The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1855-09-12
Religious Liberty.
EXTRACT FROM A RECENT SPEECH.

Religious Liberty.
EXTRACT FROM A RECENT SPEECH.
| have shown you, my fellow citizens,
that it is idle to talk of guaranteeing
freedom in religious opinions and the
mode of worship, to any Church, while
disgraceful, degrading disabilities are at
tached to the members of that church +
have shown you that such intolerance is
only worthy of the darkness and bigotry
and blood of centuries buried with the
past. have shown you that Know
Nothingism, though under new garb,
and in an age of the world when least
expected, is really an old enemy of iber-
ty whom We all believed to be blotted out.
And / have shown you that it even pro-
fesses love of country, and yet that the
direct tendency of its fanatical tests and
loathsome doctrine is disunion and anar-
Echy and civil war of the most shocking
dye. Yet | am not content to let this
rest upon my humble statements merely,
nor upon the writings of those good men
whose names are remembered with affec-
ton by all democrats but I will introduce
to you extracts from the works of some
of the most eminent men of this country
men opposed to the democratic party-yet
imbued with spirit too noble and free to
brook religious persecution.
Chancellor Kent, the great Commentator
on American law, says:
"The free exercise and enjoyment of
religious profession and worship, may be
considered as one of the absolute rights
of individuals, recognized in our Ameri-
can Constitutions, and secured to them
by law Cicil and religious liberty gener-
ally poland IN hand, and the suppression
Of either Of them, for any length Of time,
,ct1l terminate the ea1stence Of the other.
at is ordained by the Constitution. Of
the United States, that Congress shall
make no law respecting an establishment
[of religion, or prohibiting the free exer-
else thereof, and the same principle ap-
pears in all the State constitutions. The
iprinciple is generally announced in them
without any kind of qualification or lilni-
tation annexed, and with the exclusion OF
every species of religious test. The char
ter of Rhode Island, of 1868, established
a freedom of religious opinion and wor-
ship of extraordinary iberalitys for that
early period of New England history. 1t
declared, that n o person within the col
ony, at any time thereafter, should be in
any wise molested, punished, disquieted,
or called in question, for any differences
in opinion in matters of religion, who do
not actually disturb the civil peace of the
colony" The legislature of Maryland
had already, in l649, declared by law,
/ that no persons protesting the Christian
religion should be molested in respect OF
their religion, or in, the free exercise there
of, or be compelled to the belief or exer-
else of any other religion, against their
consent. Thus, to use stlle words of a
learned and liberal historian, (Grahame,)
the Catholic planters of Maryland pro-
cured to their adopted country the dis
tinguished praise of being the first of the
American States in which federation was
established by law; and while the Puritahs
were prosecuting their Protestant brethren
in New England, and the Episcopalians
retorting the same severity on the Puritans
in Virginia, the Catholics, against whom
the others were combined formed in
! Maryland sanctuary, where all might
worship. and none might cypress, and
where even Protestants sought refuge
from Protestant intolerance. y
1.-THE learned Story says
! 1.-THE real object of the first amend
ment Fto the Constitution was, not to
countenance, much less to advance Ma
hometanisln, or Judaism, or infdelity, by
pfostrating Christianity; but to exclude
all rivalry among Christian sects, and to
prevent any national ecclesiastical estab.
lishment, which should give to an hierar-
chy the exclusive patronage of the nation,
al government. 1t thus sought to cut of
the means of religious persecution, (the
vice and pest of former ages, and the
4 power of subyerting the rights of con
science in matters of religion, which hae
been trampled upon almost from the days
of the Apostles to the present age. Ths
history of the parent country had afford
ed the most solemn warnings and melan
j choly Instructions on this head; and ever
4 New England, the land of the persecutee
puritans, as well as other colonies, wher,
the Church of England had maintained
: its superiority, had furnished chapter
: as full of dark bigotry and intolerance
as any, which could be found to, disgrac,
the pages of foreign annals.p sa
, And here we have the deliberate julg
ii ment of Daniel Webster; g.