Original Intent: The Courts, the Constitution, and Religion

by David Barton

  7. Baron Charles Secondat de Montesquieu, The Spirit of Laws (Worcester: Isaiah Thomas, 1802), Vol. I, pp. 181, 185.

  8. The Constitutions of the Sixteen States (Boston: Manning & Loring, 1797), p. 166, Pennsylvania, 1790, Article IX, Section II.

  9. Constitutions (1797), p. 237, South Carolina, 1790, Article IX, Section I.

  10. The Constitutions of the Several Independent States of America (Boston: Norman and Bowen, 1785), p. 55, New York, 1777, Article I.

  11. Constitutions (1785), p. 130, North Carolina, 1776, “Declaration of Rights,” Article I.

  12. The Constitutions of the United States of America (Trenton: Moore and Lake, 1813), p. 165, Delaware, 1792, Preamble.

  13. Constitutions (1797), p. 250, Vermont, 1786, “Declaration of Rights,” Article VI.

  14. The Constitutions of the Several States Composing the Union (Philadelphia: Hogan and Thompson, 1838), p. 179; Bill of Rights to the Virginia Constitution of 1776, Section 2.

  15. Constitutions (1785), p. 3, New Hampshire, 1784, Part I, Bill of Rights, Article I.

  16. A Constitution or Frame of Government Agreed Upon by the Delegates of the People of the State of Massachusetts-Bay (Boston: Benjamin Edes & Sons, 1780), p. 9, Massachusetts, 1780, Part I, Article V.

  17. Constitutions (1785), p. 103, Maryland, 1776, “Declaration of Rights,” Article I.

  18. John Hancock, The Great Question for the People! Essays on the Elective Franchise; or, Who has the Right to Vote? (Philadelphia: Merrihew & Son, 1865), pp. 22-23, 27; see also William D. Kelley, Wendell Phillips, and Frederick Douglass, The Equality of All Men Before the Law Claimed and Defended (Boston: Rand & Avery, 1865), pp. 9, 10, 11, 15, and passim.

  19. Congressional Record of The Proceedings and Debates of the Forty-Third Congress, First Session (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1874), Vol. II, p. 409, “Speech on the 1875 Civil Rights Bill,” given by African American Rep. Robert Brown Elliott, January 6, 1874.

  20. The Federalist, p. 275, #49 by Alexander Hamilton.

  21. The Federalist, p. 424, #78 by Alexander Hamilton.

  22. James Madison, The Papers of James Madison, Henry D. Gilpin, editor (Washington, DC: Langtree & O’Sullivan, 1840), Vol. II, p. 1184, James Madison, July 23, 1787.

  23. Debates in the Several State Conventions on the Adoption of the Federal Constitution, Jonathan Elliot, editor (Washington, DC: 1836), Vol. II, p. 446, James Wilson at the Pennsylvania Ratification Debates, December 1, 1787.

  24. Elliot’s Debates, Vol. III, p. 553, John Marshall at the Virginia Ratification Debates, June 20, 1788.

  25. The Documentary History of the Supreme Court of the United States, 1789-1800, Maeva Marcus, editor (New York: Columbia University Press, 1990), Vol. III, p. 412, Samuel Chase’s “Charge to the Grand Jury of the Circuit Court for the District of Pennsylvania,” April 12, 1800.

  26. Madison, Papers, Vol. II, p. 1168, George Mason quoting Luther Martin, July 21, 1787.

  27. The Federalist, p. 421, #78 by Alexander Hamilton.

  28. James Kent, Commentaries on American Law (New York: O. Halsted, 1826), Vol. I, p. 421.

  29. Joseph Story, Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States (Boston: Hillard, Gray, and Co., 1833), Vol. III, p. 428, § 1570.

  30. Madison, Papers, Vol. III, p. 1333, John Mercer, August 15, 1787.

  31. Madison, Papers, Vol. III, p. 1334, John Dickinson, August 15, 1787; see also Beveridge, John Marshall, Vol. III, p. 116.

  32. Madison, Papers, Vol. II, p. 783, Elbridge Gerry, June 4, 1787.

  33. Raoul Berger, Government by Judiciary: The Transformation of the Fourteenth Amendment (MA: Harvard University Press, 1977), p. 360.

