. 28-29.

  39. See, for example, Rufus Choate, A Discourse Delivered Before The Faculty, Students, and Alumni of Dartmouth College (Boston: James Monroe and Co., 1853), p. 33, where he declares that Daniel Webster’s arguments in Dartmouth College v. Woodward, 17 U.S. 518 (1819), “established the inviolability of the charter of Dartmouth College.”

  40. The Charter of Dartmouth College (Dresden: Isaiah Thomas, 1779), pp. 1, 4.

  41. Columbia Rules (New York: Samuel Loudon, 1785), pp. 5-8.

  42. E. Edwards Beardsley, Life and Times of William Samuel Johnson (Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Co., 1886), pp. 141-142.

  43. Report Relative to the Course of Instruction and Discipline in Columbia College (New York: T and J Swords, 1810), p. 23.

  44. Rutgers’ Fact Book of 1965 (New Jersey: Rutgers University, 1965), p. 2. (The motto was based on the Bible verses of Malachi 4:2 and Matthew 13:43.)

  45. E. P. Cubberley, Public Education in the United States (Boston: Houghton, Mifflin Co., 1919), p. 204; see also Luther A. Weigle, The Pageant of America: American Idealism, Ralph Henry Gabriel, editor (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1928), Vol. X, p. 315.

  46. George Washington, The Writings of Washington, John C. Fitzpatrick, editor (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1932), Vol. XV, p. 55, speech to the Delaware Indian Chiefs, May 12, 1779.

  47. Washington, Writings, Vol. XV, p. 55, speech to the Delaware Indian Chiefs, May 12, 1779.

  48. James Otis, The Rights of the British Colonies Asserted and Proved (Boston: J. Williams, 1766), pp. 11, 12, 13, 98.

  49. John Dickinson, The Political Writings of John Dickinson (Wilmington: Bonsal and Niles, 1801), Vol. I, pp. 111-112.

  50. Stephen Hopkins, The Rights of Colonies Examined (Providence: William Goddard, 1765), pp. 23-24.

  51. John Witherspoon, The Works of John Witherspoon (Edinburgh: J. Ogle, 1815), Vol. IX, p. 250, “The Druid,” Number III.

  52. Samuel Adams, The Writings of Samuel Adams, Harry Alonzo Cushing, editor (New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1908), Vol. IV, p. 38, to the Earl of Carlisle and Others, July 16, 1778.

  53. Samuel Adams, Writings, Vol. IV, p. 86, “Manifesto of the Continental Congress,” October 30, 1778.

  54. John Quincy Adams, An Address Delivered at the Request of the Committee of Arrangements for Celebrating the Anniversary of Independence at the City of Washington on the Fourth of July 1821 (Cambridge: Hilliard and Metcalf, 1821), p. 28.

  55. Francis Hopkinson, The Miscellaneous Essays and Occasional Writings of Francis Hopkinson (Philadelphia: T. Dobson, 1792), Vol. I, pp. 111-115.

  56. Samuel Adams, The Life and Public Services of Samuel Adams, William V. Wells, editor (Boston: Little, Brown, and Co., 1865), Vol. I, pp. 496-497.

  57. Samuel Adams, Life, Vol. I, p. 504.

  58. Hezekiah Niles, Principles and Acts of the Revolution in America (Baltimore: William Ogden Niles, 1822), p. 189.

  59. John R. Musick, John Hancock (Chicago: Union School Furnishing Co., 1898), pp. 118, 156.

  60. The Annual Register, or a View of the History, Politics, and Literature, from the Year 1775 (London: J. Dodsley, 1776), p. 5.

  61. Mercy Otis Warren, History of the Rise, Progress and Termination of the American Revolution, Interspersed with Biographical, Political and Moral Observations (Boston: E. Larkin, 1805), Vol. I, p. 133.

  62. George Bancroft, History of the United States (Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1858), Vol. VII, p. 99.

  63. David Ramsay, The History of the American Revolution (Dublin: William Jones, 1795), Vol. I, p. 107.

  64. The Journals of the American Congress, from 1774 to 1788 (Washington, DC: Way and Gideon, 1823), Vol. I, p. 8, September 6, 1774.

  65. Journals of … Congress (1823), Vol. I, p. 8, September 7, 1774.

  66. John Adams, Letters of John Adams, Addressed to His Wife, Charles Francis Adams, editor (Boston: Charles C. Little and James Brown, 1841), Vol. I, pp. 23-24, to Abigail Adams, September 16, 1774.

  67. Boston Gazette, September 26, 1774, containing an extract of a letter from Samuel Adams to Joseph Warren on September 9, 1774; see also Letters of Delegates to Congress, 1774-1789, Paul H. Smith, editor (Washington, DC: Library of Congress, 1976), Vol. I, p. 55.

