BULLETIN No. 17

APPROPRIATIONS FOR SECTARIAN AND PRIVATE PURPOSES

CONTENTS.

PAGE

I. The Relation of Church and State in America,

II. The Relation of Church and State in Massachusetts,

III. Amendment XVIII,

1. The Adoption of the Amendment,

2. The Interpretation of the Amendment,

3. Proposals of Further Amendments,

APPENDIX A.- Constitutional Provisions concerning Appropriations

for Sectarian Purposes,

APPENDIX B. — Grants and Allowances made by the Legislature of

APPENDIX C.-Grants and Allowances made by the Legislature of

APPROPRIATIONS FOR SECTARIAN AND

PRIVATE PURPOSES.

I. THE RELATION OF CHURCH AND STATE IN AMERICA. Throughout the colonial period of American history there was in most of the colonies a close connection between church and state. There were several reasons why this should be both natural and inevitable. In the first place it was the prevailing system in Europe. The immigrants who came to America established here a relation between the secular and ecclesiastical powers similar to that with which they had been familiar at home. The absolute separation of church and state- a principle with which America is now identified — was one not widely supported prior to the American Revolution. In the second place, several of the American colonies were either established by churches or by groups of men so closely associated with certain religious bodies as to lead to the same practical result. Massachusetts owes its origin to the desire of the Congregational churches to establish a commonwealth in which they could worship God according to the dictates of their own consciences, without however extending a similar privilege to those who differed from them. Under the charter granted to Lord Baltimore and the group of Catholics who founded Maryland, a similar result was possible, but was prevented by the liberal statesmanship of the Lord Proprietor. In Pennsylvania the traditional attitude of the Quakers towards the adherents of other churches sufficiently assured the establishment of a policy of tolerance.

So long as each colony remained of one religious faith, or so long as one faith retained a decided predominance, the close connection between church and state gave rise to little practical difficulty. But in the seventeenth century, new elements began to be introduced. Diverse races which had before been