  34. Story, Commentaries, Vol. I, p. 363, §390.

  35. The Federalist, p. 436, #81 by Alexander Hamilton.

  36. Kent, Commentaries, Vol. I, p. 421.

  37. The Federalist, p. 435, #81 by Alexander Hamilton.

  38. James Madison, Letters and Other Writings of James Madison (New York: R. Worthington, 1884), Vol. I, p. 194, remarks on Mr. Jefferson’s “Draught of a Constitution for Virginia,” October 1788.

  39. The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787, Max Farrand, editor (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1911), Vol. I, p. 108, from Rufus King’s records of the Convention, June 4, 1787.

  40. The Federalist, p. 423, #78 by Alexander Hamilton.

  41. Samuel Adams, The Writings of Samuel Adams, Harry Alonzo Cushing, editor (New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1904), Vol. I, p. 3, “Instructions of the Town of Boston to its Representatives in the General Court,” May 1764; Vol. I, p. 144, “The House of Representatives of Massachusetts to Dennys Berdt,” January 12, 1768; Vol. I, p. 193, “The House of Representative of Massachusetts to Henry Seymour Conway,” February 13, 1768; Vol. II, pp. 343-344, to Arthur Lee, November 3, 1772; Vol. II, pp. 369-370, “A Letter of Correspondence to the Other Towns,” November 20, 1772; Vol. III, p. 4, “A Report to the Town of Boston,” March 23, 1773; Vol. III, p. 49, to Arthur Lee, June 28, 1773; Vol. III, pp. 50-51, “The Committee of Correspondence of Boston to the Committee of Correspondence of Worcester,” September 11, 1773; Vol. III, p. 80, “Resolution of the House of Representatives of Massachusetts,” March 1, 1774; Vol. III, p. 85, “Committee of Correspondence of Massachusetts to Benjamin Franklin,” March 31, 1774; and Vol. III, p. 97, to Arthur Lee, April 4, 1774.

  42. Samuel Adams, Writings, Vol. I, p. 144, “The House of Representatives of Massachusetts to Dennys Berdt,” January 12, 1768; Vol. I, p. 172, “The House of Representatives of Massachusetts to the Marquis of Rockingham,” January 22, 1768.

  43. Boston Gazette, January 20, 1772, Samuel Adams writing as “Candidus.”

  44. Madison, Papers, Vol. II, p. 1166, Luther Martin during the debates, July 21, 1787.

  45. Commonwealth v. Kneeland, 37 Mass. 206 at 227, 232 (1838).

  46. William Rawle, A View of the Constitution of the United States of America (Philadelphia: Philip H. Nicklin, 1829), p. 201.

  47. The Federalist, p. 420, #78 by Alexander Hamilton.

  48. Thomas Jefferson, Writings of Thomas Jefferson, Albert Ellery Bergh, editor (Washington, DC: Thomas Jefferson Memorial Association, 1904), Vol. XV, pp. 331-332, to Charles Hammond, August 18, 1821.

  49. Thomas Jefferson, Memoir, Correspondence, and Miscellanies, Thomas Jefferson Randolph, editor (Boston: Gray and Bowen, 1830), Vol. IV, p. 374, to William Johnson, June 12, 1823.

  50. Jefferson, Writings, Vol. XV, p. 332, to Charles Hammond, August 18, 1821.

  51. Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479 at 482, 499 (1965).

  52. Berger, Government, p. 2.

  53. Elliot’s Debates, Vol. II, p. 446, James Wilson at the Pennsylvania Ratification Debates, December 1, 1787.

  54. Jefferson, Writings, Vol. XI, pp. 43-44, to Mrs. John Adams, July 22, 1804.

  55. Jefferson, Memoir, Vol. IV, p. 27, to Abigail Adams, September 11, 1804.

  56. Madison, Papers, Vol. II, p. 1166, Luther Martin, July 21, 1787.

  57. The Debates and Proceedings in the Congress of the United States (Washington, DC: Gales and Seaton, 1834), Vol. I, p. 520, James Madison, June 17, 1789.