  68. John Adams, The Works of John Adams, Charles Francis Adams, editor (Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1850), Vol. II, p. 378, diary entry of September 10, 1774; see also Letters of Delegates, Vol. I, p. 60.

  69. Letters of Delegates, Vol. I, p. 45, Samuel Ward’s diary for September 7, 1774.

  70. Silas Deane, The Deane Papers: Collections of the New York Historical Society for the Year 1886 (New York: Printed for the Society, 1887), Vol. I, p. 20, September 7, 1774; see also Letters of Delegates, Vol. I, p. 35.

  71. Letters of Delegates, Vol. I, p. 35, James Duane’s “Notes of the Debates in Congress,” September 7, 1774.

  72. Letters of Delegates, Vol. I, p. 35, James Duane’s “Notes of the Debates in Congress,” September 7, 1774.

  73. John Adams, Letters, Vol. I, pp. 23-24, to Abigail Adams, September 16, 1774.

  74. Deane, Papers, Vol. I, p. 20, September 7, 1774; see also Letters of Delegates, Vol. I, p. 34.

  75. John Adams, Works, Vol. II, p. 368, diary entry for September 7, 1774.

  76. The Journals of Each Provincial Congress of Massachusetts in 1774 and 1775, William Lincoln, editor (Boston: Dutton and Wentworth, 1838), p. 71, December 10, 1774.

  77. Journals of … Massachusetts, p. 70, December 10, 1774.

  78. Richard Frothingham, Rise of the Republic of the United States (Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1872), p. 393.

  79. Dorchester, Christianity, pp. 264-265

  80. William Wirt, Sketches of the Life and Character of Patrick Henry (Philadelphia: James Webster, 1818), pp. 121-123.

  81. Journals of … Massachusetts, pp. 144-145, proclamation of John Hancock, April 15, 1775.

  82. S. G. Arnold, The Life of Patrick Henry of Virginia (Auburn: Miller, Orton and Mulligan, 1854), pp. 118-119.

  83. Hugh Moore, Memoir of Col. Ethan Allen (Plattsburgh, NY: O. R. Cook, 1834), pp. 94-95.

  84. Journals of … Congress (1823), Vol. I, pp. 81-82, June 12, 1775.

  85. John Adam
s, Letters, Vol. I, p. 46, to Abigail Adams, June 17, 1775.

  86. Witherspoon, Works, Vol. IV, p. 170, “A Pastoral Letter … to be read from the Pulpits on Thursday, June 29, 1775, being the day of the General Fast.”

  87. Journals of … Congress (1823), Vol. I, p. 90, June 30, 1775. Furthermore, George Washington ordered that the Articles of War be read to the soldiers weekly – see George Washington, Writings (1931), Vol. IV, p. 527, General Orders, April 28, 1776.

  88. Journals of the Continental Congress (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1905), Vol. II, p. 192, July 19, 1775.

  89. House Journals, 1775: A Journal of the … House of Representatives (Watertown, MA: 1776), pp. 196-197, April 29, 1776.

  90. Journals of … Congress (1905), Vol. IV, p. 201, March 13, 1776.

  91. Journals of … Congress (1905), Vol. IV, pp. 208-209, May 17, 1776.

  92. Benjamin Rush, Letters of Benjamin Rush, L. H. Butterfield, editor (New Jersey: American Philosophical Society, 1951), Vol. I, pp. 532-536, to John Adams, February 24, 1790.

  93. John Adams, Letters, Vol. I, pp. 123-125, to Abigail Adams, July 3, 1776.

  94. John Adams, Letters, Vol. I, p. 128, to Abigail Adams, July 3, 1776.

  95. John Adams, Letters, Vol. I, p. 128, to Abigail Adams, July 3, 1776.

  96. John Adams, Letters, Vol. I, p. 152, to Abigail Adams, August 14, 1776.

  97. John Adams, Letters, Vol. I, p. 152, to Abigail Adams, August 14, 1776.

  98. Journals of Congress (1906), Vol. V, p. 530, July 9, 1776.

  99. James Thacher, A Military Journal (Boston: Richardson and Lord, 1823), p. 145; see also B. F. Morris, The Christian Life and Character of the Civil Institutions of the United States (Philadelphia: George W. Childs, 1864), p. 213; J. T. Headly, The Chaplains of the Revolution (Springfield: G. & F. Bill, 1861), pp. 58-86.

  100. Washington, Writings (1932), Vol. V, pp. 244-245, July 9, 1776. This statement of George Washington was also used by Abraham Lincoln in his November 15, 1862, order to his troops to maintain regular Sabbath observances; see also Abraham Lincoln, Letters and Addresses of Abraham Lincoln (New York: Unit Book Publishing Co., 1907), p. 261.

  101. Letters of the Delegates, Vol. VII, p. 311, n1.

  102. Letters of Delegates, Vol. VII, p. 311, “Committee on Publishing a Bible to Sundry Philadelphia Printers,” July 7, 1777.