Thomas Jefferson Quotes
The common law existed while the Anglo-Saxons were yet pagans, at a time when they had never yet heard the name of Christ pronounced or that such a character existed.
Then, as now, there were some who claimed there should be a larger role for Christianity in American law and governance. One such view in the first half of the 19th century was that whatever was unspecified in the Constitution deferred to the common law. England had an official state Christian church and therefore Christianity must have been a part of English common law and hence should be a significant part of American law and governance. Jefferson was one of the many leaders who refuted the notion by pointing out that the common law in England predated Christianity.
Thomas Jefferson, 1743-1826, 3rd President of the United States (Democratic Republican, VA), Letter to Major John Cartwright, June 5, 1824
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
Arguing against the relationship between Christianity and the common law as had been asserted by some English Jurists (see Matthew Hale and James Mansfield)
This was before the state had officially sanctioned and accepted the church. Most of the institutions were pagan and the kings had subjects of both religions with Christianity not yet dominant. Yet among Christians, the Church had government temporal power, even before the church was allied with the state.
See Matthew Hale for a concurring view and Thomas Jefferson for a contrasting one.
Flaccus
Early American law and procedure was English law and procedure.
This quotation is the first prayer of the first Congress. Some advocates of a more religious role in government use this quotation to illustrate that not only was religion a part of the first Congressional deliberations, but it was a Christian prayer. Of course, the Constitution would not be created for another 13 years and there was no provision for separation for church and state in the Continental Congress—there was not even an executive. Duche was later captured by the British and was persuaded to write a letter to George Washington {583740} asking that he lay down his arms. John Adams described him to Abagail: “Mr. Duche I am sorry to inform you has turned out an Apostate and a Traytor. Poor Man! I pitty his Weakness, and detest his Wickedness.”
Carlile was one of the heroes of freedom of the press. He was jailed frequently for publishing anti government or anti Church of England criticisms, as were his wife and sister. The government grew so desperate trying to censor his publications that they placed a high minimum price on the sale of all newspapers assuring that the average citizen could not afford to buy the “seditious and blasphemous material.” In addition to press freedom he was an early reformer for birth control, religious freedom, women's suffrage and rights (which he called for in the 1820s), and against child labor.
William the Conqueror. This is one of the earliest government action separating some church functions from state functions.
The implication of a double moral standard for adherents of the faith and for others has been characteristics of many religions.
A priest, friar or monk with this commission could and did, remove from the custody and control of the local judges, bailiffs and law enforcement officers clerics who had run afoul of the law. At the time the word “clerk” meant any churchman. The principle at the time was that the state could not judge or dispense justice or punishment to members of the church. Only the church could try and convict clerics and they did that persiant to cannon (religious) law. In theory, the bearer of this commission would take custody of an accused criminal who was a churchman, and bring him to the Bishop who would handle the case under Ecclesiastical Law. Often that meant, doing nothing or minor penitence for a crime that could even bring the death penalty under civil law. Historically there has been a major struggle in the West between the churches and civil governments that still goes on to this day in countries like Ireland. In America, the early 21st century saw the Roman Catholic bishops covering up crimes of sexual predation on the part of Priests. Many people were also outraged that the bishops did not report the Priests to the police, but this was unfortunately a throwback to this historical notion that the Church only can deal with the discipline and legal matters involving church personnel or property. Historically, reporting matters like this to civil authorities for handling is only about 200 years old, while the system illustrated by this quotation had been in place for about 1200 years before.
Note that in addition to getting rid of the authority of the King, New York—over a decade before the Bill of Rights and the First Amendment, provided for a ban on an established church or favoring one Christian sect over another. Even then New York was a multi religious and multi ethnic society with its strong Dutch tradition along with the English tradition. New York did not go as far as the First Amendment would do later in terms of freedom of religion. NY only mentioned Christian sects. However they did implement separation of church and state and an establishment clause. See {621429} for another clause that ensures separation of church and state.
Thomas Jefferson was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He had previously served as the second vice president of the United States under John Adams between 1797 and 1801. The principal author of the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson was a proponent of democracy, republicanism, and individual rights, motivating American colonists to break from the Kingdom of Great Britain and form a new nation; he produced formative documents and decisions at both the state and national levels.