  58. Debates and Proceedings, Vol. I, p. 568, James Madison, June 18, 1789.

  59. The Debates and Proceedings in the Congress of the United States (Washington, DC: Gales and Seaton, 1851), p. 661, 7th Congress, 1st Session, February 20, 1802.

  60. Jefferson, Writings, Vol. XV, p. 215, to Spencer Roane, September 6, 1819.

  61. Jefferson, Writings, Vol. XV, p. 213, to Spencer Roane, September 6, 1819.

  62. Jefferson, Memoir, Vol. IV, p. 27, to Abigail Adams, September 11, 1804.

  63. Jefferson, Writings, Vol. XV, p. 277, to William Charles Jarvis, September 28, 1820.

  64. Jefferson, Memoir, Vol. IV, p. 27, to Abigail Adams, September 11, 1804.

  65. James D. Richardson, A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents, 1789-1897 (Published by Authority of Congress, 189
9), Vol. VI, p. 9, “Inaugural Address,” March 4, 1861.

  66. Dred Scott v. Sandford, 60 U.S. 393 (1857)

  67. The Debates and Proceedings of the Second Session of the Thirty-Seventh Congress, John C. Rives, editor (Washington, DC: Congressional Globe Office, 1862), p. 2618, June 9, 1862.

  68. Rawle, View, pp. 200-202.

  69. Story, Commentaries, Vol. I, p. 346 § 374.

  70. Henry St. George Tucker, Lectures on Government (Charlottesville: James Alexander, 1844), pp. 70-71.

  71. Madison, Papers, Vol. II, pp. 1161-62, James Wilson, July 21, 1787.

  72. Madison, Papers, Vol. II, pp. 1162-66, Elbridge Gerry, Caleb Strong, and Luther Martin, July 21, 1787.

  73. Madison, Papers, Vol. II, p. 791, June 4, 1787; Vol. II, p. 812, June 6, 1787; Vol. II, p. 1171, July 21, 1787; and Vol. III, p. 1331, August 15, 1787.

  74. Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. 137 (1803).

  75. Dictionary of American Biography, s.v. “John Marshall.”

  76. John Marshall, The Papers of John Marshall, Charles Hobson, editor (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1990), Vol. VI, p. 90, to James Marshall, March 18, 1801.

  77. Beveridge, John Marshall, Vol. III, p. 129, n. 1-4, p. 130, n. 1-2

  78. Beveridge, John Marshall, Vol. III, pp. 128-129.

  79. Beveridge, John Marshall, Vol. III, pp. 128-129.

  80. Jefferson, Writings, Vol. XV, p. 447, to William Johnson, June 12, 1823.

  81. See Cherokee Nation v. Georgia, 30 U.S. 1 (1831).

  82. Richardson, Compilation, Vol. II, p. 582, “Veto Message,” July 10, 1832.

  83. Richardson, Compilation, Vol. II, p. 582, “Veto Message,” July 10, 1832.

  84. McCulloch v. Maryland, 17 U.S. 316 (1819).

  85. Osborn v. United States Bank, 22 U.S. 738 (1824).

  86. J. G. Holland, Life of Abraham Lincoln (Springfield, MA: Gurdon Bill, 1866), p. 175.

  87. George Washington, Address of George Washington, President of the United States … Preparatory to His Declination (Baltimore: Christopher Jackson, 1796), p. 22.

  88. The Federalist, p. 80, #15 by Alexander Hamilton.

  89. Jefferson, Memoir, Vol. IV p. 375, to William Johnson, June 12, 1823.

  90. Washington, Address … Preparatory to his Declination, pp. 21-22.

  91. James Madison, A Memorial and Remonstrance Presented to the General Assembly of the State of Virginia at their Session in 1785 in Consequence of a Bill Brought into that Assembly for the Establishment of Religion (MA: Isaiah Thomas, 1786), pp. 4-5.

  92. Samuel Adams, Writings, Vol. IV, pp. 388-389, to the Legislature of Massachusetts, January 19, 1796.

  93. The Federalist, p. 397, #73 by Alexander Hamilton.

  94. Elliot’s Debates, Vol. II, p. 196, Oliver Ellsworth at the Connecticut Ratification Debates, January 7, 1788.

  95. The Federalist, p. 438, #81 by Alexander Hamilton.

  96. The Federalist, p. 435, #81 by Alexander Hamilton.

  97. The Federalist, p. 438, #81 by Alexander Hamilton.

  98. James Wilson, The Works of the Honorable James Wilson, Bird Wilson, editor (Philadelphia: Bronson and Chauncey, 1804), Vol. II, p. 166, “Of the Constitution of the United States and of Pennsylvania – of the Legislative Department.”

  99. Story, Commentaries, Vol. II, pp. 233-234, § 762.

  100. Madison, Papers, Vol. III, p. 1528, George Mason, September 8, 1787.

  101. The Federalist, p. 352, #65 by Alexander Hamilton.

  102. Madison, Papers, Vol. III, p. 1528, Elbridge Gerry during the debates, September 8, 1787.

  103. Rawle, View, p. 211.

  104. Rawle, View, p. 210.

  105. Story, Commentaries, Vol. II, p. 268, § 798.

  106. The Federalist, p. 353, Federalist #65 by Alexander Hamilton.

  107. Elliot’s Debates, Vol. IV, p. 32, James Iredell at North Carolina’s Ratification Convention, July 24, 1788

  108. Story, Commentaries, Vol. II, p. 172, §811.

  109. George Washington, The Writings of George Washington, Jared Sparks, editor (Boston: Russell, Odiorne and Metcalf, 1835), Vol. IX, p. 279, to Bushrod Washington, November 10, 1787.

  110. Jefferson, Writings, Vol. XV, p. 278, to William Charles Jarvis, September 28, 1820.

  111. Richardson, Compilation, Vol. I, p. 164, from the “Sixth Annual Address,” November 19, 1794.

  112. Thomas Jefferson, The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Julian P. Boyd, editor (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1961), Vol. XVI, p. 179, “Response to the Citizens of Albermarle,” February 12, 1790.

  113. Richardson, Compilation, Vol. I, p. 322, from Jefferson’s First Inaugural, March 11, 1801.

  114. Samuel Adams, Writings, Vol. IV, p. 246, to Mrs. Adams, February 1, 1781.

  115. Compassion in Dying v. Washington, 79 F.3d 790 (9th Cir. 1996); Quill v. Vacco, 80 F.3d 716 (2d Cir. 1996).

  116. Coalition for Economic Equity v. Wilson, 946 F. Supp. 1480 (N.D. Cal. 1996); LULAC v. Wilson, 908 F. Supp. 755 (D.Cal. 1995); and Gregorio T. v. Wilson, 59 F.3d 1002 (9th Cir. 1996).

  117. United States Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton, 514 U.S. 779 (1995), Todd S. Purdum, “California State Term Limits Overturned by Federal Judge,” New York Times, April 24, 1997 (at: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A05EEDB103EF937A15757C0A961958260), William Booth, “Court voids California Term Limits,” Washington Post, October 8, 1997, Page A01 (at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/termlimits/stories/ca100897.htm), reporting on the case Bates v. Jones, 958 F. Supp. 1446 (N.D. Cal. 1997). This judge’s ruling was later reversed in Bates v. Jones, 127 F.3d 839 (9th Cir. 1997) but the initial ruling nevertheless affirms the proclivity of many judges to disregard the will of the people; unfortunately, many similar rulings are never overturned by higher courts.

  118. Yniguez v. Arizona, 69 F.3d 920 (9th Cir. 1995).

  119. Romer v. Evans, 517 U.S. 620 (1996).

  120. Missouri v. Jenkins, 495 U.S. 33 (1990).

  121. U. S. A. v. Manning, CV-04-5128 (E.D. Wash. 2006) (upheld by U. S. A. v. Manning, Nos. 06-35613, 06-35664 and 06-35765 (9th Cir. May 21, 2008); see also Rita Cicero, “Court Vacates Law Prohibiting Waste Shipments to Hanford Site,” Find Law, June 22, 2006 (at: http://news.lp.findlaw.com/andrews/en/haz/20060622/20060622manning.html), and “Washington State Initiative 297 Overturned – Here Comes the Nuclear Waste Again,” Majority Rules Blog, June 13, 2006 (at: http://www.majorityrules.org/blog/2006/06/washington-state-initiative-297.html).

  122. “Judge Rules Measure 37 Unconstitutional,” Portland Business Journal, October 14, 2005 (at: http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2005/10/10/daily41.html, reporting on the case MacPherson v. Department of Administrative Services, No. 05C10444 (Cir. Ct. Marion County, Or., 2005). This judge’s ruling was later reversed in MacPherson v. Department of Administrative Services, No. S52875 (Or. 2006) but the initial ruling nevertheless affirms the proclivity of many judges to disregard the will of the people; unfortunately, many similar rulings are never overturned by higher courts.

  123. Maura Dolan, “California Supreme Court Overturns Gay Marriage Ban,” Los Angeles Times, May 16, 2008 (at: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-gaymarriage16-2008may16,0,6182317.story), In re Marriage Cases, S147999 (Cal. May 15, 2008), Robynn Tysver, “Same-sex Marriage Ban Axed,” World-Herald, May 12, 2005 (at: http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_pg=1638&u_sid=1409755), reporting on the case Citizens for Equal Protection v. Bruning, 368 F. Supp. 2d 980 (D. Neb. 2005). This judge’s ruling was later reversed in Citizens for Equal Protection v. Bruning, No. 05-2604 (8th Cir. 2006) but the initial ruling nevertheless affirms the proclivity of many judges to disregard the will of the people; unfortunately, many similar rulings are never overturned by higher courts.

  Chapter 16 Revisionism: A Willing Accomplice

  1. Robert Ingersoll, Ingersollia, Gems of Thought, Elmo, editor (Chicago: Belford, Clarke & Co., 1882), pp. 49, 52, 54.

  2. Charles A. Beard and Mary R. Beard, The Ris
e of American Civilization (New York: The MacMillan Co., 1930), p. 439, “The Agricultural Era.”

  3. The Beards, Rise, p. 439.

  4. Church of the Holy Trinity v. United States, 143 U.S. 457, 467-468 (1892).

  5. W. E. Woodward, George Washington: The Image and the Man (New York: Boni and Liverlight, 1926), p. 142.

  6. 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.

  7. Fac-Similie of Manuscript Prayer-Book Written by George Washington (Philadelphia: 1891). According to the information from this book, the handwritten prayer book was bequeathed, with Washington’s “other papers, to Judge Bushrod Washington from whom it descended to Col. John Augustine Washington, the last private owner of Mt. Vernon, who left it to his son Lawrence Washington, under whose direction the facsimilie has been most carefully prepared.”

  8. The Beards, Rise, p. 439.

  9. John Frederick Schroeder, Maxims of George Washington (Mount Vernon,VA: Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association, 1989), p. 164.

  10. Woodward, George Washington, p. 142.

  11. Steven Morris, “America’s Unchristian Beginnings” The Los Angeles Times, August 3, 1995, p. B-9. This article was picked up on wire services and appeared in newspapers across the nation.

  12. For examples of ministers who used both clear evangelical terms as well as what today are errantly considered “deistic” descriptions for God, see Samuel Stanhope Smith, The Divine Goodness to the United States of America – A Discourse on the Subjects of National Gratitude (Philadelphia: William Young, 1795); Jonathan French, A Sermon Delivered on the Anniversary of Thanksgiving, November 29, 1798 (Andover: Ames and Parker, 1799); Rev. Joseph Willard, A Thanksgiving Sermon Delivered at Boston December 11, 1783 (Boston: T. and J. Fleet, 1784); William Hazlitt, A Thanksgiving Discourse Preached at Hallowell, December 15, 1785 (Boston: Samuel Hall, 1786); Evan Johns, The Happiness of American Christians, A Thanksgiving Sermon preached on Thursday the 24th of November 1803 (Hartford: Hudson and Goodwin, 1804); Isaac Backus, An Appeal to the Public for Religious Liberty (Boston: John Boyle, 1773); et al.